Africa Institute of South Africa

THE AFRICA INSTITUTE OF SOUTH AFRICA
AND THE
HARRY FRANK GUGGENHEIM FOUNDATION HOST A
CONFERENCE FOR YOUNG AND EMERGING AFRICAN SCHOLARS

Democracy and the Rule of Law

Venue: Birchwood Hotel, Boksburg

Date: 25 - 26 March 2010

The Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA) and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation are hosting a conference for young African scholars to present research on the topic “Democracy and the Rule of Law.” The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation supports a programme of research on violence and aggression. The Africa Institute is a Social Science Council with a Pan-African mandate to conduct research, train and create awareness through publications, seminars, conferences, and media on African Affairs. The two organizations are joining together to encourage young scholars to conduct research on African conflicts, and to work together to produce original research to be presented at a 2010 Annual conference in Tshwane.

The African continent is generally plagued by a myriad of violent conflicts which often arises out of a lack of democracy and non-observation of the Rule of Law. States freed from totalitarianism often breakdown into chaos and anarchy. In other instances elections are undermined by violence and fraud, resulting from those politicians who do not accept defeat. This practice tends to give rise to rebel movements which seeks to establish a new order. While in certain cases, these efforts may be noble, rebel groups are notoriously known for their chaotic, violent ways of overthrowing governments.

Also efforts and development sometimes result in new inequalities and injustice, thus leading to absolute poverty among other sectors of the population, while politicians and rebels loot countries. Democratic institutions at grass root level are often threatened with violence and death as they challenge governments to be accountable. In this state of affairs democratic values are lost and tyrannical practices reign supreme. For the most part, such tyranny and chaos lead to lawlessness and deterioration of the infrastructure, and thus underdevelopment.

According to the Africa Sun News (2009) there are currently fifteen African countries involved in war, or presently experiencing post-war conflict and tension. In West Africa, the countries include Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo. In East Africa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda. In Central Africa, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda. In North Africa, Algeria and in Southern Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe (Africa News: 2009).
The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, article 23, speaks to the sanctions the state parties have agreed to should there be cases of unconstitutional changes of governments in the continent. However, the heads of state at the AU tend to not impose sanctions as stipulated in the Charter and the African Union Constitutive Act. Also, article 3 (11) of the Charter further talks to the promotion of multi-party democracy and legitimisation of opposition political parties, yet some countries in Africa fail to adhere to this article.

This Call encourages submission of papers under the following themes:

Governance and Democracy: Papers in this session should endeavor to interrogate the nature and causes of conflict in Africa, the impact of conflict on governance and democracy and vice versa and issues of adherence to the agreements and declarations that are taken by the Heads of States.
Peace and Security: Papers in this section seek to promote and advocate for minimized conflicts through the observation and endorsement of the Rule of Law by way of suggesting recommendations for strengthening regional or continental integration between African States to work in unison for the sustainable development and advancement of the continent.
Policy: African Union has policies and declarations that are adopted at the end of each summit, papers in this section should seek to uncover the prospects and challenges of implementing these policies. Tools such as the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) have the potential to ensure that all declarations are made and implemented accordingly.

The conference will take place on 25-26 March 2010 at the Burgers Park Hotel in Tshwane, South Africa. Submissions are open to all African young scholars. All travel and accommodation costs of participants whose papers are successful will be covered by the Africa Institute of South Africa and Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.

Objectives of the conference:

To enhance awareness of the state of affairs on the African continent, with respect to conflict, democracy and the rule of law.
To determine exact nature and causes of conflict on the continent and limited observation of the Rule of Law and Democracy in Africa.
To allow platform for young scholars to interrogate and debate on Africa’s state of affairs, with the view of making recommendations and finding solutions to Africa’s problems.
To promote safety and security, sustainable development and the agenda on integration of African states.

Timelines:

Submission of abstracts	31 January 2010
Notification of selected abstracts	05 February 2010
Submission of power-point presentations	26 February 2010
Submission of papers	12 March 2010

Expected Outcomes:

Increased awareness of the state of Africa around violent and armed conflict.
Conflict resolution options, policies and strategies.
Publication of conference proceedings.

Abstracts:

All the young scholars in Africa are invited to submit abstracts of not more than 500 words, single-spaced on any of the sub-themes mentioned above.

Papers should be sent to aygs@ai.org.za.

For additional information and queries please contact:

Mr. Nicasius Achu at (012) 304 9782

Dr. Matseliso Molapo