IS Academy

Background

In February 2007 the African Studies Centre (ASC) in Leiden and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Sub-Saharan Africa Department (DAF) entered into an IS Academy partnership. They had previously consulted each other on a regular basis, but have now formalised their working relationship through the IS Academy. The African State research programme allows the ASC and the Ministry to exchange knowledge and research results on how the African State functions.

Government institutions in Africa are important partners for the Ministry. In Africa – perhaps more than anywhere else – there are significant differences between formal government agencies and formal rules, on the one hand, and the way things are actually managed by those agencies, on the other. This can have major consequences for relations between these African states and the Netherlands. The IS Academy provides a framework within which the ASC and DAF can regularly consult on African sociological and policy issues. This promotes exchange of information, consultation and cooperation.

Research framework

The partners entered into the agreement on the basis of the following research questions. During the first year of the partnership, research will mostly be conducted by PhD students.

1) Good governance and donor intervention in the African State
The objective is to gain insight into the nature of the African State and how it affects
sustainable development and expectations relating to development in Africa. There will also be a critical examination of the impact development aid has had on African ‘states’, taking the history of the continent into account. For example, has development aid really encouraged national ownership of the development process or, in fact, obstructed it?

2) Failing states, conflict and conflict resolution
The objective is to analyse forms of government and the organisation of security at
local level, and to consider how donors can ensure that policy responds adequately.

3) The state and the private sector
To obtain a useful picture of how government and the private sector work, the
consequences of conflicting interests and the muddy mix of private and public interests when determining policy for private sector development need to be analysed. Research also addresses alternative approaches to private sector development which will improve the economic policy climate.

Activities

Research
In the second half of 2007 three PhD students were selected to conduct research as part of the African State project. In 2008 they were joined by another three PhD students.

Education
Various Ministry and ASC staff have given lectures organised by the ASC in Leiden and its partners, as part of the Research Master’s in African Studies and other degree programmes elsewhere in the Netherlands.

Workshops
In November 2007 a workshop was held for ASC and DAF staff on the concept of failing states and development paradigms. In November 2008 a second workshop was held, this time on ‘Power and politics in Africa: working with the grain’.

Lectures
In 2011 the following seminars were given:
- 22 June: Prosper Matondi (Ruzivo Trust, Zimbabwe), Lionel Cliffe (Centre for African Studies at the University of Leeds (UK)), Sharah Soede (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Land Reform, Food security and Stability in Africa: lessons from Zimbabwe, South Africa and Kenya
- 27 October: Leonardo A. Villalón (University of Florida), Carmen Hagenaars (cluster coordinator West Africa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs)  Negotiating Islam and Democracy in Sahelian Africa: Senegal, Mali, Niger
- 8 December: David Van Reybrouck, Jaime de Bourbon Parme en Joost van Puijenbroek (IKV Pax Christi), Femke van Zeijl (interviewer) Bloeddiamanten of een gouden toekomst? De rol van grondstoffen in Congo.

In 2010 the following seminars were given:
- 11 March: Marloes H.N. Bakker (Planbureau Leefomgeving) and Aaron T. Wolf (Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University) Shared Waters. Conflict and Cooperation
- 8 April: Dr. Remco Oostendorp (VU), Dr. Geske Dijkstra (EUR), Dr. Lia van Wesenbeeck (VU) De economie van de beginnende ontwikkeling
- 26 May: Einas Ahmed (CEDEJ) and Norbert Braakhuis (Netherlands' ambassador in Sudan) Sudan's Recent Elections and the Upcoming Referendum in the South
- 17 June: Prof. Stephen Ellis (ASC/VU) Africa in the world today
- 6 October: Dr Udesh Pillay (CSD and HSRC) Development and Dreams. The Urban Legacy of the 2010 Football World Cup

In 2009 the following seminars were given:
- 26 March: Dr. Jan Kees van Donge (ASC) and Dr. David Henley (KITLV) Development in Africa and Asia: How can the difference be explained?
- 8 June: Ian Gary (Senior Policy Advisor Oxfam America) New oil producers in Africa and the challenges of governance. The case of Ghana
- 16 December: Paul Mathieu (FAO Land Tenure and Management Unit) Global Investments in Agriculture and Large-Scale Land Acquisitions. Stakes and Relations with Rural Development  

In 2008 the following seminars were given:
- 22 April: Sujit Dutta (UNRISD) India in Africa: Building ties for the new century
- 29 May: Dr. Thandika Mkandawire (IDSA) From maladjusted states to developmental states
- 5 June: Ricardo Soares de Oliveira (Oxford University) Oil and politics in Africa
- 22 October: Adam Habib (University of Johannesburg) Speaking to global debates with a national and continental lens: South-African and African social movements in comparative perspective
- 6 November: Prof. Peter J. Schraeder (Loyola University Chicago) The US Elections, US Foreign Policy towards Africa, and Africom
- 19 November: David Booth (ODI) Governance for development in Africa: what’s the problem and what’s next?

Publications

• Abbink, J. (2009), Law against reality? Contextualizing the Ethiopian-Eritrean border problem. In: A. de Guttry, G. Venturini & H. Post, eds, The 1998–2000 War Between Eritrea and Ethiopia. An International Legal Perspective, pp. 141-158. The Hague: T.M.C. Asser Press & Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Abbink, J. (2009), Ethiopia. In: A. Mehler, H. Melber & K. van Walraven, eds., Africa Yearbook 2008: Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara, pp. 309-320. Leiden - Boston: Brill Academic Publishers.
• Abbink, J. (2009), Somalia. In: A. Mehler, H. Melber & K. van Walraven, eds., Africa Yearbook 2008: Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara, pp. 351-360. Leiden - Boston: Brill Academic Publishers.
• Abbink, J. (2009) The Ethiopian second republic and the fragile ‘social contract’. Africa Spectrum 44(2): 3-28.
• Dijk, H. van (2009), Chad. In: A. Mehler, H. Melber & K. van Walraven, eds., Africa Yearbook 2008: Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara, pp. 211-218. Leiden- Boston: Brill Academic Publishers.
• Ellis, S. (2009) West Africa’s International Drug Trade. African Affairs, 108 (431): 171–96.
• Ellis, S. & I. van Kessel, eds. (2009), Movers and Shakers: Social Movements in Africa. Leiden: Brill, 257 pp.
• Kessel, I. van (2009), ‘Afrika heeft een sociaal contract nodig’, Openbaar Bestuur, no 3, Maart 2009, pp. 31-36.
• Leegwater, M. (2011) 'Sharing Scarcity: Issues of Land Tenure in South-east Rwanda' In: A. Ansoms and S. Marysse (eds.) Natural Resources and Local Livelihoods in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. A Political Economy Perspective, pp 104-122. Palgrave Macmillan, New York/ Basingstoke.
• Leenstra, M. (2007), Beyond the Façade. Neo-patrimonialism and the Zambian Heath Reforms, in University of Leipzig Papers on Africa no. 80, Leipzig 2007.K. van Walraven (2009), Niger. In: Africa Yearbook 2008: Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara vol. 5, pp. 137-144.
• Vliet, M. van (2011) “Mali” In: Africa Yearbook 2010: Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara vol. 7: pp. 133-140. Leiden - Boston: Brill Academic Publishers.
• Vliet, M. van (2011) “Family Matters: The Interplay between Formal and Informal Incentives for Accountability in Mali’s Local Communities”, In: Chirwa, Danwoord and Lia Nijzink (eds.) Accountable Governments in Africa: Perspectives from Public Law and Political Studies. UCT Press (peer reviewed)
• Vliet, M. van, Bossuyt, J. and De Jong, K. (2011) The accountability web: illustrating effective local accountability mechanisms. Policy Paper presented to the OECD Governance Meeting (June, 2011).
• Vliet, M. van Accountability and improved local service delivery in SSA. ASC Brochure on service delivery and local accountability in Sub-Saharan Africa (August 2011)
• Vries, L. de (2011) “Négocier l’Autorité. Les micro-pratiques étatiques à la frontière du Sud-Soudan et de la République Démocratique du Congo.” Politique Africaine 122 (2): 41-58.
• Vries, L. de (2011) “The City in the Fragile State. Juba; a Fragile Capital?” In: Klem, M. (ed.) Who belongs to the city / To whom belongs the city. Den Haag: a report by Research for Development, commissioned by VNG international.
• Vries, L. de & E. Hazard, M.A. Barry, A.A. Anouan & N. Pinaud (2009) The Developmental Impact of the Asian Drivers on Senegal, The World Economy 32 (11) K. van Walraven (2009), West Africa. In: Africa Yearbook: Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara vol. 5: pp. 43-55.
• Walraven, K. van (co-authored) (2009). Sub-Saharan Africa. In: Africa Yearbook 2008: Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara vol. 5: pp. 1-17.
   

Partners/Contact

Partners
A number of other institutions are also directly involved in the partnership, through lectures and other activities. These include VU University Amsterdam, the University of Leiden, the University of Utrecht and Wageningen University. Most cooperation with the Ministry takes place through the Human Rights, Good Governance and Humanitarian Aid Department (DMH). Other institutions in the Netherlands and Africa are also expected to become involved in the programme, primarily through PhD students’ research.

The IS Academy partnership is supervised by a steering committee comprising ASC and DAF representatives. It meets four times a year.

Current members are:
Prof. Ton Dietz (ASC)
Prof. Stephen Ellis (ASC)
Prof. Jan Abbink (ASC)
Prof. Han van Dijk (ASC)
Gitty Petit (ASC)
Marion van Schaik (DAF)
Huub Hendrix

PhD students
- Marion Eeckhout
Research: How to boost mediocre economic performance in the Sub-Sahara: a comparison of institutional processes of change in Ghana.
- Margot Leegwater
Research: Land access and ethnicity in southeastern Rwanda
- Melle Leenstra
Research: The Zambian healthcare sector, seen from a political/policy perspective.
- Matthias Olthaar
Research: Opportunities for smallholders in value chains: sesame in Ethiopia and Tanzania
- Martin van Vliet
Research: An in-depth empirical study of the democratic consolidation process in Mali.
- Lotje de Vries
Research: Transnational perspectives on regional fragility; the construction of a Southern-Sudanese state seen from the peripheral border regions.

Contact
For more information about the project, contact:

• ASC
African Studies Centre
attn. Gitty Petit
Postbus 9555
2300 RB Leiden
The Netherlands
Tel.: +31 (0)71 527 3376

• DAF
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Sub-Saharan Africa Department
attn. Marion van Schaik
Postbus 20061
2500 EB Den Haag
The Netherlands
Tel.: +31 (0)70 348 6092

Developments

The following activities took place in 2008:
• The two PhD students who were selected began their research, requiring them to spend time at the Ministry on a regular basis. A third PhD student began his research in July 2008. A DAF PhD student continued the research he began in 2007.
• A number of ASC staff participated in a conference on Africa organised by the Ministry (as chair, panel member, etc.)
• Two work placements have been created at the Ministry.
• Two African students have been selected to receive grants. One has been awarded a Ministry grant to fund participation in the Research Master’s in African Studies, the other has been awarded a grant by the University of Leiden.
• A one-day workshop was organised in November for ASC and DAF staff.
• DAF and the ASC staff appeared as guest speakers as part of the Research Master’s in African Studies.
• Six seminars were organised.

The following activities took place in 2009:
• The three selected PhD students will continue their research, spending one day a week at the Ministry. Two new PhD students began their research in 2009, one from DAF and the other from the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD).
• In November a one-day seminar on 'Elections in Africa: Fair, Façade or Failure?' was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The aim was to identify both the positive and negative aspects of African elections by considering the subject from a scientific, a political as well as  a policy point of view.
• DAF and ASC staff appeared as guest speakers as part of the Research Master’s in African Studies, and other degree programmes.
• The first two students with an IS-Academy scholarship have graduated in August 2009. Two African student were selected to participate in the Research Masters in African Studies. One will receive a Ministry grant; the other will receive a grant from Leiden University.
• Three seminars were organised and took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.