Alex De Waal
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 182212 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Alex De Waal |
| PRENOMES | Alex |
| SOBRENOME | De Waal |
| ASSINATURA | DE WAAL A |
| AFILIAÇÕES | Tufts University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8060-4749 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 102 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 526 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 102 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 1988 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 13 |
Trajectories into famine
Drawing on famine systems theory, this paper focuses on the factors that form a trajectory into famine. • Four cases of famine trajectories are reviewed from recent famines or near famine crises. • Identifying the factors that form a trajectory could help to more effectively disrupt those trajectories. • The shape of the trajectory is less important that the identifying its starting point. The prevention of famine is once again a significant huma…
Fictions of the Black Nile
Lineages of Genocide in Sudan
Hunger in global war economies
The resurgence of famines is a topic of concern. This paper explains the recent trajectory using the framework of contending 'global war economies'. It characterises the unipolar neoliberal world order era (1986-2015) as the 'Pax Americana' war economy, focusing on the United States dollar's roles. These were the decades of the liberal imperium, the corporate food regime, and counterinsurgent coalitions, which generated structural vulnerability t…
Memory and the social meanings of famine
Famine theory has overlooked the role of memory in constituting the social meaning of famine. This seminal collection of papers restores the cross-disciplinary study of famines, foregrounding social anthropology, history and comparative politics, in the question of how famines are understood by those in the afflicted societies, and how memories and meanings are shaped by social and political context. The collection plays an important role in focu…
The Cambridge World History of Genocide
Volume I offers an introductory survey of the phenomenon of genocide. The first five chapters examine its major recurring themes, while the further nineteen are specific case studies. The combination of thematic and empirical approaches illuminates the origins and long history of genocide, its causes, consistent characteristics, and the connections linking various cases from earliest times to the early modern era. The themes examined include the …
Introduction
Introduction
the Ethiopian government cracked down on protests in Oromia region with extrajudicial killings and mass arrests. 2 Soon afterwards, amid rising political instability, regional militias targeted local minorities in what was described as "ethnic-cleansing." 3 Then, in early November 2020, Tigray erupted into armed conflict, following a dispute between the regional government, led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal govern…
Paradigm-breaking pandemics, old academic politics
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The Political Marketplace Framework and Mass Starvation
In 2017, the UN raised the alarm on famines in North-east Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. Starvation has been used as a weapon of war in Syria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo currently has among the largest numbers of severely food-insecure people of any country assessed by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system. Each of these sites of mass starvation or famine can be understood as a ‘political marketpla…
The ambiguities of self‐determination
This paper examines the 1994 Declaration of Principles (DoP) for the resolution of the Sudanese civil war, adopted by the Inter‐Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). This was the only occasion on which an African inter‐state organization included separation as an option for resolving a civil war. It was the basis for South Sudan's independence in 2011. The DoP was drafted by the Ethiopian government, and imposed on belligerent parties, bo…
The necessary indeterminacy of self‐determination
This article frames a themed collection on Nationalism and Self‐determination in the Horn of Africa. It demonstrates how the praxis of self‐determination in the Horn of Africa has contributed to normative developments. On the basis of case studies of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan/South Sudan this article argues that nationalism and self‐determination have had different meanings in the political cultures across the different countries and h…
Identity formation and the political marketplace
This article is an introduction to a special issue that focusses on the relationship between the political marketplace, identity politics and organised violence. The political marketplace refers to an extreme form of neo-liberalism in which political relations are monetised. The introduction makes the argument that political marketplaces are associated with fragmented exclusive transnational identities that are constructed through contemporary vi…
Somalia's disassembled state
This paper frames Somalia's modern history as a trajectory from aspiring high modernist nation-state formation to 'disassembled' state, examining how this has been accompanied by – and in part driven by – processes of identity formation and the penetration of marketised political relationships. The paper shows how armed conflicts and post-conflicts contributed to the emergence and consolidation of 'clan units' at the congruence of political-milit…
The Purposes of Starvation
Mass starvation has throughout history been mis-categorized as a natural phenomenon, or an unfortunate side-effect of conflict and political oppression. The numbers and names of the victims fade into the background, blurred traces of the horrors of history. Yet, this is both an inaccurate understanding of starvation crimes and an injustice to victims. Mass starvation is a process of deprivation that occurs when actors impede the capacity of targe…
Re-describing transnational conflict in Africa
This paper discusses the principal findings of a new integrated dataset of transnational armed conflict in Africa. Existing Africa conflict datasets have systematically under-represented the extent of cross-border state support to belligerent parties in internal armed conflicts as well as the number of incidents of covert cross-border armed intervention and incidents of using armed force to threaten a neighbouring state. Based on the method of 'r…
Response to comments
The end of famine? Prospects for the elimination of mass starvation by political action
The Commodification of African Politics I
Can a book be both inspiring and disappointing? The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa might just fall into this rare category. Alex de Waal’s book is theoretically original and empirically rich, but it is also reductionist and, in the case of Ethiopia, biased. The book makes sense of the Horn of Africa’s complex contemporary politics through the prism of three elements. Firstly, de Waal proposes an innovative theory centred on the idea of the ‘…
Response to Kidane Mengisteab's review of The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Peace and the security sector in Sudan, 2002–11
This paper examines how contests over military control were played out during peace negotiations and in the implementation of agreements (including the manipulation or violation of the terms of agreements) in Sudan between 2002 and 2011. The cases examined are the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005, the Darfur peace talks which took place from 2003 to 2011, and the post-referendum arrangements talks of 2011. The central arguments present…
Peace missions and the security sector in Africa
This issue of the African Security Review is the product of a comprehensive review of peace missions in Africa, requested by the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security and undertaken by
The Price of South Sudan's Independence
Just a few years after becoming Africa's newest nation, South Sudan is embroiled in civil war and faces bankruptcy despite its ample oil wealth, thanks to a cynical scramble for the spoils of power
Setting the agenda for evidence-based research on ending mass atrocities
The question of how mass atrocities end has been dominated by a normative approach regarding how they ought to end. Arguing that an evidence-based approach to terminate mass atrocities might offer profound insights into theories of mass atrocities as well as policies designed to prevent or end their occurrence, this article outlines the key questions and approaches needed for an evidence-based study of atrocity endings. It draws on theories of ge…
When kleptocracy becomes insolvent
South Sudan obtained independence in July 2011 as a kleptocracya militarized, corrupt neo-patrimonial system of governance. By the time of independence, the South Sudanese "political marketplace" was so expensive that the country's comparatively copious revenue was consumed by the militarypolitical patronage system, with almost nothing left for public services, development or institution building. The efforts of national technocrats and foreign d…
When kleptocracy becomes insolvent
South Sudan obtained independence in July 2011 as a kleptocracya militarized, corrupt neo-patrimonial system of governance. By the time of independence, the South Sudanese "political marketplace" was so expensive that the country's comparatively copious revenue was consumed by the militarypolitical patronage system, with almost nothing left for public services, development or institution building. The efforts of national technocrats and foreign d…
Mission without end? Peacekeeping in the African political marketplace
Since the mid-1990s the UN, in tandem with major western powers, has embarked upon an ambitious effort of peace support operations in Africa. The results of what we may call the ‘Annan experiment’ are not yet in. But there are good reasons to fear that, in many African countries, such peace operations have defend normative outcomes that are beyond realistic expectation, so that they can never hope to ‘succeed’. This article examines the political…
How will HIV/Aids transform African governance
The HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa has far‐reaching implications for governance and development. In addition to killing millions of individuals and causing serious economic contractions, the pandemic threatens structural transformations in African economies, institutions and governance. Decreased adult life expectancy has important adverse impacts upon savings, capital accumulation, skills acquisition, and institutional functioning. This article exa…
Who are the Darfurians? Arab and African identities, violence and external engagement
Journal Article Who are the Darfurians? Arab and African identities, violence and external engagement Get access Alex de Waal Alex de Waal Alex de Waal is Fellow, Global Equity Initiative, Harvard University, Programme Director, Social Science Research Council and Director, Justice Africa Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar African Affairs, Volume 104, Issue 415, April 2005, Pages 181–205, https://doi.org/10.1…
The theory and practice of Meles Zenawi
In the months following his death on 20 August, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been eulogized and demonized in equal measure. But his policies, and the transformational paradigm on which they were based, have rarely been elucidated. While alive, Meles was equally indifferent to praise and blame. To those who acclaimed Ethiopia's remarkable economic growth, he would ask, do they understand that his policies completely contradicted the …
Social Contract and Deterring Famine
The links between certain kinds of political systems and protection against famine are investigated in this paper. The starting-point is a critique of Amartya Sen's observation that famines are unknown in countries with a free press and competitive elections. This holds true only in India because of a unique political history in which freedom from famine became a right, upon which political legitimacy was founded: an anti-famine 'social contract'…
The Humanitarian Carnival
The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars
Douglas H. Johnson, The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars. London: International African Institute; Oxford: James Currey; Bloomington: Indiana University Press; Kampala: Fountain Publishers (paperback £12.95, ISBN 0 85255 392 7). 2003, 256 pp. - Alex de Waal and Yoanes Ajawin (eds), When Peace Comes: civil society and development in Sudan. Lawrenceville and Asmara: Red Sea Press, for Justice Africa, Committee for the Civil Project in Sudan (paper…
Hybrid social movements in Africa
This essay identifies patterns in the organisation and character of social movements in Africa, drawing upon examples from sub-Saharan Africa and finding connections with the 2011 ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings. It pays attention to historicising social movements, global linkages and the problem of sustaining change. Rather than defining social movements in an a priori manner, or generalising from definitions derived from the western societies, it explo…
The epidemiology of lethal violence in Darfur
A Re-assessment of Entitlement Theory in the Light of the Recent Famines in Africa
This paper is an attempt to re-assess the nature of famines, as conceptualized in Professor Sen's entitlement theory, in the light of empirical evidence concerning the recent African famines. The paper identifies two critical phenomena that entitlement theory fails to explain. First, during famines, many people choose not to consume food rather than sell vital assets. Secondly, most famine mortality is not directly related to undernutrition, but …
Famine Mortality
A survey was undertaken in the Darfur Region of Sudan, to collect retrospective mortality data for the famine period of 1984–5. During the famine the crude death rate trebled to 40 per thousand. Most of the excess mortality consisted of a sharp seasonal rise in child deaths. Infant and adult mortality rose only to a lesser extent. Fertility was lowered. The main causes of death were diarrhoeas, measles and malaria. Health factors, such as water s…
The future of anthropology
Journal Article The future of anthropology: its relevance to the contemporary world Get access The future of anthropology: its relevance to the contemporary world. Edited by Akbar Ahmedand Cris Shore. London: Athlone. 1995. 291pp. Index. £42.00; ISBN 0 485 11445 3. Pb.: £14.95; ISBN 0 485 12105 0. Alex de Waal Alex de Waal 1African Rights Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Affairs, Volume 72, Is…
Famine Early Warning Systems and the Use of Socio-Economic Data
Famine early warning systems using socio-economic data suffer from several problems. One is that they cannot, and do not attempt to, distinguish between qualitatively different kinds of famine. The second is that they cannot predict these either accurately or early enough. This is because all the socio-economic indicators produce both false positives and false negatives, the indicators themselves are "late" and because interpretation of the data …
The end of famine? Prospects for the elimination of mass starvation by political action
The humanitarians' tragedy
Paradoxically, elements of cruelty are intrinsic to the humanitarian enterprise.1 This paper focuses on some of these. Escapable cruelties arise from technical failings, but the gradual professionalisation of the field and improvements in relief technologies mean that they have been significantly reduced in comparison to earlier eras. Other cruelties arise from clashes among rights, and the tensions inherent in trying to promote humanity amid the…
Aids, security and the military in Africa
This article examines four accepted wisdoms about HIV/AIDS and African armies and in each case concludes that substantial revision is necessary in the light of emerging evidence. First, it appears that military populations do not necessarily have a higher prevalence of HIV than civilian populations. HIV levels in armies depend on many factors including the demographics of the army, its pattern of deployment, the nature and stage of the epidemic i…
Islamism and Its Enemies in the Horn of Africa
1. Introduction (Alex de Waal) 2. On the failure and persistence of Jihad (A. H. Abdel Salam and Alex de Waal) 3. Islamism, jihad and state power in Sudan (Alex de Waal and A.H. Abdel Salam) 4. Islamic dynamics in the Somali civil war (Roland Marchal) 5. The promise and peril of Islamic voluntarism (M.A. Mohamed Salih) 6. The politics of destabilisation in the Horn 1989-2001 (Alex de Waal) 7. Africa, Islamism and America's 'War on Terror' after S…
Ending Mozambique's war
Journal Article Ending Mozambique's war: the role of mediation and good offices Get access Ending Mozambique's war: the role of mediation and good offices. By Cameron Hume. Washington DC: United States Institute of Peace Press. 1994. 162pp. Index. Pb.: $14.95. ISBN 1 878379 37 2. Alex de Waal Alex de Waal 1African Rights Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Affairs, Volume 71, Issue 2, April 1995,…
African roles in the Libyan conflict of 2011
Libya's relationship with sub-Saharan Africa has been complex, troubled and misunderstood, both during the rule of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the conflict that culminated in his overthrow and death. The Libyan conflict of 2011 divided Africa, but nonetheless the African Union (AU) was able to agree on a political strategy aimed at achieving a negotiated settlement and power transition. The AU's peace initiative was launched in Mar…
The theory and practice of Meles Zenawi
Journal Article The theory and practice of Meles Zenawi: A reply to to René Lefort Get access Alex de Waal Alex de Waal * *Alex de Waal ([email protected]) is Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School, Tufts University. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar African Affairs, Volume 112, Issue 448, July 2013, Pages 471–475, https://doi.org/10.1093/afraf/adt022 Published: 26 May 20…
Contemporary Warfare in Africa
Summaries This article attempts to synthesize a coherent analysis of the ways in which warfare in Africa has changed since the end of the Cold War. Strategies used by governments to combat insurgencies and counter the threat of military coups d'etat are assessed, contrasting the centralized military machine of the former Ethiopian government with the policy of fragmenting military authority pursued by President Mobutu of Zaire. The economic decli…
The Purposes of Starvation
Mass starvation has throughout history been mis-categorized as a natural phenomenon, or an unfortunate side-effect of conflict and political oppression. The numbers and names of the victims fade into the background, blurred traces of the horrors of history. Yet, this is both an inaccurate understanding of starvation crimes and an injustice to victims. Mass starvation is a process of deprivation that occurs when actors impede the capacity of targe…
Re-describing transnational conflict in Africa
This paper discusses the principal findings of a new integrated dataset of transnational armed conflict in Africa. Existing Africa conflict datasets have systematically under-represented the extent of cross-border state support to belligerent parties in internal armed conflicts as well as the number of incidents of covert cross-border armed intervention and incidents of using armed force to threaten a neighbouring state. Based on the method of 'r…
Peace and the security sector in Sudan, 2002–11
This paper examines how contests over military control were played out during peace negotiations and in the implementation of agreements (including the manipulation or violation of the terms of agreements) in Sudan between 2002 and 2011. The cases examined are the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005, the Darfur peace talks which took place from 2003 to 2011, and the post-referendum arrangements talks of 2011. The central arguments present…
Refugees and the Creation of Famine
Western Sudan and Chad were hit by famine in 1984/5. Dar Masalit stands out as a ‘pocket’ of exceptionally severe and prolonged famine. This is related to the fact that the area hosted 120,000 Chadian refugees at the time. Comparative data show that population movements of comparable size in this area need not cause famine. There were two critical differences in this case. One factor was insecurity in Chad, which prevented the refugees returning …
Famine Early Warning Systems and the Use of Socio-Economic Data
Famine early warning systems using socio-economic data suffer from several problems. One is that they cannot, and do not attempt to, distinguish between qualitatively different kinds of famine. The second is that they cannot predict these either accurately or early enough. This is because all the socio-economic indicators produce both false positives and false negatives, the indicators themselves are "late" and because interpretation of the data …
Is Famine Relief Irrelevant to Rural People
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Famine Mortality
A survey was undertaken in the Darfur Region of Sudan, to collect retrospective mortality data for the famine period of 1984–5. During the famine the crude death rate trebled to 40 per thousand. Most of the excess mortality consisted of a sharp seasonal rise in child deaths. Infant and adult mortality rose only to a lesser extent. Fertility was lowered. The main causes of death were diarrhoeas, measles and malaria. Health factors, such as water s…
The Ecology of Health and Disease in Ethiopia
A Re-assessment of Entitlement Theory in the Light of the Recent Famines in Africa
This paper is an attempt to re-assess the nature of famines, as conceptualized in Professor Sen's entitlement theory, in the light of empirical evidence concerning the recent African famines. The paper identifies two critical phenomena that entitlement theory fails to explain. First, during famines, many people choose not to consume food rather than sell vital assets. Secondly, most famine mortality is not directly related to undernutrition, but …
Logic and Application
The Government They Deserve
Journal Article The Government They Deserve: The role of the elite in Sudan's political evolution Get access The Government They Deserve: The role of the elite in Sudan's political evolution, by Mansour Khalid. Kegan Paul International, London, 1990. vii + 480 pp. £25.00 hardback. ISBN 0 7103 0327 0. ALEX DE WAAL ALEX DE WAAL Africa WatchLondon Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar African Affairs, Volume 90, Is…
Hunger in History
Famine and human rights
Famine is clearly and undeniably a terrible wrong, and famine is preventable. The occurrence of famine is an indictment of the ethics of the country in which it has occurred. Despite this, those claiming to represent ethical concerns in general and human rights in particular have had little impact on either understanding famine or dealing with it. This paper is an attempt to develop an agenda whereby human rights concerns can be brought to bear o…
Evil Days
Evil Days
Eritrea
Doing Harm by Doing Good? The International Relief Effort in Somalia
Essay| May 01 1993 Doing Harm by Doing Good? The International Relief Effort in Somalia Alex de Waal, Alex de Waal Alex de Waal is a co-director of African Rights, a human rights group they have established in London. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Rakiya Omaar Rakiya Omaar Rakiya Omaar is a co-director of African Rights, a human rights group they have established in London. Search for other works by thi…
War and Famine in Africa
War is the major cause of famine in Africa. Wars cause famine in three major ways: (1) the direct destruction of battle, and the consumption of resources, including food, by armies; (2) famine is a weapon of war, particularly during sieges and for counterinsurgency purposes ? strategies such as population relocation and restrictions on movement and trade are tantamount to creating famine in many African countries; (3) in countries such as Somalia…
Sudan
Dix ans de famines dans la corne de l'Afrique
Les principaux responsables des opérations d'aide humanitaire dans la Corne de l'Afrique sont davantage le produit des demandes institutionnelles des associations humanitaires et des médias que le résultat de la demande émanant directement du terrain en faveur de la protection des individus et de la paix. Cet article s'intéresse particulièrement aux cas de la Somalie, de l'Ethiopie et du Soudan. Le taux de mortalité dû à la famine n'a pas diminué…
Can Military Intervention Be "Humanitarian"
African encounters
Protecting the dispossessed
Journal Article Protecting the dispossessed: a challenge for the international community Get access Protecting the dispossessed: a challenge for the international community. By Francis M. Deng. Washington DC: Brookings. 1993. 175pp. Index. $26.95; ISBN 0 8157 1826 8. Pb.: $9.95; ISBN 0 8157 1825 x. Alex de Waal Alex de Waal 1African Rights, London Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Affairs, Volu…
The international organization of hunger
Journal Article The international organization of hunger Get access The international organization of hunger. By Peter Uvin. London: Kegan Paul International for Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva. 1994. 334pp. Index. £45.00. ISBN 0 7103 0466 8. Alex de Waal Alex de Waal 1African Rights, London Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Affairs, Volume 70, Issue 3, July 1994, Page 554, …
Theories of a Famine
Genocide in Rwanda
The Genocide in Rwanda and the International Response
Essay| April 01 1995 The Genocide in Rwanda and the International Response Alex de Waal, Alex de Waal Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Rakiya Omaar Rakiya Omaar Alex de Waal and Rakiya Omaar are codirectors of African Rights, a human rights group they have established in London. They are the authors of Rwanda: Death, Despair, and Defiance (London: African Rights, 1994). Search for other works by this autho…
Responses to Demars
Journal Article RESPONSES TO DEMARS Get access ALEX DE WAAL ALEX DE WAAL African RightsLondon Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Refugee Studies, Volume 8, Issue 4, 1995, Pages 411–414, https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/8.4.411 Published: 01 October 1995
Political science (87 obras) · Law (62 obras) · Sociology (52 obras) · Politics (43 obras) · Economics (34 obras) · Law (33 obras) · History (26 obras) · Development economics (24 obras) · Famine (24 obras) · Global Peace and Security Dynamics (22 obras)