Good Muslim, Bad Muslim : America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror (Printed)
In a brilliant study of the rise of contemporary political Islam, distinguished political scientist Mahmood Mamdani brings his expertise to bear on a question many Americans have been asking since 9/11 : how did this happen ?
Mahmood Mamdani’s conclusions are as incontrovertible as they are highly provocative. He dispels the idea of “good” (secular, westernized) Muslims, and “bad” (primitive, fanatical) Muslims, underlining the fact that Islam is not a politically based religion. Focusing on the reasons Islam has become politicized, Mamdani shows how the American government’s indirect, post–Vietnam-era sponsorship of terrorist leaders in Indochina and Africa began as a way of dealing with the perceived threat of spreading Soviet influence in these regions. He reminds us how President Reagan openly supported the contras in Nicaragua—calling them the “moral equivalents” of the Founding Fathers—and eagerly embraced the mujahideen of Afghanistan. He explains how America’s rigidly supportive policies toward Israel have fuelled the problems in the Middle East. Finally, he makes clear how the West’s distorted political analysis of Islam and its activities continue to dangerously skew its response to them.
Conférences spéciales de la 10ème Assemblée générale du CODESRIA, Kampala,2002 (Printed)
Ce volume sur les perspectives africaines sur la mondialisation, le terrorisme et le développement réunit trois conférences de grande qualité délivrées par des universitaires de renommée. Ces conférences ont constitué un des moments forts de la 10e Assemblée générale du CODESRIA qui s’est tenue en 2002, à Kampala, Ouganda. Les conférences, qui sont parties intégrantes de l’Assemblée générale triennale du CODESRIA, sont présentées par d’éminents universitaires, dont le travail a largement contribué à façonner le paysage intellectuel africain. La Conférence Claude Ake, traditionnellement réservée au président sortant du Comité exécutif, a été livrée par Mahmood Mamdani. L’auteur a, entre autres, développé une perspective africaine du 11 septembre, en faisant remarquer que les racines du terrorisme sont à rechercher en Amérique, et dans l’épisode de la guerre froide. Il a également souligné le rôle du « culture talk » dans l’émergence du terrorisme. Ce même thème est également celui de la Conférence Cheikh Anta Diop délivrée par Samir Amin. Celui-ci nous en donne un aperçu critique, ainsi qu’une exploration des diverses alternatives à la mondialisation néolibérale et au militarisme. La Conférence Léopold Sédar Senghor a été honorée par la présence de Fatou Sow, qui a souligné le besoin de redéfinition du développement africain selon une perspective qui tient compte du genre. Elle a également regretté la lenteur de la procédure d’intégration des femmes dans les différentes sphères d’activités, malgré le fait que les femmes ont acquis le droit de cité ; « les femmes ont le droit d’avoir des droits », dit-elle.
Between Democracy and Terror : The Sierra Leone Civil War (Printed)
This is the most authoritative study of the Sierra Leone civil war to emanate from Africa, or indeed any publications’ programme on Africa. It explores the genesis of the crisis, the contradictory roles of different internal and external actors, civil society and the media; the regional intervention force and the demise of the second republic.
African Gender Scholarship : Concepts, Methodologies and Paradigms (Printed)
Volume I brings together essays by some of the leading names on gender studies in Africa, as a major contribution to these concerns. Situating themselves variously in relation to claims and counter claims on the universalisms and particularisms in African feminism and gender studies, the authors de-bate the relative (de)-merits of Eurocentrism, African epistemologies and cultures, colonial legacies, postcolonial realities, and other current dilemmas and challenges in understanding and articulating African feminism and gender research. Practiced and budding scholars should find this a fascinating read.
African Universities in the Twenty-First Century, Volume I: Liberalisation and Internationalisation (Printed)
As the twenty first century unfolds, African universities are undergoing change and confronting challenges which are unprecedented. The effects of globalisation, and political and economic pressures of liberalisation and privatisation, both internal and external, are reconfiguring all aspects of university life: teaching, research, and their public service functions; such that the need to redefine the roles of the African universities, and to defend their importance have become paramount. At the same time, the universities must themselves balance demands of autonomy and accountability, expansion and excellence, diversification and differentiation, and internationalisation and indigenisation. In a climate in which scholarship and production are increasingly dependent on ICTs, and are becoming globalised, the universities must address the challenges of knowledge production and dissemination. The need to indigenise global scholarship, to their own requirements, meanwhile is ever- pressing.
Les trajectoires d’un État-frontière : Espaces, évolution politique et transformations sociales en Mauritanie (Printed)
Le défi scientifique que cherche à relever cet ouvrage est de rendre compte des mutations contemporaines de cet authentique État-frontière qu’est la Mauritanie et de proposer un regard novateur sur sa trajectoire historique, sociale, politique et géostratégique.
Zekeria Ould Ahmed Salem
CHASING FREEDOM Histories, Analyses and Voices of Student Activism in South Africa
CHASING FREEDOM Histories, Analyses and Voices of Student Activism in South Africa
Zukiswa Mqolomba is a former SRC President of the University of Cape Town, former Provincial Executive Committee member of SASCO and alumnus student leader. She is a Mandela Rhodes Scholar and Chevening scholar. She has two master’s degrees and also holds an executive leadership training certificate. Mqolomba now works for the Presidency of the Republic of South Africa.
Suntosh R. Pillay is a clinical psychologist and researcher in the public sector in Durban, South Africa, with roots in student journalism, community mobilizing and mental health advocacy. He completed his Masters in Social Sciences degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), and is affiliated to UKZN’s Department of Clinical Medicine. He is committed to developing critical psychopolitical theory and practices in South Africa.
$9 – $15
