Africa blogging review February 5, 2009

Making Sense of Darfur believes that it is time to rethink how peacekeeping missions operate in fragile states:

“Conventional peacekeeping operations are designed as stop-gap measures, either for a brief period of time or with a limited brief in a frozen conflict. This can be functional if the peacekeepers are dealing with institutionalized belligerents, with functioning hierarchies. In so-called ‘fragile states’, there is a risk that peacekeeping missions will turn into open-ended commitments.

Fragile states are typically defined by what they are not–they are not Weberian states in which autonomous state institutions administer the rule of law and regulate political conflicts, and not states in which governments deliver services on an efficient and impartial basis. International policies for dealing with such states, from Afghanistan to Congo, assume that these states can build ‘normal’ institutions in a brief historical span… This is, I fear, a formula for peacekeeping missions without end.”

Halftribe wonders whether true democracy is possible in societies with authoritarian cultures:

“There have been, and still are, very many interesting cultures in the world. I read about one recently...This society seems very interested in adopting a particular set of principles, but the cultures within the society seem to go against the underlying tenets of the very same principles. This appeared to be a model example of running around in circles...

In this society, it is commonplace for parents to instill fear in their children...The elementary schools teach the weightiness of obedience to the law, obedience to parents, obedience to elders, and obedience to God... Religious leaders… are considered infallible... this culture also places high significance on titles... But paradoxically, this society LOVES democracy...

What puzzles me is, is democracy a way of thinking, a mindset, a way of life, a culture? Or is democracy built on the principles of social equality and respect for the individual? Can a society have a totalitarian family structure, an authoritarian governance in classrooms, a societal scale that measures a person's significance based on age, titles, wealth and the like, and simultaneously have a democratic government?

Eyeing Africa comments on reports that Pfizer illegally tested experimental drugs in Nigeria in the 1990s:

“In 1996 during a bacterial meningitis outbreak in Nigeria, the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer illegally used a test drug on the local population.”Those reportedly treated by the company ended up with adverse effects like deafness, muteness, paralysis, brain damage, loss of sight, slurred speech and death." I find it interesting that pharmaceutical companies choose to test in Africa...why is that? Perhaps the developed world is too good for testing and thus opt to use Africans as their Guinea pigs. Today Pfizer settled out of court with the government of Nigeria in an attempt to further hide the truth of their inhumane testing practices.”

Where ever I lay my hat comments on the Rise and fall of Hiplife in Ghana:

“Hiplife is said to be a marriage of Ghanaian highlife and the hip-hop that has been so popular amongst the youth of Ghana since the sound first emerged from New York in the late Seventies and early Eighties. However, while it owes some influences to hip-hop, hiplife really is a different sound altogether.

Hiplife struggled for popularity at first. Parents did not like the way that it aped the vulgarity and brashness of its American cousin and the teenagers thought it was hip-hop’s poorer and – God forbid – local substitute. Eventually songs by Rockstone, the Native Funk Lords and VIP came to vie with rap and R&B for radio airtime and dance floors. Producers emerged who weaved the rap style with highlife making it even more accessible to the Ghanaian masses. Youngsters began emerging on the scene with no understanding of the fact that rap involves clever wordplay and is so rhythmic that you do not need to understand what a person is saying to appreciate the awesomeness of the rhyme…. When singers like Ofori Amponsah and KK Fosu began singing over its beats, even parents started picking up on hiplife’s catchy melodies… which is probably when it all started going horribly, horribly wrong…”

Alex Henderson considers the Zimbabwe’s unity government as the lesser of two evils:

“Whether we like it or not, we’ve got to live with this unity government. It’s not perfect - far from it - but in a few days Morgan Tsvangirai will be the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe and that in itself is something I did not expect this time twelve months ago. I was quick to condemn the unity government, and will remain skeptical until convinced otherwise, but after seeing what several MDC members have had to say afterwards I can begin to understand why they had no other choice….. For so long Zimbabwe has been let down by its neighbours and the international community, perhaps it is foolish to think that changes in government in South Africa and the US would have brought eventual change to Zimbabwe. In these tough times, countries have to look after themselves and that is what Zimbabwe has decided to do….

… perhaps we should be thankful that we have not witnessed the bloodbath that occurred in Kenya’s 2007 post-election violence. The deaths by cholera are completely unacceptable and akin to crimes against humanity on the part of the Zimbabwean government, but a violent tribal rift could have been far more deadly. Just like Raila Odinga has risen to the challenge of being a prime minister in a less than perfect unity government, lets hope Prime Minister Tsvangirai will prove up for the task.”
Scribbles from the Den

Scribbles from the Den writes about the “change and changelessness” of American foreign policy and warns that the expectations that Africans have of the Obama administration are unlikely to be fulfilled:

“It is very difficult, and in some cases virtually impossible, to change American foreign policy significantly, especially in those regions where American interests are marginal. Having an American President with a direct connection to and an apparent heightened interest in Africa will not automatically lead to African strongmen tumbling down like dominoes.

The fact that so many Africans, from all walks of life, are counting heavily on President Obama to "bring" democracy to Africa is a clear signal that we have failed to grasp the real significance of Obama’s political story, and are therefore unable to appropriate and adapt the Obama playbook to African realities. The message from Obama's improbable presidential run and his equally improbable victory is a fairly simple but not very obvious one for Africa; change activists on the continent must start working towards creating inclusive and vibrant grassroots political coalitions that will be able, in the long run, to successfully take on the political establishment.”

* Dibussi Tande, a writer and activist from Cameroon, produces the blog Scribbles from the Den

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org/