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Abstract: This study explores the evolving dynamics of multilateralism in the context of Africa’s geopolitics and growing involvement in global governance. Historically, multilateral institutions have been dominated by Western powers, but the shifting global balance of power has given rise to new actors, including African nations. Studies have argued that Africa’s position and growing influence is gradually changing long-held narratives about Africa’s role in global decision-making, international relations and the governance structures of multilateral institutions, but the extent is largely unknown. They provide the basis for interrogating Africa’s growing influence in multilateral organisations and the implications of this influence on the continent and across the entire globe. Through an analysis of key case studies and recent developments in international diplomacy, this study examines the constraints and opportunities faced by Africa in its efforts to influence global policies. The findings suggest pathways for strengthening Africa’s geopolitical agency and advancing a more inclusive and equitable global order.
Abstract: The analysis of potential and actual security threats and challenges leads us to the conclusion that Africa is one of the most endangered continents. Constant confrontations, wars, internal political crises, local and international terrorism, organized crime, illegal trade, and other threats on the one hand and, on the other hand, an inadequate response from both individual states and the international community. Is Africa, a continent rich in ores and minerals as well as other possibilities, a training ground for the dominance of superpowers? Are internal instabilities mainly caused by external influences to ensure puppet governments that do not care about the interests of the state and society they represent, but about theinterests of the former and current colonial powers? Analysis of threats and risks from one side is only half the job. The second half is the presence of elements of the National Security System of each country, which must work on prevention, and elimination of the consequences of the actions of the bearers of security threats, as well as on the suppression of the bearers themselves. For the successful functioning of the National Security System, it is necessary to develop a “System” of education in the field of Security Studies based on Security Science.
Abstract: As Africa approaches the 2.5-billion population mark by 2050, its demand for energy and resources becomes both a challenge and an opportunity for climate change mitigation. Can the additional billion energy users help to achieve global sustainability as the lead users of timely investments in renewable energy? This study proposes investments – specifically, investments in renewable energy development in African countries – as a leverage point in the global effort to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The analysis asks how the capacity for renewable energy production can meet the rising demand for energy in the context of growth faced by African countries., and combines projections for population growth, urbanization, and economic growth. The study emphasizes how bridging Africa's renewable energy finance gap can shift the set of expected long-run scenarios for the global climate crisis. [Display omitted] •Addressing climate change calls for global coordination on policy.•Demand growth for energy is likely to be highest in Africa through 2050.•A rapid African renewable energy transition is a win for the planet.•Investments and incentives for investments should target Africa.
Abstract: This paper critically examines the principal instruments employed by the European Union to promote good governance in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) through development cooperation. The main research question is: To what extent do the EU’s development cooperation instruments contribute to good governance promotion in Sub-Saharan Africa? To address this question, the paper begins with a brief overview of EU-SSA relations from a historical perspective. It then reviews the various financial and political development cooperation instruments utilized by the EU to promote good governance in SSA. Next, by analyzing relevant data on EU governance aid towards SSA, the paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the characteristics of EU governance aid policies in the region in order to unpack their merits and limits. Finally, the paper critically analyzes the underlining factors behind the mixed outcomes of the EU’s good governance promotion instruments using policy documents, academic articles and various data sources.
Abstract: The Samoa Agreement between the European Union (EU) and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) includes strict language on concluding controversial Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between their members. Skeptical OACPS members have instead called for greater intra-African economic integration embodied in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). However, there are concerns that the EU aims to use the AfCFTA as a stepping-stone for a vast bicontinental free trade zone. Building upon elite interviews with African diplomatic officials, this article questions whether the pan-Africanism at the heart of the AfCFTA is compatible with the more integrative Eurafrican agenda embodied in the Samoa Agreement.
Abstract: Infrastructure investments are the material way of turning sustainable development goals into practice. Climate action requires renewable energy plants, power grids and electric‐vehicle charging infrastructure, in the same way that health requires hospitals, education requires schools or connectivity requires ports. In this context, the Global Gateway can help meet the European Union (EU)'s international pledges, such as on climate finance, by supporting partner countries in the implementation of their sustainable development agendas. It can enable EU industry to enter new growing markets, a win for EU industrial policy. On top of this, it can help economic development in the EU's partner countries, providing an invaluable foreign policy dividend for the EU. In geopolitical terms, the Global Gateway can help the EU better position itself in the global infrastructure and connectivity race. Rule‐based cooperation focussed on a clear set of priorities represents an attractive alternative to the Belt and Road Initiative in several partner countries, starting in Africa. By scaling up cooperation on economic and social infrastructure projects, the EU thus has an opportunity to promote its values and vision of sustainability in a way that is tangible and long‐lasting.
Abstract: Cobalt is a key mineral for the European Unions (EU) growing electrical vehicle market. It is widely held by international NGOs and researchers that the extraction of this mineral is associated with human rights violations. This study investigates the expected consequences of an EU Due Diligence Act on the health of artisanal and small-scale cobalt miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) based on the perspectives of stakeholders. Semi-structured open-ended qualitative interviews (n = 7) with researchers, non-governmental workers, representatives of a trade organisation and policymakers were conducted between February 2021 and April 2021. The Capability Approach focusing on agency and participation of the DRC's mining population was operationalised in the coding scheme. The software NVivo was used for coding and analysing the data. An EU Due Diligence Act was welcomed by the interviewed stakeholders. They expect the act to positively impact supranational human rights and environment protection standards in non-European regions. The impact on the health of miners will occur indirectly through monitoring and formalisation efforts and is expected to be positive when accounting for complex contextual factors. Artisanal and small-scale cobalt miners should be included in international discussions about due diligence and their needs considered in the final version of the law to ensure it positively impacts health outcomes. Mandatory proactive engagement of businesses in the artisanal and small-scale cobalt mining sector with a focus on long-term approaches, partnerships, and collaborative efforts is recommended. (…)
Abstract: The Erasmus Programme is the EU programme that allows students to travel to countries in the European Union. Erasmus+ is the new programme combining all the EU’s current schemes for education, training, youth and sport, which was started in January 2014 and will be held for the period 2021-2027. It stands for European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students+ [...].
Abstract: The twenty-first century has brought in its wake a flurry of competing foreign investment players on the African investment sphere. This situation may be called the globalization of foreign investment (Bodomo 2017 ). Foreign investment features as a salient issue for intellectual discussions of topics such as agency, soft power, and symmetry. In this paper, we outline the important role that China and the European Union (EU), the biggest investment polities in Africa, have played in the globalization of investment in Africa and argue that China has, indeed, created a paradigm shift with respect to its investment engagement with the African continent. This paradigm shift may be calibrated in terms of the volume of engagement; in terms of the speed and efficiency with which investment projects are completed, and, in terms of the very discourse of trade and investment. The argument is advanced further by discussing some of the main features of Chinese investment that distinguish it from that of other global players on the African continent, such as Europe. We further extend arguments from our previous work (Bodomo 2017 ; Bodomo and Che 2020 ) to say that if Africa does not sharpen its agency, the end result may be that China and the EU may gain at the expense of Africa but that should Africa play a more proactive and controlling role such as enforcing its investment laws, the mid-twenty-first century may yet see a trilateral win–win-win outcome for Africa, China, and the EU.
Abstract: Motivation In European policy debate, conflict, economic crisis, lack of development, population growth, and climate change are often seen as the root causes of migration from Africa. To deter irregular migration to Europe, aid has thus been directed towards these perceived causes. This seems, however, not to deter irregular migration. Purpose We explore the discrepancy between the official discourse of root causes and insights from research on migration decisions; and how discourse and evidence relate to aid. We ask what kind of policy change is needed if aid is possibly used to influence irregular migration. We focus on the motivations and drivers of migration and how development co‐operation may influence these. Methods and approach Considering African migration to Europe, we examine the official European discourse on root causes of irregular migration, highlight recent developments in the academic understanding of migration aspirations and drivers, and investigate various attempts to analyse the impact of foreign aid on assumed “root causes” and migration. Findings Migration is influenced by drivers that differ according to the specific context in which potential migrants decide to migrate or not. Aid to influence migration must be thoroughly adapted to the circumstances of potential migrants. Addressing so‐called root causes may be irrelevant to many potential migrants and will require long‐term change to have any impact. It may even increase migration in the short term. Foreign aid that adopts a blueprint regardless of context is unlikely to deter irregular migration in the short or medium term. Policy implications If irregular African migration to Europe is to be deterred through development co‐operation, European policy‐makers and development practitioners need to elaborate and differentiate between aid‐supported activities through careful understanding of the migration dynamics specific to individual localities and societies.
Abstract: •Infrastructure development increases private investment in African infrastructure.•Infrastructure development increases the use of BOO ownership and commercial debt.•Infrastructure development decreases use of equity financing in the capital structure.•Projects in higher income countries use a smaller proportion of equity financing.•These relations show a substitution effect of equity for debt in riskier environments. We explore current development and constraints on infrastructure financing in Africa. We examine how infrastructure development in African countries affects ownership and capital structure choices of private and public–private partnership infrastructure projects. Using data from 33 African countries over 17 years, our findings suggest that infrastructure projects in African countries with better infrastructure development tend to have more private investment, more long-term investment, and they tend to use more debt financing, including more commercial debt, and less equity in their capital structure. For the least developed African countries, where debt financing is scarce, equity investment is vital for infrastructure financing.
Abstract: Motivation Countries of Africa have, through the Maputo and Malabo declarations and the companion Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) committed to increased public investment in agriculture. If implemented, this should contribute substantially to realizing several development goals, including reduction of poverty and hunger and making rural populations more resilient to climate change. Purpose How much would implementation of National Agriculture Investment Plans (NAIPs) formulated within CAADP help achieve the aims of the Sustainable Development Goals, Agenda 2063, and the Malabo Declaration—namely, to boost agricultural growth, eradicate hunger, and reduce poverty and inequality? Methods and approach We use data from Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, and Rwanda compiled in a Social Accounting Matrix. We run Computable General Equilibrium models with microeconomic models for each country to simulate the potential effect of implementation of the NAIPs. Three different methods to finance increased spending on agriculture are simulated: one that reallocates public expenditure with no overall increase in spending; a second that finances extra spending by more taxes; and one that relies on external funding to increase total spending. Findings Results show that agriculture‐led investment would significantly increase agricultural growth, raise farm productivity, reduce dependency on food imports, improve incomes of food producers, and cut poverty. In most countries, increased investment in agriculture does more to boost growth, create jobs, and cut poverty than investments in industry or services. Raising overall public spending to allow more agricultural investment is far more effective than shifting spending within a fixed budget. Policy implications For the six countries modelled, an agriculture‐led investment strategy appears the best way to eradicate hunger and reduce poverty and inequality while building resilience of rural households.
Services' trade in Africa: Structure and growth; Ariu, Andrea ; Ogliari, Laura; World economy, 2023-11, Vol.46 (11), p.3345-3366
Abstract: This paper shows that trade in services is still at its infancy in Africa. Its growth started later than for other developed and developing economies and, so far, it involves mostly low‐skilled services. Disentangling the different sources of trade growth, we find that demand and supply determinants have been relatively stable during the period 2002–2016, while service diversification and trade policy are the main propellants. In particular, trade in goods liberalisation increased services trade as well due to the complementarities between the two. In terms of geographical and industrial involvement, services produced in Africa are able to reach farther destinations than goods, but they are concentrated on industries close to final demand, thus missing high‐skilled services that are more upstream, but represent higher value‐added inputs. Therefore, there is still plenty of scope to consider trade in services as a potential source of growth and development for African countries.
Abstract: This paper examines the trade–peace nexus in Africa and ascertains how poverty and inequality tilt the relationship in the eight regional (economic) blocs in Africa, viz. the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN–SAD), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), from 1998 to 2020 using the Driscoll–Kraay estimate. The study contributes to the literature by disaggregating the peace effect of trade in Africa by the regional (economic) blocs to allow for in‐depth and context‐specific analysis. The paper also expands the scope of existing studies by examining the direct effect of poverty and inequality on peace in addition to the indirect effect that is revealed through their interactions with trade integrations. The findings reveal that trade promotes peace in Africa, while wide income inequality and a large poverty gap increase the likelihood of conflict. The interaction of poverty and inequality with trade integration shows that while the poverty level does not improve the effect of trade on peace, inequality reduces the impact of trade on peace. The study concludes that poverty and inequality play significant roles in the trade–peace nexus in Africa. Policy recommendations are discussed.
Abstract: The objective of this article is to delve into the development of the region's financial fragility and economic instability process in an environment where, in the absence of the United States, other agents such as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the growing presence of China, have emerged. An inflationary environment, high indebtedness, and rising interest rates in the short term are placing countries of the region to the limit due to the lack of a full employment policy given the burden of servicing external debt and the need to import food, fertilizers, and fuel. This situation prioritizes institutional investors who play a determining role in the economic development of the African region.
Abstract: There has been a significant rise in the share of women legislators in Africa. What makes this fact puzzling is that it cannot be attributed to an African electorate that values gender equality and having women in political leadership positions. In stark contrast to this, gender equality and women's empowerment have successively moved up in the priority list of the international donor community over the last two decades. This raises the question of whether there is a relationship between women legislators in Africa and foreign-aid allocations. This study finds a strong and statistically robust relationship: an increase in the share of women legislators from 15 to 20 percent is associated with an increase of about 4 percent in aid conditional on current levels of aid. Additionally, the study finds that democratic countries receive more aid but does not find an interaction effect between democracy and the share of women legislators, which suggests that donors do not tailor their gender-selective aid towards more democratic countries. The results provide evidence in support of aid selectivity for policies that improve gender equality in aid-recipient countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Abstract: Theories of internal armed conflict onset often conceptualize an eruption emerging from pre-existing, non-violent opposition movements or organizations. This paper argues that this is not the most common pathway to armed conflict in Africa. It introduces new data on rebel group formation in 47 African states (1997–2015) that offers a more complete picture than existing conflict datasets; about two-thirds of the groups in the new dataset are not named in standard conflict datasets. The strong majority of these rebel groups formed in rural areas; did not emerge from nearby protest movements or civil society organizations; and initially did not benefit from substantial material resources nor commit large-scale violence. Analyses suggest that rebel groups forming in rural parts of African states draw less often on pre-war, public, non-violent contestation than those of urban areas. The paper highlights the need for more theory on the varied pathways to internal armed conflict, and the importance of – and challenges of collecting – systematic evidence on armed group formation.
Abstract: This paper focuses on employment and the labour market as a key mechanism leading from growth to poverty reduction in Africa. Given that the development goals are economy-wide outcomes—less poverty, shared prosperity, more and better job opportunities, etc.—the required analysis must be at the market level. Individual-level analysis is not enough. The paper brings together insights from labour economics and from development economics. It draws upon Fields’ work over decades at the intersection of these two fields. A concluding section presents suggestions for policy analysis.
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