FAO Quotables

"But being right, even morally right, isn't everything. It is also important to be competent, to be consistent, and to be knowledgeable. It's important for your soldiers and diplomats to speak the language of the people you want to influence. It's important to understand the ethnic and tribal divisions of the place you hope to assist."
-Anne Applebaum

Sunday, April 29, 2012

7 Worst International Aid Ideas- Worth Your Time to Read




I don't agree with everything in this article but the author does make


a few great points:

On 50 Cent in Somalia:
  1. If you Like Fifty’s Facebook page — without even buying the drink — a child, presumably in Somalia, gets fed.
  2. We can infer that there is a pot of dollars somewhere earmarked for feeding needy children. Two million meals worth of feeding if you count the million Like-meals plus the potential million bonus.
  3. Those meals, while they could be donated, and have presumably been budgeted for, willnot be, except to the extent that you give Street King props online.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is called extortion. Dramatically photographed, concealed-as-humanitarian-activism, extortion. I can feed so very many meals to these starving children, but I won’t unless you give me something.
On making food aid the same colour as cluster munitions:
"Probably the most devastating screw-up in the history of helping was the decisions that lead to cluster munitions and daily food ration packets both being coloured canary yellow."

From Matador Network


and a couple of others one that are worthy of deeper thought and discussion:


On using USAID as a foreign policy tool (I can see both sides):


"In 1990, on the eve of the first Gulf War, Yemeni Ambassador Abdullah Saleh al-Ashtal voted no to using force against Iraq in a security council session. US Ambassador Thomas Pickering walked to the Yemeni Ambassador’s seat and retorted, “That was the most expensive No vote you ever cast.” Immediately afterwards, USAID ceased operations and funding in Yemen."


On becoming a machine gun preacher (I  waffle on this one):


"No matter how much you care to help the women/children/villages/gorillas in a particular warzone, trying to solve what is in effect a problem of armed insecurity through establishing another minor armed militia is never a good idea."







Link:
http://matadornetwork.com/change/7-worst-international-aid-ideas/

Thursday, April 26, 2012

New Kickstarter of the Month: Dream Traveler: Africa

New Kickstarter of the Month

Every month or so I feature a new Africa-ish Kickstarter project on FUUO.  This month I am supporting a children's book being written called Dream Traveler: Africa.  As a new father to a beautiful baby girl (with another baby on the way this October!) I thought it appropriate to support this cool project since it's something I can read to my daughter.  

If you aren't familiar with Kickstarter you should get familiar--it's a crowd-based charity/fundraising website.  If a project doesn't meet its stated financial goal in the allotted time you aren't charged anything.  Depending on the amount you donate you receive different incentives (like a signed copy of the book in this case)!  

But beware, it's addictive.  

Past FUUO Supported Kickstarter projects (so far they've all been funding successes):
Lessons of Basketball and War: A documentary project 


Smallsmall Thing: A Documentary Project

Save Blue Like Jazz The Movie Project

Finally, please check out the charity below.  They aren't a kickstarter project but are an excellent organization.
The Butterfly Tree 
http://www.thebutterflytree.org.uk/
http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/08/website-of-week-butterfly-tree-charity.html




Tuesday, April 24, 2012

UPDATE: My Makhzen and Me Documentary via Reading Morocco

UPDATE (22 MAY):  I finished watching this film a few weeks ago and it's an excellent look into the continued turmoil, unrest and protest within Morocco.  The director convincingly captures the Moroccan governments efforts to fund/prop up counter-protest (pro-government) groups.  The government does this in an attempt to de-legitimatize and weaken the February 20th movements.
        I shared this video with my North Africa grad school professor and he agreed it was well done and forwarded it to our entire class to view.  


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Today I am watching the documentary My Makhzen and Me.  This is a documentary by a young moroccan and San Diego film student about the February 20th movement in Morocco.  It's only about 50 minutes long and I am about half way through it.   I came across through the excellent Reading Morocco Blog.  It's a great resource and one which I read regularly--you should too if you are interested in Morocco and the rest of the Maghreb.  
    
We are studying Morocco this week in my North Africa class so I appreciate getting a local perspective on recent events.  


Makhzen refers to the governing elite class in Morocco--this is a group the revolves around the monarchy and is made up of the royal family, businessmen, wealthy landowners, tribal leaders, top-ranking military personnel, security service leaders.


I will write more about it once I am done.  


Links and Morocco/North Africa/Maghreb-ish Blogs that I peruse regularly:


http://readingmorocco.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-makhzen-and-me-film.html
http://www.mymakhzenandme.com/english.html

Thursday, April 19, 2012

What I'm Reading Today: Water and African Democracy and a War about a desert?

African democracy: A glass half-full | The Economist http://econ.st/FQGL5t
Academic studies also paint a gloomy picture. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual democracy index ranks only one African country, Mauritius, as a “full” democracy, though it uses tough criteria that count countries like much-praised Botswana as “flawed” democracies. The Mo Ibrahim Index, a quantitative measure of good governance, shows a decline of 5% since 2007 in African political participation. Freedom House, an American think-tank, says the number of full “electoral democracies” among the 49 sub-Saharan countries has fallen from 24 in 2005 to 19 today.


UN says Western Sahara mission being 'undermined' - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/un-says-western-sahara-mission-being-undermined-173138160.html via @YahooNews


The United Nations stepped up complaints about Morocco's tactics in Western Sahara as the UN Security Council on Tuesday held its annual talks on efforts to end deadlock over the territory's future . . .
Diplomats said the UN report was one of the most critical in many years on events in Western Sahara, which Morocco started to annex in 1975 after Spain withdrew. The Polisario started a guerilla war and the UN brokered a ceasefire in 1991.

Global Land Grab Spreadsheet

This blew my mind when I saw it.  Definitely lends validity to the argument about countries that let their masses starve while grain grows on their land.

Libya: A Coalition to What End? and The Struggle of the Suffertocracy

BONUS LINK:  My entire (so far) grad school notes collection can be found here.  















Below is a paper I wrote recently on Libya.  The entire paper is embedded below but I've 
also included the first paragraph below.
   
       Of note, this paper includes a term that I coined: suffertocracy.  This is a term where leader-
ship or cabinent members are not selected on merit but on how much they suffered in the struggle for independence or power.  The degree of suffering is equated with level of legitimacy.  The idea of a suffertocracy is not distinctive of the post-conflict Libya but has emerged throughout the history of conflict in Africa.



A Coalition to What End
         In his battle against Italian colonization Libyan freedom fighter Omar Mukhtar declared: “We will not give up, win or die.[1]  Gaddafi appropriated the national hero’s image and words during his 1969 coup of the Al-Senussi monarchy.  During the revolution, his famous words were borrowed once again, this time by the eastern Benghazi rebels in an effort to show their resolve and mobilize support to overthrow the Gaddafi regime.[2]  These two divergent examples demonstrate the speed with which the revolution exploded and highlight the complexity of the society and culture within the Libyan borders.  The fusing of a strong and motivated citizenry with overwhelming external air support (and covert targeting support) proved to be an arrangement ideally suited to topple the 40-year old Gaddafi regime.  While classified as a success by the international community, it cannot and should not serve as a template for future interventions.  Despite the vigorous debate by groups jockeying for power, the ignition of the revolution was due to Gaddafi’s miscalculations and overreactions as much as anything (or anyone) else. Finally, the young age of the country combined with the youth movement of the revolution were instrumental in its success but may prove fatal in its aftermath. 


[1] “Graffiti Art After the Uprising,”  Demotix, News by You, accessed 20 March, 2012, http://www.demotix.com/news/971076/graffiti-art-after-uprising-gheryan.

[2] Manal Omar and Susanne Templehof, “Stakeholders of Libya’s February 17 Revolution,” United States Institute of Peace Special Report, January 2012: 3, http://www.usip.org/files/resources/SR%20300.pdf



Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Nazis chasing butterflies, South Sudanese Insects, West African Coup Disease

What I'm reading today:




The former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) has ruled South Sudan since it seceded from Sudan in July 2011.
President Bashir described the SPLM as "insects" that needed to be eliminated.
Fighting between the two countries has now spread to another area, further adding to fears of all-out war.
South Sudan seized the Heglig oil field - generally recognised as Sudanese territory - eight days ago. On Tuesday fighting broke out north of Aweil in South Sudan, about 100 miles (160km) west of Heglig.
Generally recognized by whom?  What lazy reporting!  I know for a fact that SPLA leadership would dispute this "general recognition".






Secret files from British colonial rule - once thought lost - have been released by the government, one year after they came to light in a High Court challenge to disclose them.
Some of the papers cover controversial episodes: the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, the evacuation of the Chagos Islands, and the Malayan Emergency.
In particular, the first batch of papers reveal:
Official fears that Nazis - pretending to catch butterflies - were plotting to invade East Africa in 1938



It took a while but we in West Africa learnt the very hard way that, given the opportunity, uniformed men are certainly more cruel and just as corrupt as their civilian compatriots.
The surprising thing was how easily the coups were accepted:
  • A group of soldiers seizes the studios of the state (and only) broadcaster and make their announcement about having come to save us
  • The entire population falls into line and members of parliament and ministers of state give themselves up to be locked up in police stations and prisons for months and even years


Mauritania is experiencing a vibrant protest movement touching many sectors of political and civil society. Each day seems to bring fresh reports of demonstrations or rallies, sit-ins or gatherings. A member of the 22 states that make up the Arab League, with a complex mix of issues stemming from political, social and financial inequality, Mauritania was naturally caught up in the wave of uprisings that have swept across the region since 2010.



Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Lazy Reporting, New Insight on Somalia, and Ethiopia's Nationhood Reconsidered

What I'm Reading Today:

The west's lazy reporting of Africa by Afua Hirsch 

EXCERPT: There is a laziness applied to media coverage of Africa that is seldom seen elsewhere. Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina brilliantly captured this in his Granta essay "How to Write About Africa". "You must always include The Starving African, who wanders the refugee camp nearly naked, and waits for the benevolence of the west," he wrote. "Her children have flies on their eyelids and pot bellies, and her breasts are flat and empty. She must look utterly helpless. She can have no past, no history; such diversions ruin the dramatic moment. Moans are good."

There are still too many journalists unwittingly following his advice.

Found: A Somalia we do not know -
EXCERPT: "Getting Somalia Wrong" is not just an opposing view to the usual horror stories we hear about Somalia -- Harper covers the good, the bad and the ugly. What makes this book different and important is that the author does not see her subject as one-dimensional. It is a book that attempts, successfully, in my view, to explain a country by getting to know the people who live in it.

The next time you hear about Somali shops being burnt in Khaye­litsha or on the East Rand and you wonder why they bother staying, Harper’s book will help you to ­understand where those nameless and faceless people come from and why they left their homeland in the first place.



Ethiopia’s nationhood reconsidered
EXCERPT: Just as the historic realities of long-established nations like Ethiopia pose a challenge to conventional ideas about modern nationhood, so the contemporary Ethiopian experience reinforces pressures to rethink conventional notions of national boundaries. The nation whose conquest and dispersal across the world two millennia ago gave rise to the term diaspora seemed anomalous up to the past century, when a home territory with well-defined and secure boundaries seemed the only way to construe nationhood. The Jewish case now seems normative for many countries, whose boundaries, like that of ancient Israel, have expanded to involve a level of co-determination that previously could not have been imagined. The globalizing tendencies favored by electronic media and easy transportation will continue not only to promote subnational and supranational communities, but will also play a major role in strengthening the age-old nation of Ethiopia, reconfigured now in three parts: bet-agar (Homeland); wutch-agar (Diaspora); and sayberagar (Cyberspace).

LINKS:
http://www.donlevine.com/uploads/1/1/3/8/11384462/ethiopias-nationhood-reconsidered.pdf
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/15/west-lazy-reporting-africa?CMP=twt_gu
http://mg.co.za/article/2012-04-05-found-a-somalia-we-do-not-know#disqus_thread 

Africa Update- Compendium of Recent Reports and Article

This is a great report put out periodically by a colleague.  It's a collection of articles and reports that have been in the news recently.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4BE1_xKfeEUdUFBZGc1akxsR1U

Berlin Conference Redux? Will Europe Underdevelop Africa Again?

Berlin Conference Redux?  Will Europe Underdevelop Africa Again?

This is an eye opening article.  Take 20 minutes and read how the EU's latest initiative may stunt any chance for development in Africa.

http://www.newafricanmagazine.com/features/economics/will-europe-underdevelop-africa-again

Are We Helping or Hurting South Sudan?


Are We Helping or Hurting South Sudan?

Is foreign aid helping South Sudan as a nation or state?  Without foreign aid would they be able to turn off their oil?  Could the missed oil revenue be used for desperately needed infrastructure development (South Sudan has 40 MILES) of paved roads!

Part of the problem is the US.  An impotent and partially castrated (read: underfunded) USAID is unable to corral, direct or strategically implement foreign aid and NGOs.  In South Sudan that means you have dozens (?) of NGOs working at cross purposes (and sometime redundantly) in their own microcosms--instead of cooperatively and strategically.  

WILD IDEA:
How about we get (or give option) death row (or life sentence) prisoners from Texas (I only say Texas because it might be the only state crazy enough to consider it) and send them to South Sudan to build roads and highways.  It would be cheaper to house them in makeshift camps in South Sudan than in Texas . . . of course, now that they are at war . . . nevermind.

http://foodsecurity.ngoaidmap.org/location/247?force_site_id=2

Monday, April 16, 2012

LRA: The US Response Congressional Research Reports

Population Growth Challenges in Africa

Read this NYT article:

Nigeria Tested by Rapid Rise in Population

I don't know that I agree that population is the real problem...I think that if Nigeria used their oil revenues responsibly (instead of subsidizing and corruption) they could support and use (to their betterment) their burgeoning population.  
   Population growth in Africa is an area of much heated debate that I won't get into here for now.


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/world/africa/in-nigeria-a-preview-of-an-overcrowded-planet.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Has Africa Gone Coup-Crazy?

Has Africa Gone Coup-Crazy?

Good blog post that shows (statistically) that Africa has NOT gone coup-crazy.  Aside from an interesting blog you should follow him on twitter:  


      GB is unique that in a coup you have to overthrow the seat of the presidency and the chief of Defense.  Their military organization is divided and corrupt.  55% of GB Army are officers.  The only country that had an all-out liberation war (outside of southern Africa)—against the Portuguese. 
*Weak states and economy make countries (like most in West Africa) more susceptible to coups.
      Ultimately many of these coups stem from the inability of the civilian government to control the government.  Fore more on this read this excellent report from the Africa Center for Strategic Studies: Africa’s Militaries: A Missing Link in Democratic Transitions

Another good article: Coup predictions: Africa doesn't look as volatile as you might think - CSMonitor.com http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Backchannels/2012/0416/Coup-predictions-Africa-doesn-t-look-as-volatile-as-you-might-think


QUESTIONS:
What are the effects of cocaine trafficking on GB government?  
Governance problems were there before cocaine? 


http://dartthrowingchimp.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/has-africa-gone-coup-crazy-in-2012/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/diplomat-military-takes-over-guinea-bissaus-capital-leaders-whereabouts-unknown/2012/04/12/gIQAwjTRDT_story.html
http://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/AfricaBriefFinal_17.pdf

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Building a Highway Infrastructure in Africa

Building a Highway Infrastructure in Africa

   We are reading Herbst' States and Power in Africa for a grad school class and the author has a chapter that does a poor job of examining the road networks (or lack thereof) in Africa.  This 2006 report does a great job of investigating the highway infrastructure (and potential) in Africa.  There's a powerpoint and a report at the link below.  The next step in this line of thought would be to connect the highway infrastructure development to the needed port infrastructure development.


Time to Build a Trans-Africa Road Network: New Analysis of the Costs and Benefits, and Preliminary Suggestions on How the Donors Could Make it Happen


I've listened to the guy who chaired the event lecture and he's a sharp and dynamic speaker (Todd Moss)--you should follow him on twitter (@toddjmoss).








http://www.cgdev.org/content/calendar/detail/6483/
http://www.cgdev.org/doc/event%20docs/Trans-African%20Network%20-%20for%20distribution.ppt

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Is the UN Charter Relevant in the Twitterific Age of Intervention?

BONUS LINK:  My entire (so far) grad school notes collection can be found here. 

Is the UN Charter Relevant in the Twitterific Age of Intervention?


            Both liberals and realists would agree that there are scenarios that call for or require intervention in the internal affairs of other sovereign states.  Speaking on the idea of collective global security Kofi Annan said, “In our globalized world, the threats we face are interconnected . . . whatever threatens one threatens all.” (Lauren, Craig, George, 272).  Annan overreaches in his statement and it is in the application of the limitations and requirements for intervention that realists and liberals disagree today.  It is only in the reconciliation of realist and liberal approaches that a system balancing restraint and freedom can not only be developed, but most importantly applied.  Most notably the international community set out to do just this after World War II with the United Nations (UN) Charter.  While well intentioned, this system has not changed in concert with advances in technology or with the shift in the international balance of relative power. 
            A key feature of the Westphalian Order, still largely in place today, is the mutual respect for sovereignty among nation states.  Although this respect is lessening, most states feel obliged to provide a modicum of international legal justification before interfering in another state’s domestic affairs and even name interventions with this in mind.  The U.S. dubbed their invasion of Panama, “Operation JUST CAUSE.”  Realists focus on the autonomy, power, and security of sovereign state actors and are invested in the modern state system and thus have a higher bar.  Nevertheless, one could see realist support for the U.S. intervention in Pakistan in defense of Afghan sovereignty and the aforementioned invasion of Panama based on the threat to the U.S. of Noriega’s facilitating drug running into the United States.  The liberal viewpoint, with its focus on the interdependence of not only state actors, but also organizations and institutions, and the promotion of human rights, provides to a large measure the basis for the recent series of “humanitarian interventions” such as the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and its most recent involvement in the Libyan Civil War.  
            Thus a realist might also favor intervention when it contributes to the international balance of power and order.  Although there was an obvious ideological component to the U.S. policy of containment during the Cold War, each side viewed challenges to its sphere of influence as a zero-sum game exemplified by the 1983 U.S.-led invasion of Grenada in response to what was viewed as the Soviet-backed, Cuban militarization of the island.  A liberal might demand intervention in the same situation but for very different reasons—namely because the intervention would enable the independence of the people and the government (Nye, 169). 
            Although imperfect in design and often execution, the UN Charter represents a pragmatic reconciliation of the realist and liberal approaches and more importantly, addresses both the limitations and obligations of states in intervention.  The UN Charter sought to provide a structure to address, evaluate and ratify (when applicable) calls for intervention.  Specifically, Chapter VII (Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression) does provide a single standard.  Article 39 states: “The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken . . . to maintain or restore international peace and security.” The Security Council has a vested interest in maintaining international balance of power, and the UN provides the framework for nations to make decisions together.  This framework and Chapter VII mandate does not encompass intervening actions like public appeals by government leaders or officials.  Nye describes this wide range of possible actions that build from words to steel (Nye, 166-7).  When “steel” is needed, Article 43 obligates all UN members to contribute as required, but sets a limit on this contribution by including those members in UNSC’s decisions and by allowing them to bring any economic problems to the UNSC as well.  Although the charter has no real enforcement mechanism for states that refuse to participate, the Charter is an improvement over the legal framework of the League of Nations—as it better balances national sovereignty with international legal obligations (and includes the U.S. as a member).  Finally the charter is clear that nothing “shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence” (UN Charter, Article 51).  This charter has been criticized, however, for taking too soft an approach to human rights in favor of sovereign ones (Lauren, Craig and George, 76).
            Although the Charter limits U.N.-approved or sponsored intervention with fairly clear criteria, these criteria have been more broadly applied during the late two decades.  Of late, the UN’s loose interpretation of threats to “international peace and security” raises the question of inconsistency. Why did it condone interventions in Iraq and Libya, but does not intervene in China’s violent suppression of public dissent?  This, of course, stems from China’s veto power on the UN Security Council.  One contributing factor may be the 24-hour news cycle for which a closed society like China’s is less vulnerable.  Today it is public opinion, forged by the continual bombardment of images and information, which creates the impetus for action more so than any rigorous evaluative series.
            Without a standard interpretation of Article 39, the UN must create a framework of evaluation for intervention.  First and foremost, the tripwire to intervene must be when the internal threatens the external—when the abuses occurring within a country affect the peace and security of the international community.  It is at this juncture that the obligation must be separated from the limitation.  The international community must agree to intervene but must embrace Huntington and ensure that the intervention itself is regionally led.  The application of sub-state theory is applicable here; those countries in  their region can better understand their culture (strategic and otherwise), and are in the best position to use soft power to affect change.  That soft power traditionally has not been systematically applied in this manner is perhaps why its effectiveness has been limited (Nye, 63-4).  This regional intervention combines the liberals’ focus on interdependence with the realists’ need for power and security. 
            Although flawed and in need of an update to reflect the modern international system, the provisions on intervention in the UN Charter provide satisfactory resolution to the tension between obligations and standards, or limits, on intervention.  The Charter uses a liberal lens to promote international peace and security while providing a realist mechanism to implement said peace and security throughout the globe.  Once must question, though, whether the current trend toward humanitarian intervention can be sustained.  As an increasing number of nations such as Mexico show signs of devolving into failed states, the international community will continue to be challenged to set boundaries on and provide justification for intervening in what were considered until recently, purely domestic issues within sovereign states.  The challenge is for the standards and means of intervention to fully evolve with technology and the role of transparency.  While certain factors like human nature remain timeless, the 24-hour news cycle is already quickly morphing into the 1,440 minutes (and one day the 86,400 seconds) news cycle with a real-time global flow of news and reporting.  The world must not pay mere lip service to former Secretary General Daj Hammarskjöld’s comment that the “United Nations reflects both aspiration and a falling short of aspiration.  But the constant struggle to close the gap . . . makes the difference between civilization and chaos.” (Lauren, Craig, and George, 129).  The struggle in this case must be to keep pace with an increasingly interdependent world and to intervene consistently and only when required. 



 Bibliography