2004-01-01 Below you will find short summaries of researchers and their research available at the institute on February 14, 2005. You are welcome to ask for a meeting aside from the seminar: Research Programmes Gender and Age in African Cities This  programme  aims  to  complement  studies  on  African  urban  issues  in  the  21st  century.  It  seeks  to  provide  a specific,  urban-based,  up-to-date  and  fine-tuned  study  of  a  number  of  determinants  and  outcomes  of  processes and events that are normally the subjects of academic and professional enquiry. As key determinants of life in the cities  and  towns  of  Africa,  age  and  gender  are  important  areas  of  investigation  that  could  yield  some  valuable insights into the macro and micro-social, political and economic processes in urban Africa. - The demographic dynamics of African urban centres. - Transformation in household dynamics. - Ageing and its implications. - The bright and dark side of African urban life: a gender-age perspective. - Youths in Africa cities. Amin Kamete has been Senior Lecturer at the Department of Rural and Urban Planning, University of Zimbabwe in Harare. A qualified urban planner, he has been engaged in teaching and researching on urban issues since the 1990s. He has published extensively on urban development in Zimbabwe and sub-Saharan Africa. His main focus is on poverty, homelessness, the urban economy, sustainability, governance and housing. He has also produced a number  of  commissioned  reports  and  technical  papers  for  the  public  sector,  the  private  sector,  civil  society  as well as bilateral and multilateral agencies. Sexuality, Gender and Society in Africa A  major  aim  of  the  Sexuality,  Gender  and  Society  in  Africa  research  programme  is  to  promote  and  enhance conceptual and methodological discussions on issues related to studies of sexuality and gender in Africa, and to encourage  research.  The  programme  aims  to  develop  spaces  for  critical  discussions  of  sexuality  and  gender  in contexts  of  gender/feminist  theory,  connected  to  empirical  studies  and/or  political  practice.  Collaboration  with groups and individuals on the African continent struggling for similar goals is considered of great importance. Signe  Arnfred  holds  a  degree  in  Cultural  Sociology  from  the  University  of  Copenhagen.  Her  professional background  is  gender  studies  and  feminist  theory,  approached  from  a  sociological/socio-anthropological  angle, with  a  seasoning  of  development  studies.  She  has  published  in  the  fields  of  gender  studies,  social  science methodology and feminist theory, and on gender relations in southern Africa, particularly in Mozambique. Research Projects Cultural Images in and of Africa The  project  Cultural  Images  in  and  of  Africa  was  initiated  in  1995  in  response  to  recommendations  that  the Institute include cultural change into its research priorities and profile. The main objectives are: 1. to encourage new research and studies in the Nordic countries on cultural change and issues in Africa; 2. to create a network of scholars in the Nordic countries and Africa for co-operation and contacts; 3. to  contribute  to  a  critical  examination  of  the  negative  and  prejudiced  images  of  Africa  in  the  Nordic countries; 4. to encourage an interest in contemporary African cultural expressions as “mediums of change”.   The project has focused on two distinct but inter-related themes: (a)  Studies  on  images  of  Africa  in  the  Nordic  countries  in  specific,  and  in  the  West  in  general.  An international  conference  on  this  theme  resulted  in  the  book  Encounter  Images  in  the  Meetings  between Africa and Europe, and the co-ordinator has published two books on Africa in the Swedish schoolbooks.

(b) Cultural dynamics of contemporary Africa in the light of changing images of Africa expressed in cultural production,  in  the  arts.  International  conferences  have  been  organised  on  film,  theatre  and  music  in Africa, and two antologies have been published, Same and Other (eds Mai Palmberg and Maria Eriksson Baaz).  A  book  is  in  progress  in  Swedish  drawing  together  research  results  from  the  members  of  the network and interviews from various parts of Africa. Mai  Palmberg  is  a  Finnish  political  scientist  who  has  been  with  Nordiska  Afrikainstitutet  since  1984.  She  has written  on  socialist  orientation  in  Africa,  Africa  images  in  Swedish  and  Finnish  schoolbooks,  the  liberation struggle of Southern Africa, Swedish companies in South Africa, the workers’ political role in Zambia, AIDS in Africa, humanism and racism, the Afrikaners as a national minority, new South Africa and the ANC platform, on homosexuality  and  human  rights  in  Southern  Africa,  on  music  and  national  identity  in  Cape  Verde,  and  on popular music in Zimbabwe’s crisis. Liberation and Democracy in Southern Africa Following  the  Independence  of  the  previous  settler  colonies  of  Zimbabwe  (1980),  Namibia  (1990),  and  the democratic elections in South Africa (1994), colonialism and Apartheid were officially brought to an end in the Southern African region. These processes of controlled change involved external actors in the transitional phases of negotiated settlements and resulted in changed control under previous liberation movements. The post-colonial realities as they manifest themselves today, however, require further explorative efforts to investigate further to which  ewxtent  there  are  limitations  to  liberation  and  democracy  in  the  formally  de-colonised  societies.  The project analyses aspects of the current socio-political power structures and their effects in terms of the originally aspired goals. Henning Melber is Research Director at the Nordic Africa Institute. He studied Political science and Sociology at the Freie Universität Berlin,  where he gr aduated in 1977. He obtained a PhD in 1980 and the venia legendi for Development  Studies  in  1993  at  Bremen  University.  He  has  been  a  Senior  Lecturer  in  International  Politics  at Kassel  University  (1982– 1992)  and  Director  of  the  Namibian  Economic  Policy  Research  Unit  in  Windhoek (1992– 2000). State - Building in Post-Liberation Eritrea The research project deals with the process of state-building in post-liberation Eritrea. It is an exploration of the prospects,  challenges  and  potentialities  encountered  by  Eritrea  since  it  became  independent  in  1991.  It  aims  at examining  ten   years  experience  of  state-building  by  focusing  on   institutionalisation,  bureaucratisation  and democratisation of state organs. The three dimensions are distinct yet intimately linked aspects of the process of building a nation state. Redie  Bereketeab  received  his  PhD  in  Sociology  from  Uppsala  University  in  2000.  His  doctoral  dissertation examines  the  process  of  nation  formation  in  Eritrea.  His  area  of  interest  is  political  sociology:  state,  nation, nationalism,  identity  and  language.  He  has  been  associated  with  the  Nordic  Africa  Institute  as  an  externally funded researcher since February 2002. Nordic Researchers Sweden Collective organisation among informal workers in African cities Informal economies in African cities have experienced a rapid expansion in recent decades. Incomes and conditions have  however  declined  for  large  numbers  of  urban  informal  workers  under  conditions  of  adjustment.  In  addition, these workers continue to experience a persistent lack, or even deterioration of rights, as authorities in many cities continue to be hostile towards them. This research project addresses the ways by which informal workers in urban Africa organise collectively to defend their rights and livelihoods. The aim is to uncover the agendas, the alliances and strategies being used by this growing number of associations of informal workers across urban Africa, through a comparative study of several cities. It involves a study of their growing global linkages, of their changing relations with   trade   unions   as   well   as   the   nature   of   their   relations   with   local   government.   The   study   explores   the contradictions   between   and   within   these   associations,   which   includes   looking   at   the   gender   dimensions   of organising. Ilda Lourenço -Lindell completed her doctorate at the Department of Human Geography,  Stockholm University, in 2002.  In  her  doctoral  work,  “ Walking  the  tight  rope:  informal  livelihoods  and  social  networks  in  a  West  African

city”, she investigates processes of informalization of livelihoods in urban Africa in a global context and the social networks and strategies of the urban poor in the context of structural adjustment. Norway Modernisation and Stress in Men’s and Women’s Lives: African Experiences The  research  project  deals  with  societies  in  transformation  under  rapid  change  brought  about  by  forces  such  as modernisation and globalisation, which increase distress and uncertainties in the everyday lives of young people. It explores and  scrutinises the factors that impinge on present-day social life;  how people draw on  their  various support  systems  to  manage.  The  approach  is  grounded  in  the  awareness  that  it  is  important  to  see  people  not merely  as  victims  of  adverse  circumstances,  but  rather  as  agents  actively  responding  to  their  life  situation, however, adverse, in an increasingly troubled world. Liv  Haram  is  a  social  anthropologist  trained  at  the  University  of  Bergen.  From  1989  to  1992  she  worked  as  a researcher  in  a  multi-disciplinary  AIDS  research  and  competence  building  programme  in  northern  Tanzania. Based on research from the same area, her doctoral study examines gender relations in the context of rapid social change and a burgeoning AIDS crisis. She has also conducted extensive fieldwork in Botswana and has published on  such  topics  as   modernisation,  urbanisation,   gender-relations  and  sexuality,    including   AIDS,  risk  and uncertainty as well as people’s health care seeking behaviour. Finland Contemporary Charismatic Movements in Tanzania A  trans-national  religious  movement  variably  called  neo-Pentecostalism  or  charismatic  Christianity  has  been spreading across all of Africa during the past couple of decades. It is attracting the urban middle class as well as the  rural  poor  across  the  continent.  Hasu’s  research  examines  the  contemporary  religious  experience  in  the context of charismatic Christianity in Tanzania. There have been two important trends in Tanzanian society since the  mid-1980's  that  have  contributed  to  the  rising  popularity  of  this  movement:  the  intensification  of  Muslim activities and the economic reforms in the country. Economic reforms have resulted in increased unemployment and  a  lowered  quality  of  social  services.  This  has  taken  place  in  the  context  of  marked  poverty.  Many  of  the charismatic  churches  and  ministries  are  characterized  by  prosperity  gospel.  This  form  of  gospel  has  it  that Christians  should  be  healthy,  wealthy  and  successful.  This  Christianity  that  maintains  to  address  questions  of poverty and prosperity is now flourishing in the declining African economies. Päivi Hasu  is a cultural anthropologist from the University of Helsinki and received her doctorate in 1999. She held a fellowship from the Academy of Finland for her PhD as well as for her post-doctoral research project. In her  dissertation  Hasu  discussed  ritual  history,  gender  relations,  AIDS  and  moral  discourse  among  the  Chagga people of Tanzania. Her interests include among other things historical anthropology, religious and ritual studies, gender and modernity. She has been employed at the Nordic Africa Institute since August 2002. Denmark Socializing Children: Kin and Christian Churches in Uganda The research project addresses the connections between childcare and sociality for children not living with their biological  parents.  Focus  is  given  to  children  living  either  with  relatives/foster  parents  in  households,  or  in institutional settings. Analytically the focuses are on notions of children, childcare, and childhood, relations and reciprocity  between  care-giver(s)  and  care-recipient(s),  and  the  social  consequences  of  (church)  organisations providing  assistance  that  was  until  recently  a  matter  of  kinship.  A  particular  effort  is  made  to  initiate  dialogue between pedagogical and anthropological knowledge about childcare and childhood in the North and in the South as well as bridge the gap between research and applied work. Catrine  Christiansen  is  an  anthropologist  trained  at  the  University  of  Copenhagen.  In  her  research  she  has focused  on  changes  in  beliefs,  personhood,  social  networks,  and  health  seeking  behaviour  brought  about  by conversion from mainline to charismatic Christianity among Samia Christians in Uganda. Her principal research interests include health, religion, kinship and social change. She has been employed at the Nordic Africa Institute since September 2002. Guest Researcher Post Conflict Transition: the State and Civil Society in Africa The programme will encourage research on the causes of conflict, and on the ways in which the pasts are being dealt  with  in  the  post-conflict  transitions,  and  how  the  future  is  imagined,  as  well  as  on  the  political  cultures. Important  research  issues  in  the  transitions,  include  the  dynamics  surrounding  the  negotiations  towards  and  the

signing of peace accords, the factors for success or failure of these accords, the demobilisation and re-orientation of ex-combatants, the rule of law, human rights and human security, and the resettlement of internally displaced persons and refugees. Medium and longer term issues include long-term peace building, traditional mechanisms for reconciliation and rehabilitation, truth and reconciliation commissions, problems of post-conflict justice. The transformation    of    regional    security    complexes    into    regional    security    communities,    the    re-building    of infrastructure,  institutions  of  the  state  and  civil  society,  the  building  of  democratic  polities,  and  growth  and development  are  also  priority  issues  on  the  post-conflict  reconstruction  agenda.  Violent  conflict  invariably impacts on values. Religion plays an important role, especially in terms of representations of the ‘good’ and the ‘evil’. Research should look into both the transformations in the values and ethic s, and into the ways civil society and other actors are responding to the changes. Cyril Obi is Associate Research Professor at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. He has been the editor of the Nigerian Journal of International Affairs since 2000. He is the current holder of the Claude Ake Visiting Chair at the Department for Peace- and Conflict Research, Uppsala University.