The Key Trends in Africa
1. The old Scramble for Africa: is it over or does it still continue in different guises with different actors and players?
2. The post-colonial states: are they robust or fragile? How can they overcome the arbitrary carving up and splitting of ethnicities and vernacular communities? Is it by degrading to vernacular and ethnic states or by upgrading to the unity, resistance, independence and liberation imagination as Africans? Which identity should take priority or first place- the African, sub-ethnic or vernacular?
3. There is talk of the new scramble for Africa and in fact research is being undertaken on how and why rising powers such as China and India are re-carving Africa at least by searching to exploit Africa’s rich resources. How credible is this assertion?
4. The old European powers and the US are believed to be continuing in concerted efforts to control Africa’s natural resources.
5. How will Africans navigate from a past that lives on in the present, threatening Africa’s future to forge a 21st African Century? Can Africa claim the 21st century? Are Africans ready to be led by fellow Africans to construct Africa’s capability to deal with a world and respond without sacrificing Africa’s values and interests? Who in Africa should lead Africa, by displaying the ability to command legitimacy from all?
6. There are a number of processes for integration: the Africa Union, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), NEPAD, and the Pan-African Congresses- in different ways they all keep alive the Pan-African imagination.
Some Themes for Writing Papers
· The Clash of Tradition and Modernity in Africa
· Pan-Africanism for the 21st Century
· The political economy of African Integration
· The Scramble for Africa and the Post-Colonial Nation-building Processes
· The Dilemma in Sudan and the Congo Basin
· The Challenges of building accountable institutions
· Governance, Democracy and Development in Africa
· Community centred services vs. state level policies for services
· The ethics of public service and the struggle against corruption
· Energy exporters African states are Energy poor: why?
· Energy importing developed countries are energy rich - Why?
· The Imperative of African Integration
· Indigenous Knowledge Systems
· The New Scramble for Africa: China, India, Russia and Brazil
· Pivotal States: South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, Libya
· North Africa and the rest of Africa
· Lusophone, Francophone, Anglophone Africa vs. Africa-phone Africa?
· The United States of Africa or the Africa Nation
· The Pan-African Congresses and Pan-Africanism
· Towards the 8th Pan-African Congress and Peoples Pan-Africanism
· Japan, Europe and USA and Africa
· Who in Africa can and should lead Africa? Can Africans agree to be led by Africans?
· How can the barriers that prevent African engagement with other Africans be removed?
Concluding Remark
Whether the scramble for Africa lives on or not, still to this day in substantive terms African engagement with other Africans is mostly secondary to their respective engagement with others outside Africa. There is more disengagement with one another than the much needed engagement that should be driving African history forward.
There is a need to acknowledge all the positive data to counter effectively either the continuation of the old or the new scramble for Africa. Africa must claim the 21st century as the African century. The lessons of the past, the challenges of the present, and the opportunities and possibilities of the future must be combined to bring African unity now. This is the real challenge confronting Africa.
All the positive energies from within Africa must be integrated to make Africa achieve agency for navigating the contours of a difficult world. As Africa had the rawest deal in human history all efforts must be made to make sure all of Africa or united Africa gets a fair, just and new deal.
Before the year 2010 is over, there is a need to make the broadest possible education on both the scramble for Africa, the threat of the new Scramble, the opportunities for making Africa’s time this 21st century and gathering and disseminating the value of positive data that can be gleaned from all positive histories in the African world (we must not ignore the negative issues, but learn from them). Such concerted actions and education using technologies and various ways of teach-ins must be spread across the African universe with interest and joy.
Date of Conference
The proposed symposium is meant for participants for all over the world and would take place in Tshwane/Pretoria, South Africa. The symposium would be held in May 25-27, 2011.
Timelines:
Submission of abstracts: 30 November2010
Notification of accepted abstracts: 14 December2010
Submission of peer- reviewed papers: 30 March 2011
Expected Outcomes:
a) An empirically sound conference paper for presentation
b) Consideration for special journal edition for selected papers
More information here.
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