Andreas Mehler
Biographic Data
| ID | 249765 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Andreas Mehler |
| GIVEN NAMES | Andreas |
| FAMILY NAME | Mehler |
| SIGNATURE | MEHLER A |
| AFFILIATIONS | German Institute for Global and Area Studies |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8816-8972 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 41 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 173 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 32 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 9 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1999 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Towards a new paradigm for memory politics on colonial past in Africa: An Analysis of the Couple Franco-Allemand
Rooted in Society: From “Elite” to “People-Centred” Power Sharing in Zanzibar
In 2010, Zanzibar, a sub-state within the United Republic of Tanzania, became a unique case of power sharing in Africa. The country conducted a referendum before establishing a government of national unity and entrenched it in Zanzibar’s Constitution of 1984. The aim was to make the power-sharing system durable and rooted in society to achieve peace and development. Nevertheless, a political system must be accepted, practised and routinised to be…
Cameroon as Part of Central Africa’s Political Economy
Cameroon’s violent history had an impact on its neighbors just as those neighbors had a generally overlooked impact on Cameroon. Contagion via transnational networks and their dynamics is highly relevant. This contribution also looks into the sub-regional status of dysfunctional institutions, the absence of checks and balances in overly presidential, personalised and undemocratic political systems. Autocratic regimes and coup-makers clearly learn…
Mainstreaming the Discourse on Restitution and Repatriation within African History, Heritage Studies and Political Science
The recent upsurge of interest in restitution and repatriation debates by practitionersand scholars might offer appropriate chances for true interdisciplinary research.Not only should historical, anthropological and legal studies take part in such aconversation, but also, political science, archaeology and heritage studies. Resolutelyand systematically giving voice to both African stakeholders and African researchersis an imperative. In this intr…
Power Sharing and Power Relations After Civil War
There are numerous studies on the role of power-sharing agreements in the maintenance of peace in postconflict states. Less explored, however, is the impact of power sharing on the quality of the peace. Do power-sharing institutions in fact transform the balance of power among actors in the aftermath of civil wars? And if so, how? As they address these issues, seeking to establish a new research agenda, the authors provide a rich new analytical a…
Handle with Care! A Qualitative Comparison of the Fragile States Index's Bottom Three Countries: Central African Republic, Somalia and South Sudan
For the past four years, the Fund for Peace has ranked the Central African Republic, Somalia and South Sudan as the ‘most fragile states’ in the world, in its annual Fragile States Index (FSI). The three countries’ almost identical scores suggest comparability; however, critics raise concerns about the FSI's data aggregation methods, and its conflation of causes and consequences. This article treads the uncharted path of unpacking the empirical r…
The limits of instrumentalizing disorder: Reassessing the neopatrimonial perspective in the Central African Republic
Assumptions about the political economy of African states predominantly centre on a dominant elite’s ability to stabilize power. A key assertion is that elites maintain clientelistic networks of rents and redistribution and in turn extend their control over their respective territories by instrumentalizing disorder. We challenge the assumption that disorder plays such a functional role. Largely drawing on data and fieldwork from the Central Afric…
Comparative area studies
Comparative area studies (CAS) endeavours to create a bridge between classic area studies and what is called systematic disciplines – perhaps foremost one between area studies and comparative politics. The constitutive elements of CAS are context sensitivity/expertise that entails giving attention to history, culture, and regional factors, and an explicitly systematic and empirical comparative approach. Comparative politics is – despite an occasi…
For the last time from these editors
'Under Construction': Governance in Africa's New Violent Social Spaces
This chapter looks at how violent conflict in Africa is commonly interpreted in terms of 'new wars'. It then offers an alternative conceptual reading of the 'new wars' which will enable us to discuss the likely effects, and possible failure, of current policy approaches towards Africa's 'new wars'. The chapter focuses on the historicity of statehood in Africa and develop a typology of the processes which lead to the loss of a state's monopoly of …
Across the Spectrum
Neopatrimonialism, democracy, and party research: The German and international debate
Power, peace, and space in Africa: Revisiting territorial power sharing
Power-sharing agreements have become a blueprint for efforts to end violent conflicts in many parts of the world, particularly in Africa. Such agreements, however, rarely include territorial power sharing – at least, not according to the formal, rather unhelpful narrow definition that includes federalism and decentralization. This article argues that the concept of territorial power sharing needs to be broadened in order to account for the manifo…
Voting in fear: Electoral violence in Sub-Saharan Africa
Should we view electoral violence as the norm rather than the exception in Africa? French political scientist Patrick Quantin once pointed to French elections in the 19th century which were oversha
Afrika Jahrbuch 2002: Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft in Afrika Südlich der Sahara
Afrika Jahrbuch 2003: Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft in Afrika Südlich der Sahara
Afrika Jahrbuch 2001: Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft in Afrika Südlich der Sahara
Why Federalism Did Not Lead to Secession in Cameroon
This study argues that Philip Roeder's ‘segmental-institutions thesis’ does not provide a compelling explanation for the development of a separatist movement among the Anglophone community in West Cameroon. West Cameroon is not a case where the creation of a segment state had brought about secessionist aspirations. Instead, it was the abolishment of federalism that had the long-term effect of fostering secessionism when oil was detected and a pol…
Consociationalism for Weaklings, Autocracy for Muscle Men? Determinants of Constitutional Reform in Divided Societies
(2013). Consociationalism for Weaklings, Autocracy for Muscle Men? Determinants of Constitutional Reform in Divided Societies. Civil Wars: Vol. 15, Institutions for Sustainable Peace? Determinants and Effects of Institutional Choices in Divided Societies, pp. 21-43
Introduction: Institutions for Sustainable Peace? Determinants and Effects of Institutional Choices in Divided Societies
(2013). Introduction: Institutions for Sustainable Peace? Determinants and Effects of Institutional Choices in Divided Societies. Civil Wars: Vol. 15, Institutions for Sustainable Peace? Determinants and Effects of Institutional Choices in Divided Societies, pp. 1-6
Making War in Côte d'Ivoire by Mike Mcgovern London: Hurst and Company, London 2011. 240 pp. £20 (pbk)
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Power-sharing in Africa's war zones: How Important Is the Local Level
Research on power-sharing in Africa remains silent on the effects of national peace agreements on the sub-national level. Conversely, most armed conflicts originate and are fought in (or over) specific areas. A plausible hypothesis would be that for power-sharing to have the desired pacifying effect throughout the national territory, it needs to be extended to the local level. Based on fieldwork in six former hotspots in Liberia, Burundi and the …
From “Protecting Civilians” to “For the Sake of Democracy” (and Back Again): Justifying Intervention in Côte d'Ivoire
In its resolution 1975 (2011), the United Nations security council opened the way for the provision of decisive support to the forces close to Alassane Ouattara to win the Ivorian power struggle. The deployed peacekeepers had a mandate “to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.” A second reason frequently given was the necessary enforcement of the popular will expressed during the presidential elections in 2010. Ever since …
Why Security Forces Do Not Deliver Security: Evidence from Liberia and the Central African Republic
Little attention has been paid to the factual contribution of the state's security forces to the physical security of African citizens. Reports about security forces adding to a widespread insecurity are frequent: the protectors become violators, and their appearance causes fear, not security. In many African crisis countries the realization of better security forces appears to be an elusive goal, either because violent conflicts are not definiti…
Rebels and parties: The impact of armed insurgency on representation in the Central African Republic
This paper analyses the declining importance of political parties in the Central African Republic (CAR). The country can be considered an extreme example of the lack of viability of a state in general, and democracy in particular. However, the quality of elections has exceeded the average in the sub-region over a substantial time-span. Hopes for a democratic future only faded in recent years. The paper hypothesises that both political parties and…
The hidden costs of power-sharing: Reproducing insurgent violence in Africa
This article analyzes some factors underlying the spread of insurgent violence in Africa. It focuses on the impact external factors have on power struggles on the continent. The first of these is the unsteady support for democracy from Western donors, which has impeded more far-reaching domestic changes in much of Africa. Second are wider changes in the international setting that dramatically enhanced the international standing of armed movements…
Peace and Power Sharing in Africa: A Not So Obvious Relationship
Peace accords usually involve top politicians and military leaders, who negotiate, sign, and/or benefit from an agreement. What is conspicuously absent from such negotiations is broad-based participation by those who should benefit in the first place: citizens. More specifically, the local level of security provision and insecurity production is rarely taken into account. The analysis of recent African peace agreements shows important variations …
Introduction: Power-Sharing in Africa
Introduction to the Featured Topic Power-Sharing in Africa, Africa Spectrum, Vol. 44, No. 3 (2009
Rebels and parties: The impact of armed insurgency on representation in the Central African Republic
This paper analyses the declining importance of political parties in the Central African Republic (CAR). The country can be considered an extreme example of the lack of viability of a state in general, and democracy in particular. However, the quality of elections has exceeded the average in the sub-region over a substantial time-span. Hopes for a democratic future only faded in recent years. The paper hypothesises that both political parties and…
Consociationalism for Weaklings, Autocracy for Muscle Men? Determinants of Constitutional Reform in Divided Societies
(2013). Consociationalism for Weaklings, Autocracy for Muscle Men? Determinants of Constitutional Reform in Divided Societies. Civil Wars: Vol. 15, Institutions for Sustainable Peace? Determinants and Effects of Institutional Choices in Divided Societies, pp. 21-43
Why Security Forces Do Not Deliver Security: Evidence from Liberia and the Central African Republic
Little attention has been paid to the factual contribution of the state's security forces to the physical security of African citizens. Reports about security forces adding to a widespread insecurity are frequent: the protectors become violators, and their appearance causes fear, not security. In many African crisis countries the realization of better security forces appears to be an elusive goal, either because violent conflicts are not definiti…
Political discourse in football coverage – the cases of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana
Football coverage in newspapers is both an arena for, and a mirror of, political discourse within a society. This essay argues that discourses within football coverage referring to political issues reflect dominant – and possibly contesting – ‘truths’, which themselves are linked to power relations and political struggles within a given society. The comparison of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, two neighbouring countries in very different conditions (pa…
The limits of instrumentalizing disorder: Reassessing the neopatrimonial perspective in the Central African Republic
Assumptions about the political economy of African states predominantly centre on a dominant elite’s ability to stabilize power. A key assertion is that elites maintain clientelistic networks of rents and redistribution and in turn extend their control over their respective territories by instrumentalizing disorder. We challenge the assumption that disorder plays such a functional role. Largely drawing on data and fieldwork from the Central Afric…
Why Federalism Did Not Lead to Secession in Cameroon
This study argues that Philip Roeder's ‘segmental-institutions thesis’ does not provide a compelling explanation for the development of a separatist movement among the Anglophone community in West Cameroon. West Cameroon is not a case where the creation of a segment state had brought about secessionist aspirations. Instead, it was the abolishment of federalism that had the long-term effect of fostering secessionism when oil was detected and a pol…
Mainstreaming the Discourse on Restitution and Repatriation within African History, Heritage Studies and Political Science
The recent upsurge of interest in restitution and repatriation debates by practitionersand scholars might offer appropriate chances for true interdisciplinary research.Not only should historical, anthropological and legal studies take part in such aconversation, but also, political science, archaeology and heritage studies. Resolutelyand systematically giving voice to both African stakeholders and African researchersis an imperative. In this intr…
Power, peace, and space in Africa: Revisiting territorial power sharing
Power-sharing agreements have become a blueprint for efforts to end violent conflicts in many parts of the world, particularly in Africa. Such agreements, however, rarely include territorial power sharing – at least, not according to the formal, rather unhelpful narrow definition that includes federalism and decentralization. This article argues that the concept of territorial power sharing needs to be broadened in order to account for the manifo…
From “Protecting Civilians” to “For the Sake of Democracy” (and Back Again): Justifying Intervention in Côte d'Ivoire
In its resolution 1975 (2011), the United Nations security council opened the way for the provision of decisive support to the forces close to Alassane Ouattara to win the Ivorian power struggle. The deployed peacekeepers had a mandate “to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.” A second reason frequently given was the necessary enforcement of the popular will expressed during the presidential elections in 2010. Ever since …
Introduction: Institutions for Sustainable Peace? Determinants and Effects of Institutional Choices in Divided Societies
(2013). Introduction: Institutions for Sustainable Peace? Determinants and Effects of Institutional Choices in Divided Societies. Civil Wars: Vol. 15, Institutions for Sustainable Peace? Determinants and Effects of Institutional Choices in Divided Societies, pp. 1-6
Power-sharing in Africa's war zones: How Important Is the Local Level
Research on power-sharing in Africa remains silent on the effects of national peace agreements on the sub-national level. Conversely, most armed conflicts originate and are fought in (or over) specific areas. A plausible hypothesis would be that for power-sharing to have the desired pacifying effect throughout the national territory, it needs to be extended to the local level. Based on fieldwork in six former hotspots in Liberia, Burundi and the …
Public Perceptions of Security in Post-Conflict Urban Liberia and Sierra Leone Part I – Liberia: Caught between International, State and Non-State Actors
Description to be added
Towards a new paradigm for memory politics on colonial past in Africa: An Analysis of the Couple Franco-Allemand
Tschad
Zu den spektakulären Ereignissen gehörte der Abschluß des Friedensprozesses mit den Forces Armées pour la République Fédérale (FARF), der wichtigsten politisch-militärischen Bewegung im Süden des Landes (s. Afrika Jahrbuch 1997). Nach weiteren Gewalteskalationen im März (einzelne Massaker mit 150 Toten, Kollektivhaft für traditionale Chefs) und diversen Bemühungen des Parlamentspräsidenten Kamougué von der Union pour le Renouveau et la Démocratie…
Gewaltsame Konflikte und ihre Prävention in Afrika. Hintergründe, Analysen und Strategien für die entwicklungspolitische Praxis
Afrika Jahrbuch 2001
Afrika Jahrbuch 2002
Afrika Jahrbuch 2002: Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft in Afrika Südlich der Sahara
Afrika Jahrbuch 2003
Zentralafrikanische Republik
Der Aufruf zum „nationalen Dialog“ (s. Afrika Jahrbuch 2002) zeitigte zunächst nur wenig Folgen. Immerhin gelang es der Regierung, die Finanzierung sicherzustellen, wobei China einen kleineren Teil aufbrachte, Gabun mit ca. FCFA 100 Mio. den größeren. Die Koordinatoren des Dialogs, Bischof Pomodimo von Bossangoa (ab 28.7. Erzbischof von Bangui) und Ex-Premier Maidou, bemühten sich im Ausland um Exilpolitiker, die zum Teil Bereitschaft zur Teilnah…
The hidden costs of power-sharing: Reproducing insurgent violence in Africa
This article analyzes some factors underlying the spread of insurgent violence in Africa. It focuses on the impact external factors have on power struggles on the continent. The first of these is the unsteady support for democracy from Western donors, which has impeded more far-reaching domestic changes in much of Africa. Second are wider changes in the international setting that dramatically enhanced the international standing of armed movements…
Public Perceptions of Security in Post-Conflict Urban Liberia and Sierra Leone Part I – Liberia: Caught between International, State and Non-State Actors
Description to be added
Political discourse in football coverage – the cases of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana
Football coverage in newspapers is both an arena for, and a mirror of, political discourse within a society. This essay argues that discourses within football coverage referring to political issues reflect dominant – and possibly contesting – ‘truths’, which themselves are linked to power relations and political struggles within a given society. The comparison of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, two neighbouring countries in very different conditions (pa…
Africa Yearbook Volume 4: Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara in 2007
The Africa Yearbook covers major domestic political developments, the foreign policy and socio-economic trends in sub-Sahara Africa – all related to developments in one calendar year. The Yearbook contains articles on all sub-Saharan states, each of the four sub-regions (West, Central, Eastern, Southern Africa) focusing on major cross-border developments and sub-regional organizations as well as one article on continental developments and one on …
Africa yearbook: Politics, economy and society south of the Sahara in 2007
Africa Yearbook Volume 5: Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara in 2008
The Africa Yearbook covers major domestic political developments, the foreign policy and socio-economic trends in sub-Sahara Africa – all related to developments in one calendar year. The Yearbook contains articles on all sub-Saharan states, each of the four sub-regions (West, Central, Eastern, Southern Africa) focusing on major cross-border developments and sub-regional organizations as well as one article on continental developments and one on …
Africa Yearbook Volume 5: Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara In 2008
Peace and Power Sharing in Africa: A Not So Obvious Relationship
Peace accords usually involve top politicians and military leaders, who negotiate, sign, and/or benefit from an agreement. What is conspicuously absent from such negotiations is broad-based participation by those who should benefit in the first place: citizens. More specifically, the local level of security provision and insecurity production is rarely taken into account. The analysis of recent African peace agreements shows important variations …
Introduction: Power-Sharing in Africa
Introduction to the Featured Topic Power-Sharing in Africa, Africa Spectrum, Vol. 44, No. 3 (2009
Rebels and parties: The impact of armed insurgency on representation in the Central African Republic
This paper analyses the declining importance of political parties in the Central African Republic (CAR). The country can be considered an extreme example of the lack of viability of a state in general, and democracy in particular. However, the quality of elections has exceeded the average in the sub-region over a substantial time-span. Hopes for a democratic future only faded in recent years. The paper hypothesises that both political parties and…
From “Protecting Civilians” to “For the Sake of Democracy” (and Back Again): Justifying Intervention in Côte d'Ivoire
In its resolution 1975 (2011), the United Nations security council opened the way for the provision of decisive support to the forces close to Alassane Ouattara to win the Ivorian power struggle. The deployed peacekeepers had a mandate “to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.” A second reason frequently given was the necessary enforcement of the popular will expressed during the presidential elections in 2010. Ever since …
Why Security Forces Do Not Deliver Security: Evidence from Liberia and the Central African Republic
Little attention has been paid to the factual contribution of the state's security forces to the physical security of African citizens. Reports about security forces adding to a widespread insecurity are frequent: the protectors become violators, and their appearance causes fear, not security. In many African crisis countries the realization of better security forces appears to be an elusive goal, either because violent conflicts are not definiti…
Afrika Jahrbuch 2002: Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft in Afrika Südlich der Sahara
Afrika Jahrbuch 2003: Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft in Afrika Südlich der Sahara
Afrika Jahrbuch 2001: Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft in Afrika Südlich der Sahara
Why Federalism Did Not Lead to Secession in Cameroon
This study argues that Philip Roeder's ‘segmental-institutions thesis’ does not provide a compelling explanation for the development of a separatist movement among the Anglophone community in West Cameroon. West Cameroon is not a case where the creation of a segment state had brought about secessionist aspirations. Instead, it was the abolishment of federalism that had the long-term effect of fostering secessionism when oil was detected and a pol…
Consociationalism for Weaklings, Autocracy for Muscle Men? Determinants of Constitutional Reform in Divided Societies
(2013). Consociationalism for Weaklings, Autocracy for Muscle Men? Determinants of Constitutional Reform in Divided Societies. Civil Wars: Vol. 15, Institutions for Sustainable Peace? Determinants and Effects of Institutional Choices in Divided Societies, pp. 21-43
Introduction: Institutions for Sustainable Peace? Determinants and Effects of Institutional Choices in Divided Societies
(2013). Introduction: Institutions for Sustainable Peace? Determinants and Effects of Institutional Choices in Divided Societies. Civil Wars: Vol. 15, Institutions for Sustainable Peace? Determinants and Effects of Institutional Choices in Divided Societies, pp. 1-6
Political science (35 works) · Sociology (21 works) · Law (18 works) · Politics (18 works) · Political economy (16 works) · Economics (15 works) · Political Conflict and Governance (12 works) · Development economics (9 works) · Global Peace and Security Dynamics (9 works) · Peacebuilding and International Security (9 works)