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[ Politics & Government | African Political Parties ]

Politics & Government in Africa

Africa Leadership Forum

The Africa Leadership Forum was set up in 1988 at the initiative of General Olusegun Obasanjo,.... with the support of other individuals. Sponsors conferences, publications. Its Digital Library has full text books online such as "Empowering Women for the 21st Century," "Leadership Challenge in African Agricultural Production," "Police and Society," "The Settler Question in Nigeria: the Case of Jos-Plateau," "Africa's Agenda and the Role of the USA" (1993), "The Challenge of Education in Africa" (1988), "Ethics and professionalism in Nigerian Banking Industry," "Ethics and professionalism in Medical practice," "Population, Environment and Climatic change: Their impact on Development in Africa" (1990), "Local Government in Nigeria," "Corruption, Democracy and Human rights," "The Media in Democracy." Also reports from the Africa Women's Forums, the National Women Peace Group, and an online newsletter, Akuko. Based in Ota, Nigeria. [KF] http://www.africaleadership.org/

African Anarchism

"Anarchism and revolutionary syndicalism from around Africa [Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, etc.]. News, analysis, ....personal accounts, historical essays, solidarity projects from an african anarchist perspective." Has an anarchy_africa mailing list. To subscribe send e-mail to: anarchy_africa-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Contact Brian Cunin at african_anarchism@yahoo.com http://www.struggle.ws/africa.html

African and Asian Studies (Leiden, Netherlands)

Published by Brill Academic Publishers. Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002 is free online. ISSN 1569-2094. Brill parted company with the editor of the Journal of Asian & African Studies, Shivu Ishwaran. Brill owns the editorial copyright of the issues published through 2001 and has them on their web site.
Issue No. 1, 2002 of African and Asia Studies has two free full text articles:
Modeling Ethnic Protest: The Case of the Middle East and Central Asia by Emile Sahliyeh; Sangeeta Sinha; Vijayan Pillai
Anchoring Democracy in Indigenous African Institutions by Daniel Ayan
http://www.brill.nl/m_catalogue_sub6_id10254.htm

African Association of Political Science

Founded in 1973 in Dar es Salaam. Has the table of contents for its African Journal of Political Science (AJPS). Members only have full text access to the journal and occasional papers. Full text of the Newsletter is online. Has an online AAPS Internet Journal of Political Science with full text non-refereed and unedited essays and full text papers from its 13th Biennial Congress. [KF] hhttp://www.aaps.org.za/

African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies

A pan-African, independent international NGO established in 1989 to support the OAU African Charter on Human and People's Rights. Publishes the African Human Rights Newsletter (or mirror), civic education posters, reports, etc. Based in The Gambia. http://www.acdhrs.gm or http://www.acdhrs.org/

African Human Security Initiative

One-year project for seven established African Non-Governmental Organisations "to embark upon a process of benchmarking the performance of key African governments in respect of human security issues, measured against the commitments taken at the level at OAU/AU heads of state meetings." The eight countries being evaluated are Algeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda. Full text Project and Background Papers. Full text Monographs and Research Reports. http://www.africanreview.org/

African Leadership and Progress Network

Reports, papers, articles on Governance, Transparency, Corruption, Natural Resource Management, The Resource Curse. "ALPN is a network of African and non-African professionals who are strongly dedicated to utilizing innovative and entrepreneurial approaches for fostering rapid progress in Africa." Promotes "private sector-driven economic growth and poverty alleviation in African countries..." Articles on the brain drain, sources ranking African countries, the U.S. Millenium Challenge Account, a directory of Washington, D.C. events. A nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., and Abuja, Nigeria. http://www.africanprogress.net/

African Peace Information Locator - University of Iowa Libraries

A directory of internet resources on refugees, development, arms control, human rights, peace keeping missions in Africa. http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/ceras/locator/

AfricAvenir

"AfricAvenir is a political foundation founded in Douala, Cameroon. It is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation engaged in political education and information dissemination both in Africa and in Europe." Publishes an e-journal, AfricAvenir Dialog Forum, which includes articles on the study of African politics and international relations. Has a directory of full text web resources for the study of Africa. Some entries from the African Studies Associations section are taken from the Africa South of the Sahara section for African Studies. Based in Douala, Cameroon and Berlin, Germany. http://www.africavenir.com/

Afrobarometers

A comparative series of national public attitude surveys. Topics: democracy, governance, livelihoods, markets, social capital (whom do you trust), conflict / crime, civic participation, national identity. "countries can be systematically compared and, ultimately, trends in public attitudes can be tracked over time." Data sets / code books will be on the web site and archived by ICPSR. Data for Ghana (1999) and Nigeria (2000) is available. Has a slide show of graphs showing opinions on democracy, questionnaires. Has abstracts for the Afrobarometer series, a mailing list. Surveys are conducted by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa, IDASA, the Centre for Democratic Development (Accra, Ghana), Michigan State University's Political Science Department; and other partner African organizations. [KF] http://www.afrobarometer.org/

American Assembly

The American Assembly, affiliated with Columbia Univ., convened meetings on the U.S. and Africa (1958), Africa and U.S. National Interests (1997). The 1997 meeting was chaired by Donald McHenry. 69 U.S. leaders met to formulate policy recommendations regarding Africa. The final report, including preface and a list of participants, is in one 12 page document. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/amassembly/

Association des Cours Constitutionnelles ayant en Partage l�Usage du Fran�ais, ACCPUF (Paris)

In French. Covers French-speaking African countries plus Cape Verde, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, . For each country includes a history of constitutional law, court decisions (such as regarding President Marc Ravalomanana, elections in Congo-Brazzaville, Mali, Chad, Togo, Benin, etc.), news articles on elections from Agence France Presse / newspapers. Search the database by keyword, country. [KF] http://www.accpuf.org/

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AWEPA, European Parliamentarians for Africa

AWEPA was founded, in 1984, as the Association of West European Parliamentarians for Action against Apartheid. Its interests include development cooperation, electoral assistance and observation, democratisation and human rights.

Black Radical Congress (Atlanta, Georgia)

"focuses on the conditions of Black working and poor people. Recognizing contributions from diverse tendencies within Black Radicalism--including socialism, revolutionary nationalism and feminism--we are united in opposition to all forms of oppression, including class exploitation, racism, patriarchy, homophobia, anti-immigration prejudice and imperialism." Has statements on the Congo and on the death of Kwame Ture. http://www.blackradicalcongress.org/

Boston University. African Presidential Archives and Research Center

For the study of democratization and free market reform in Africa. The Public Papers/Private Conversations Project will digitize the public papers of democratically elected leaders. "The Lloyd G. Balfour African Presidents in Residence Program,... is an opportunity for former democratically elected African leaders to spend up to two years in residence at Boston University." Will publish an Annual African Leaders' State of Africa Report. Has an interview and speeches of Tanzania President Benjamin Mkapa. Address: 141 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215. http://www.bu.edu/aparc/

Catholic Institute for International Relations

Conducts development work in Namibia, Somalia/Somaliland, Zimbabwe and work on human rights, peace initiatives, the drug trade. Lists some of their publications. Based in London. http://www.ciir.org/

Centre for Democracy and Development (London)

The Centre, launched Oct. 1997, is a non-governmental, independent research, information and training institution concerned with democratic development and peace building in Nigeria and the West African sub-region. Has full text articles on Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Zimbabwe. E-mail: cdd@cdd.org.uk http://www.cdd.org.uk/

Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
Has the full text of "The Use of Children as Soldiers in Africa," the full text of related treaties and resolutions, links to organizations working on the problem, questions and answers, a bibliography, conferences. Based in Ch�telaine, Switzerland. http://www.child-soldiers.org

Civil Society and Governance Programme

An "...international research project under the management of Professor
James Manor...The Programme extends over three years at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS)" Univ. of Sussex (UK) with Ford Foundation funding. Case studies are conducted in 22 different countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the US. http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/civsoc/home.html

Conflict Watch Africa - Inter Press Service

The Conflict Watch bulletin seeks to contribute to early warning conflict prevention by disseminating information on potential and actual conflict situations in sub-Saharan Africa. Includes IPS news stories, NGO reports. Produced by IPS in collaboration with Third World Network in Ghana. http://ips.org/Critical/Watch/Watch.htm

Democracy Net

From the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), "a private, nonprofit,
grant-making organization created in 1983 to strengthen democratic institutions
around the world." Has an experts database by area and subject, a directory of organizations which provide funds in international affairs, links to the web sites of African organizations receiving grants from the NED. Distributes DemocracyNews, "an electronic mailing list for sharing news, announcements, and information among democracy activists, scholars, and others working to promote democracy around the world." http://www.ned.org/

Ecole nationale d'administration, ENA

Has some of its masters in public administration memoires in full text online. "L'Ecole nationale d'administration recrute et forme la haute fonction publique de l'Etat.

ECOWAS, Economic Community of West African States

In English and French. Regional organization to promote economic integration. Members are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo. Has many full text official documents, the Treaty, communiques, reports, etc. Headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria with offices in Lagos and Lome. See also the ECOWAS Secretariat: http://www.sec.ecowas.int/. http://www.ecowas.int/

Espace francophone des Droits de l'Homme, de la D�mocratie et de la Paix

In French. From the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and the Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie. http://democratie.francophonie.org/. Full text of Constitutions from Francophone African countries.

Foreign Policy in Focus

Policy briefs on foreign policy issues pub. by the Institute for Policy Studies (Washington, D.C.) and the Interhemispheric Resource Center (Albuquerque, NM). Has 4 page In Focus briefs on Africa by regional specialists which "offer recommendations for alternative policy directions [to] make the United States a more responsible global partner." Publishes The Progressive Response on new issues in U.S. foreign policy. http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org/

Foundation for Democracy in Africa (Capitol Heights, Maryland)

"The mission of the Foundation is to implement the principles of culturally based democratic government within the African society, bringing the countries of Africa into the mainstream of the global economy through free enterprise,..."

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung - Foundation for Social Democracy

Based in Bonn, Germany, a non-profit which promotes political education, the democratization of social structures, free trade unions, offers scholarships. Has information on their African programs (in German and English). http://www.fes.de/

GERDDES- Afrique, Groupe d'Etudes et de Recherches sur la D�mocratie et le D�veloppement Economique et Social

In French and English. Independent Pan-african NGO created in 1990 by African intellectuals intellectuels "(avocats, juristes, �conomistes, professeurs d'universit�, fonctionnaires internationaux, ing�nieurs etc.)." Has reports by GERDDES election observers in Benin, Gabon, Senegal, press releases on political events, lists their publications, includes the table of contents for their journal, D�mocratie et D�veloppement. Based in Cotonou, Benin. http://www.gerddes.org/

Global Review of Ethnopolitics

Peer-reviewed online journal which receives additional support from the Specialist Group on Ethnic Politics of the Political Studies Association of the UK. Topics include Kristin Henrard's "Post-Apartheid South Africa's Democratic Transformation Process: Redress of the Past, Reconciliation and 'Unity in Diversity" (in Adobe pdf), and I. William Zartman's "The Timing of Peace Initiatives: Hurting Stalemates and Ripe Moments" (in Adobe pdf). Based at the Department of European Studies, University of Bath, Bath, England. [KF] http://www.ethnopolitics.org/

Governance (Oxford, U.K.)

An International Journal of Policy, Administration and Institutions. Published in association with the IPSA's Research Committee on the Structure and Organization of Government (SOG). Full text by subscription only. Libraries pay $398-$461 per annum. http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/gove

A moderated discussion forum on the study of current African politics." Sponsored by H-Net, American Political Science Association, and the African Political Science Association. http://www.h-net.org/~afrpol/.

Harvard University. Africa Research Program

Concerned with the political economy of sub-Saharan Africa. The information component of the program surveys and collects political and economic data on sub-Saharan Africa. "In the Data area we have aggregated a number of the most commonly used publicly available variables used in the study of African political economy." The Samples area contains graphical representations of the occurrence of coups, guerrilla warfare and demonstrations over time and graphs showing the evolution of executive and legislative institutions over time. http://africa.gov.harvard.edu/

Hopes on the Horizon; Africa in the 1990s

Web site for the two-hour PBS documentary from Blackside, Inc. ("Eyes on the Prize"), which "chronicles the rise of pro-democracy movements and the expansion of civil society" in Benin, Nigeria, Rwanda, Morocco, Mozambique, and South Africa, during the final, decade of the twentieth century. For each country has facts, a brief background to the democracy movement, an essay, questions (for high school / university students), suggested readings, and the complete transcript. [KF] http://www.pbs.org/hopes

Human Sciences Research Council, HSRC - Modern Constitutions Database

The South African research organization, HSRC, has a Modern Constitutions Database to enable scholars to analyze and compare constitutions. For Africa it has the constitutions for Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa 1993. They plan to add Zimbabwe. Constitutions Database: http://star.hsrc.ac.za/modcon.htm

Independent Advocacy Project (IAP)

Nigerian NGO. "promotes - through advocacy, coalition building, research, publications and information sharing - respect for good governance in Nigeria." "works to promote open and transparent governments � at the federal, state and local government levels..." Based in Lagos, Nigeria. http://www.ind-advocacy-project.org

Inter Press Service - Election Watch Africa

Current election news. IPS is a civil society news agency "an independent voice from the South and for development, delving into globalisation for the stories underneath." Based in Rome, Italy. [KF] http://ipsnews.net/focus/africa_election/

International Constitutional Law

Has the full text of Constitutions for Angola, Congo-Brazzaville, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mauritania, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia. Based at the Institut f�r �ffentliches Recht, Bern, Switzerland. http://www.oefre.unibe.ch/law/icl/

International Foundation for Election Systems, IFES

Based in Washington, D.C. Has some issues of their printed journal, Elections Today, from 1990 + with articles on African elections. Their Elections Calendar lists past and forthcoming elections worldwide. IFES has a resource center with election laws, statistics, ballots, training materials, a computerized database of election information, etc. They have an extensive publications program. http://www.ifes.org/

International Political Science Association

In English and French. "IPSA was founded in 1949 under UNESCO sponsorship. Since then, national political science associations have constituted its core." They publish the bimonthly, International Political Science Abstracts. The African Association of Political Science is an affiliate. http://www.ipsa.ca

International Republican Institute

IRI is a private, nonprofit institute, not part of the Republican Party of the United States. The "IRI conducts programs outside the United States to promote democracy and strengthen free markets and the rule of law." Has a weekly news summary, testimony by IRI representatives to Congress on African affairs, African programs. http://www.iri.org/

Namibia Instituite for Democracy (Windhoek, Namibia)

Non-political organization founded in 1991, develops civic education programs. Has many full text reports (in Adobe pdf) and posters prepared for campaigns on violence against women and children and disability. Full text reports cover democracy, affirmative action, the Married Persons Equality Act, the government and opposition, Labour Act, Accountability and Corruption in Namibia, What Every Voter Needs to Know, the Association of Regional Councils Consultative Conference, Law for All; Wills, Testaments and Estates; private arbitration, etc. [KF] http://www.nid.org.na

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (Washington, D.C.)

A nonprofit NGO which seeks to promote democratic institutions in new and emerging democracies. Has many full text reports regarding Africa (Central / East / West Africa and Southern Africa). http://www.ndi.org

National Endowment for Democracy, NED - Democracy Net ( Washington, D.C.)

Publishes the Journal of Democracy, supports DemocracyNews, "an electronic mailing list for sharing news, announcements, and information among democracy activists, scholars, and others working to promote democracy around the world", has a Democracy Experts Database, full text Conference Reports (Nigeria 1999 election, South Africa, Nigeria 1995). http://www.ned.org

National Parliaments Web Sites

Maintained by Steven S. Smith, Professor in the Political Science Dept., Univ. of Minnesota. Includes British, French, South African Parliament links.
http://www.soc.umn.edu/~sssmith/Parliaments.html

New Partnership for Africa's Development

In English and French. Site only works in MS Internet Explorer. "This initiative was endorsed by the OAU summit of Heads of State and Governments in Lusaka, Zambia on the 11 July 2001." http://www.nepad.org/

Nordiska Afrikainstitutet / Nordic Africa Institute (Uppsala, Sweden) - Publications

Extensive books and electronic publications program. Publications in English, Swedish, French. Some full text titles are free online, in Adobe pdf. For example has the full text of Language, Democracy and Education in Africa, by Birgit Brock-Utne, (Nordiska Afrikainstitutet. Discussion Papers No 15). 2002. 46 p. In Adobe pdf. [KF] http://www.nai.uu.se/webbshop/ShopGB/index.html

Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)

In English and Norwegian. "a directorate under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs." Describes Norway's development assistance to African countries (statistics, projects). Includes an annotated bibliography with Africa-related citations, "Corruption - A selected and annotated bibliography." http://www.norad.no/

Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, OSISA

In English and Portuguese. Non-profit foundation established by George Soros. Provides grants to organizations. Operates in Angola, Mozambique; Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland; Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. Programs in Human Rights and Democracy Building; Media; Education; Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs); Economic Justice

Organisation internationale de la francophonie. Missions d'observations d'�lections

In French. Has full text reports (in Adobe PDF format) on elections in Benin, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Seychelles, Togo. From the Organisation internationale de la francophonie (Paris). http://www.francophonie.org/publications/elections

Politeia, Journal for the Political Sciences

Published by UNISA Press (Univ. of South Africa). Has the table of contents (1995 to date ) and some full-text articles on political affairs in South Africa and other countries (Niger, Uganda, etc.) http://www.unisa.ac.za/dept/press/onjourn.html

Political Resources on the Net - Africa

Links to Africa-related political sites by country (political parties, constitutions, general directories). Maintained by Roberto Cicciomessere, Agora Telematica S.p.A., Rome, Italy. http://www.politicalresources.net/africa.htm

Politique africaine (Paris)

In French. Published for l'Association des chercheurs de Politique Africaine by �ditions Karthala in Paris, France. Has the table of contents and abstracts in French and English, some full text articles online. Full text book reviews. "une revue pluridisciplinaire.

RAND

RAND is a nonprofit public policy research institute in Santa Monica, California. Its site has a subject index to abstracts of its publications on Africa. Robert Klitgaard is Dean of its Graduate School of Policy Studies.
Subject Index: http://www.rand.org/areas/AFRI.Toc.html
Main Page: http://www.rand.org/

Renaissance, A Review of Democracy and Governance in Southern Africa (Harare)

Published by SARDC, Southern African Research and Documentation Centre.. Has some full text articles.
Subscription information: http://www.sardc.net/sd/sd_period.htm
Main site: http://www.sardc.net/sd/renaissance/

SADC Regional Information Centre On Local Government (Southern Africa)

Its Directory of local government information for all SADC countries includes Ministry of Local Government contacts, the top city councils (their mayors, contact addresses), district councils, local government associations. training institutions, donor agencies. Full text documents, in Adobe pdf; topics (Local Government Reform in Mozambique). Based in Harare, Zimbabwe. [KF] http://www.locgovinfo.co.zw/

SARDC, Southern African Research and Documentation Centre

"independent regional information centre involved in the collection, production and dissemination of information about the SADC region, with offices in Harare and Maputo." Its Sustainable Democracy program has a Database (annotated bibliography of, mainly, monographs), political & election facts, the journal, Renaissance, acquisitions list, election information. Publishes SADC Today and Southern African News Features. http://www.sardc.net/

Societe Civile

In French. Site for civil society organizations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Has an extensive directory of NGOs. http://www.societecivile.cd/

Transparency International

Site does not work without java enabled. An NGO to "counter corruption in international business transactions and...at national levels." See their Corruption Perception Indexes. "Transparency International is not saying in this index that one country is more corrupt than another. We are reporting how business people, political analysts, and the general public around the globe perceive levels of corruption in different countries. We must also bear in mind that many of these business people are a part of the problem." Issues of its Newsletter (1995 +) have country updates, corruption reports. Has annual reports online, chapters in Africa. The Bribe Payers Survey measures the relative propensity by companies to pay bribes. It's Corruption Fighters' Toolkit has best practices to combat corruption. Based in Berlin, Germany. [KF] http://www.transparency.org/

See also the Internet Center for Corruption Research: http://wwwuser.gwdg.de/~uwvw/

UCLA Globalization Research Center - Africa (GRCA)

Center for the "study, exchange and presentation of research concerning Africa's role in and changes from globalization." Has an annotated bibliography on Conflict and Governance in Africa,, sponsored a conference on AIDS in Africa (economic, political effects), sponsors the GlobaLink - Africa Curriculum Project. Publishes a journal, Globalizations. Has full text reports such as: "From Cotton to Petroleum: African Economic Viability and Global Priorities" by Dena Montague and reports on Work in Progress. Has links to articles on other web sites. Based in Los Angeles, CA. [KF] http://www.globalization-africa.org/

United Nations Development Programme. Human Development Report

An annual report which ranks countries by level of democratic governance, life expectancy, educational attainment, real income, gender empowerment, etc. http://hdr.undp.org/

United States. Central Intelligence Agency - Chiefs of State & Cabinet Members [World-wide]

Provides for all countries from Angola to Zimbabwe a list of the President, Cabinet members, the Governor of the Central Bank, the country's Ambassador to the U.S., and its U.N. Representative. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/chiefs/

University of Sussex. Institute of Development Studies. (Brighton, U.K.)

Its Civil Society and Governance Programme has country reports for South Africa. and case studies on Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/civsoc/

World Bank. Governance & Anti-Corruption Resource Center

Has full text working papers and articles such as "High-Level Rent Seeking and Corruption in African Regimes: Theory and Cases" (1997, in Adobe pdf), annotated bibliographies with links to some full text articles, a Worldwide Governance Research Indicators Dataset, etc. [KF] http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/governance/

World Economic Forum

The Forum, composed of 1,000 "foremost global companies in the world" and the "foremost entrepreneurial companies in the world" holds an annual summit and regional summits. Competitiveness Profiles, Summaries of Africa-related sessions. The Africa Economic Summit 2003 met in Durban, South Africa, 11-13 June with business and political leaders focused on the private sector's role in implementing the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

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