The Fragility Dilemma and Divergent Security Complexes in the Sahel
Despite an exponential increase in international resources devoted to the Sahel, the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate. This is largely due to the so-called “fragility dilemma”, faced by fragile states that are in critical need of external assistance, but have limited absorption capacity and are governed by sitting regimes that dictate the terms and upon which external actors must rely. This dilemma has contributed to an increasing divergence between a state-centric regional and a people-centric transnational security complex. In particular, a heavy-handed approach to violent extremism and external policies aimed at curbing “irregular” migration have had a number of unintended consequences, disrupting livelihoods and further exacerbating instability in the Sahelian states.
Improving tax compliance and revenue collection: Evidence from Uganda
Welcome to the third seminar of our Tax for Development Webinar Series where Maria Jouste will present the study "Do tax administrative interventions targeted at small businesses improve tax compliance and revenue collection? Evidence from Ugandan tax data."
The Dangers of Disconnection: Oscillations in Political Violence on Lake Chad
Narrations on fragility and resilience in the Sahel paint a picture about the region’s inherent ungovernability that lead to consider an endless state- and peace-building process as the most feasible governance solution. Everyday practices of violent entrepreneurship, coalescing with inter-community and land-tenure conflicts, now inform social relations and are transforming moral economies around Lake Chad. While competition over territory suitable for farming, grazing and fishing has intensified, dispute-settlement practices organised by community-level authorities have proven ineffective and lacking the necessary means to respond to the encroachment of a wide range of interests claimed by increasingly powerful actors. Meanwhile, communities organised in self-defence militias are undergoing a process of progressive militarisation that tends to normalise violence and legitimise extra-judicial vigilante justice, further empowering capital-endowed arms suppliers gravitating in the jihadi galaxy, such as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Tax for Development Webinar Series Presenting the TaxCapDev-Network
Taxation is the key to state-building and the pathway out of fragility. An important theme forming the basis for the TaxCapDev-network.
Did British colonial rule in Africa foster a legacy of corruption among local elites?
The empowerment of chiefs during colonial rule fostered a legacy of corruption more potent than the formal legal system left behind by the colonisers.
Fixers and friends: local and international researchers
While we live in a highly unequal world where your position and place will determine what you have access to. However, based on years of fieldwork in the Sahel, this chapter turns this question around, exploring if it is possible to make inequaity work for mutual benefit. The answer is a modestly yes, and the chapter suggest if not a code of conduct, at least some personal principles of fieldwork that have come to guide my way of doing fieldwork, of making inequality work for mutual benefit.
Tax for Development Webinar Series
A new webinar series featuring ongoing research and initiatives to strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation in developing countries, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa.
Disaster Management in a Crisis State: Dealing With the Corona Crisis in Zimbabwe
This policy brief discusses how Zimbabwe has dealt with the corona pandemic. It first describes the development of the pandemic and the government’s response to it. Next, I discuss how the response to the crisis is shaped by the nature of the state and the political regime, with a focus on the state's capacity and legitimacy. Finally, I speculate about the likely political implications of the pandemic. I
Pathways towards a revitalised Africa-Europe strategic partnership
The African Union and European Union were scheduled to adopt a new strategic partnership agreement at an AU-EU summit in October 2020, but it had to be postponed due to COVID-19 risks and related delays. This may be a blessing in disguise, as it gives the negotiators more time to adapt the relationship to COVID-19 and to craft an agreement that expands the focus, scope and scale of African-European relations for the next two decades.
Shaping a New Africa-Europe Relationship for a post-Covid-19 global order
This collaborative project between NUPI, ACCORD and ECFR aims to stimulate and enrich the dialogue in Africa and Europe on the underlying geopolitical, Covid-19, peace and security and other key devel...