African Studies
Brief Paper 1/2024: Reposicionamento do activismo político e social em Moçambique: Uma análise conjecturando a eclosão de conflitos sociopolíticos
Abstract:
This Brief Paper discusses the repositioning of political and social activism in Mozambique within a context heavily characterised by the active participation of citizens in the 2023 elections, a stark contrast to previous elections, which were largely marked by weak political and social activism. In this context, the Brief Paper argues that this repositioning is linked to the fact that the Mozambican population has acquired a new political and social awareness, marked by a quest for truth and authenticity in their leaders. This repositioning also reflects the population’s readiness to confront state power and entails two domains of analysis with harmful consequences for the Mozambican government: the domestic domain and the external domain. This occurs because the population increasingly shows a diminished fear of repression carried out by the police and military. Moreover, this repositioning has highlighted the existence of a latent and ongoing conflict between the current Mozambican government and the 1990–2000 generation. Methodologically, two tools supported this analysis: bibliographical techniques and documentary analysis. Theoretically, the Brief Paper is grounded in Maslow’s Basic Needs Theory, combined with the Frustration-Aggression Theory from conflict studies. Finally, the conjectures presented in this Brief Paper suggest that the current Frelimo government has lost legitimacy in the eyes of the people, particularly among the 1990–2000 generation. However, there are also conjectures based on the assumption that Frelimo retains legitimacy through two analytical perspectives: a traditional perspective and an institutional perspective. These two perspectives complement each other and justify Frelimo’s continued hold on power.
Cite this Brief Paper:
Chisseve, Delton (2024). “Reposicionamento do activismo político e social em Moçambique : uma análise conjecturando a eclosão de conflitos sociopolíticos”. CEsA/CGS – Brief Papers nº 1/2024
Águas Pós-coloniais em Romances Angolanos e Moçambicanos
Abstract:
This article aims at mapping the narrative role of water in Angolan and Mozambican literature, through the comparative reading of four novels: O desejo de Kianda (1995) by the Angolan Pepetela; O livro dos Rios (2006) by Luandino Vieira; Água: uma novela rural (2016) and Ponta Gea (2017), both by Mozambican João Paulo Borges Coelho. The introduction places the proposed cartography within the framework of ecocritical studies, whose various paradigms offer useful tools and concepts for reading the selected literary works. The thematic and comparative methodological approach highlights experiences and imaginaries common to two post-colonial contexts, despite the difference in scenarios, themes, aesthetic choices and narrative strategies. The results of the analysis demonstrate that water is a crucial element in narrating post-colonial Angolan and Mozambican societies.
Cite this article:
Falconi, Jessica (2024). “Águas pós-coloniais em romances angolanos e moçambicanos”. Caligrama: Revista de Estudos Românicos, 29(1):75-86
Book of Papers Presented at the In Progress 3 Seminar
Abstract:
This third edition of In Progress, Seminar on Social Sciences and Development in Africa brings together works by researchers and postgraduate students whose study and research theme is contemporary Africa and its development, supported by scientific currents that stimulate new approaches beyond the “development”, exploring the notions of “well-being” or “good living” and remaining close to currents of thought and debates between Africa, Asia and Latin America. The texts include themes such as: fieldwork: practical, theoretical and methodological issues; politics, civil society dynamics, development; culture, thought and change; strategies for cooperation and development; and populations, mobility and well-being. The second part of this work contains the reflections of the speakers invited to the In Progress 3 seminar, which include both a critical perspective on the dominant discourses and methodologies in the field of development policies linked to mobilities, economy and identities, as well as the contribution of financial growth for economic growth and several of the issues to be taken into account in discussions on economic sustainability, taking the example of SADC member countries. The final conference refers to the times and questions that are important to retain and what is important to reflect on in the context of social and human sciences, in particular, when the debate is about the (neo)colonial perspective and contemporary global challenges for African Studies.
Cite this e-book:
Évora, Iolanda e Sónia Frias (coord). 2024. Livro das Comunicações Apresentadas no In Progress 3 com Revisão por Pares : 15 a 16 de Novembro de 2018 no ISEG/ULisboa. Lisboa: ISEG – CEsA
Working Paper 199/2024: Literatura e Ecologia: Representações da água em romances angolanos e moçambicanos
Abstract:
This article offers a brief cartography of the narrative role of water in Angolan and Mozambican literature, through a comparative reading of four novels: O desejo de Kianda (1995) by the Angolan Pepetela; De Rios Velhos e Guerrilheiros. I. O Livro dos Rios (2006) by Luandino Vieira; Água. Uma novela rural (2016) and Ponta Gea (2017) both by the Mozambican João Paulo Borges Coelho.
The introduction places the proposed cartography within the framework of ecocritical studies, whose various paradigms offer useful tools and concepts for reading the selected literary works. The thematic and comparative methodological approach highlights experiences and imaginaries common to two post-colonial contexts, despite the difference in scenarios, themes, aesthetic choices and narrative strategies. The analysis aims to demonstrate that water is a crucial element in narrating post-colonial Angolan and Mozambican societies.
Cite this Working Paper:
Falconi, Jessica (2024). “Literatura e Ecologia: Representações da água em romances angolanos e moçambicanos”. CEsA/CGS – Documentos de trabalho nº 199/2024
Working Paper 198/2024: The Relevance of the Concept of Cumulative Causation: Understanding growth trajectories in Sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract:
Differences in growth trajectories among countries – including the possibility of divergence -, are a central issue in economics. Mainstream economics explain growth processes via varieties of neoclassical models, even improved with concepts such as institutions. Yet such models have difficulties in providing accurate accounts of the growth trajectories of many developing countries, notably low-income ones. It is argued that the growth paths of low-income countries are more appropriately explained by the theoretical framework that relies on the nexus of concepts of cumulative causation, non-linearities, threshold effects, self-reinforcing processes, irreversibility, path dependence and traps – though this approach remains marginal in mainstream economic analyses of growth and development. Firstly, this nexus of concepts is a powerful framework concerning the possibility and explanation of dynamic divergence regarding growth between countries, as it exhibits properties such as: the possibility of cumulative, dynamically self-reinforcing, processes; the existence of thresholds and tipping points; multiple equilibria. Secondly, cumulative causation, by definition, involves a combination of causes: its conceptual framework allows for the integration of several dimensions – economic, political, social, cognitive -, whose combination results in either virtuous or vicious circles. In developing countries, these causes (and their coalescence) typically consist in economic structures (e.g., commodity-based export markets), political institutions and social norms (predatory regimes, high inequality) as well as types of public policies.
Cite this Working Paper:
Sindzingre, Alice Nicole (2024). “The Relevance of the Concept of Cumulative Causation: Understanding growth trajectories in Sub-Saharan Africa”. CEsA/CGS – Documentos de trabalho nº 198/2024
Working Paper 197/2024: La Production Agricole des Femmes en Guiné-Bissau comme Moyen d´Afirmation de son Identité
Abstract:
This working paper is an intermediate product of the study done for Swiss Cooperation in Guinea-Bissau, written in French without any point in Portuguese. What we demonstrate, as well as the principles of restitution and appropriation by the persons or institutions that access to respond to surveys or interviews, are words that do not translate into concrete actions for this Cooperation. The data were obtained by surveys and interviews in the regions of Bissau, Biombo, Bafatá, and Oio, with the producers (which also include a limited number of male producers) of leguminous agricultural products, in a sample of 160 people chosen at random. At the option of the promoter, the study focused on the marketing of products and not on production. To better understand the results, it must be said that this business model is not very profitable, but it is an activity that gives a greater independence of women in relation to men in the family space, since decisions about the use of profits belong to the producers. It also has a potential environment of action for the affirmation of the social (and not just family) identity of women that should not be despised although, as far as we can see, this is expressed for now only in the organization of associations of producers.
Cite this Working Paper:
Sangreman, C. e Melo, M. (2024). “La Production Agricole Des Femmes En Guiné-Bissau Comme Moyen D´Afirmation De Son Identité”. Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão – CEsA/CGS – Documentos de trabalho nº 197/2024
Understanding Social Realities of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria (FCT), Abuja
Abstract:
This article examines the social realities of forcibly displaced persons in Nigeria, with a focus on internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Nigeria, Abuja. Internally displaced persons are individuals who have been forced from their homes or habitual places of residence and, unlike refugees, have not crossed the borders of their country. They remain under the primary protection of their governments and often seek refuge in their own countries. This study draws on secondary data sources and primary data collected from two IDPs campsites, arguing that most IDPs in the FCT, displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency live in makeshift and inhumane informal settlements in the peri-urban areas of Abuja City. These settlements also host the urban poor and other economic migrants in the country’s capital, occasionally leading to conflicts between them. The paper calls for the government to recognise the presence and condition of IDPs in the FCT and to work with relevant organisations to provide durable solutions to ensure that displaced persons can once again become productive members of society.
Cite this article:
BA-ANA-ITENEBE, C. A.; EDO, Z. O. (2023). Understanding Social Realities of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria (FCT), Abuja. In: Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 22, 213-231. https://doi.org/10.46763/BSSR232222213bai
Armed Conflict and Urbanization in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique: A methodology for a critical inquiry
Abstract:
Mainstream urban theory fails to encompass urbanization in Africa. Among its many drivers, armed conflicts displace rural populations to cities, accelerating urban processes and impacting sustainability and governance — the phenomenon of conflict-induced urbanization. In the province of Cabo Delgado, a violent insurgency has been displacing thousands of civilians since 2017; many of whom have fled to the provincial capital Pemba, doubling its population in just 5 years. This article presents the theoretical framework and methodological design for an inquiry located within a contemporary critique of mainstream urban studies; the goal is to analyse conflict-induced urbanization in Pemba with a comparative case study, using participatory visual methods, for which a pilot study took place in September 2022. With this, the author aims to contribute to engaged urban studies in Mozambique and Portugal and to transform the trauma of war into opportunities for sustainable development and prosperity.
Cite this article:
Agostinho do Amaral, S. Armed Conflict and Urbanization in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique: A Methodology for a Critical Inquiry. Urban Forum (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-023-09505-y
Os Ismailis Lusófonos, os Aga Khan e Portugal: mais de um século de história (Sec xix-xxi)
Abstract:
The commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the rise to the Imamate of Aga Khan IV, His Highness Prince Karim al Husseini, is a moment of particular significance for Ismailis worldwide, especially for those living in Portugal and Spain. While it is important to underline the recent and highly significant developments with regards to the relations between the current Imam and the Portuguese state, much can be gained from providing an historical perspective on this matter. This paper aims to contribute to such endeavour, by analysing both the stablishment of ties between Aga Khans III and IV and the Portuguese Empire on both sides of the Indian Ocean, as well as by examining the history of the Ismaili community then installed in Mozambique.
Quotation:
Nicole Khouri y Joana Pereira Leite, «Os Ismailis Lusófonos, os Aga Khan e Portugal: mais de um século de história (Sec xix-xxi)», Mélanges de la Casa de Velázquez [En línea], 53-2 | 2023, Publicado el 24 noviembre 2023, consultado el 07 diciembre 2023. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/mcv/20283; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/mcv.20283
História de São Tomé e Príncipe de Meados do Século XIX ao Fim do Regime Colonial (1852-1974): As plantações, economia, cultura e religião
Abstract:
This book explains the reasons that led the Portuguese to recolonize the São Tomé and Príncipe islands from 1852 onwards and the strategies they adopted to institutionalize the new colonial order in the archipelago. They removed the natives from ownership of land and institutions and introduced the plantation economy model around which all economic and social life began to revolve, with the territory being divided between the populations of large plantations and the native populations. Work and land were exploited to the point of exhaustion, with mistreatment, racial discrimination, and a progressive decline in soil productivity. The production crisis emerged and exposed the limits of the plantation economy model. There were several attempts to forcefully hire native labor, which generated many conflicts and led to the “Batepá” massacre of 1953. This event raised the awareness of nationalists for the independence of the archipelago, which occurred on July 12, 1975. The book also addresses culture and religion as central elements that shape São Tomé and Príncipe society and identity.
Quotation:
Espírito Santo, A. (2023). História de São Tomé e Príncipe – De Meados do Século XIX ao Fim do Regime Colonial (1852-1974): As plantações, economia, cultura e religião. Lisboa: Nimba Edições.
