African agency in international politics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6023522 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mathurin C Houngnikpo (Film Independent, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 114 |
| Issue | 457 |
| Pages | 662-663 |
| Publication date | 2015-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | African Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0001-9909 • E-ISSN: 1468-2621 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/afraf/adv050 |
| OpenAlex | W2280638337 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
In the social sciences there is a longstanding debate over the primacy of structure or agency in shaping human behaviour. Agency is the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices, while structure is the recurrent patterned arrangements which influence or limit the choices and opportunities available. In a nutshell, the structure versus agency debate may be understood as an issue of socialization against autonomy in determining whether an individual acts as a free agent or in a manner dictated by social structure. Against this backdrop, this volume seeks to deepen our understanding of Africa's position within global politics: whether, how, and under what conditions can African leaders exercise agency in their dealings with other international actors? However, the contributors acknowledge at the outset that the picture of African agency is ‘very mixed, issue specific and fluid’ (p. 7). In this volume, which is the outcome of a seminar series, the editors and contributors explore the degree to which African political actors have room to manoeuvre within the international system and exert influence internationally, and the uses they make of that room. In a very well-argued introduction, the editors discuss the context for the deliberations, the various levels at which agency can be understood, and how the book's rather diverse chapters can be read as a whole. The following ten chapters are divided into three sections that deal respectively with African positions at international forums including the UN, climate change summits, the WTO, and in bilateral relations; unconventional sites of agency in global politics; and structure–agency international theory.
Agency (philosophy) · Autonomy · Context (archaeology) · Geography · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Structure and agency · International Development and Aid · Law
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,33 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2023 (7) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |