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Activities

Long-term researcher dispatches ending

updated 31 Mar 2016

Since 2014, Osaka University (the Osaka School of International Public Policy) has been organizing the dispatch of researchers to counterpart institutions in Africa for long-term (up to approximately one year) research projects covering various aspects of African peace and security. As of March 2016, this program will come to an end. Under this program, researchers were dispatched to the University of the Free State in South Africa, as well as Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique. The University of Burundi and the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) in South Africa also agreed to host researchers, although this did not come to fruition in the end. The program is grateful to all these institutions for their active participation in this program. Joint research programs, and short-term exchanges between these institutions will continue.

UN Security Council Database goes online

updated 20 Mar 2016

In March 2016, the project went online with its UN Security Council Resolution Database. The database is a custom search tool (accessible to all free of charge) that allows users to search for and analyze long-term trends in UN Security Council resolutions. The database is not a search engine for the resolution texts, but allows resolutions to be filtered and discovered based on key pre-identified characteristics about the decisions contained in the resolutions. The content of each resolution has been categorized according to these pre-identified characteristics, and includes general information about the resolution (such as date, geographical location, the invocation of Chapter VII of the UN Charter), as well as a set of details about each of the following: sanctions, peace operations, non-UN operations/enforcement actions, criminal tribunals, other subsidiary organs, thematic resolutions, membership, and appointments. Although it currently contains data on resolutions for 2000-2015, it will soon be expanded to include pre-2000 data, and will be updated for resolutions in 2016 and beyond.

Research Fellowship at the University of the Free State

Dr. Marina Magalhães B. L. da SILVA, Osaka University

 

updated 15 Mar 2016

I recently completed a long-term research fellowship at the University of the Free State, in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The research was part of the African Conflict Resolution program. The university hosted me as a postdoctoral fellow and gave me all the necessary support to conduct my research. The period as postdoctoral fellow in South Africa represented a great professional and personal experience in terms of building solid research and gathering knowledge about the African continent.

CEAPS/SACCPS Conference 2016
African Conflict Resolution: Finding a Balance Between Local and International-led Initiatives

updated 23 Feb 2016

Part 1:  10 February, 2016
               Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
Presentations (see here for the full program details)
Together in the same objective: The engagement between the AU Peace and Security Council and the UN Security Council

Marina Magalhães B. L. da Silva, University of the Free State, South Africa

 

Conflict resolution in Africa: Appraisal of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC)

Michael-Njunga Mulikita, Copperbelt University, Zambia

 

A review of the SADC standby force and preparedness on peacebuilding

Oscar Tembo, Copperbelt University, Zambia

 
Elections, a coup attempt and the local media in Burundi

Virgil Hawkins, Osaka University, Japan

 

Peace and security in Africa

Leonidas Ndayisaba, University of Burundi, Burundi

 
Electoral violence and youths in Africa

Ignatius Mukunto, Copperbelt University, Zambia

 

Infrastructure for peace (I4P) in Africa

Willem Ellis, University of the Free State, South Africa

 

A role of intermediators to bridge the economic and racial divides: The case of South Africa

Michiya Kawamura, Osaka University, Japan

 

History and the present: The situation in Qwaqwa, Free State, South Africa

Sayaka Kono, Tsuda College, Japan

 

Power from below: Conflict transformation in an urban locus

John Bwalya, Copperbelt University, Zambia

 

Rehabilitation programmes in juvenile correctional institutions in Zambia

Yvonne T. Chingambu, Copperbelt University, Zambia

 
Informal food system in Kitwe, Zambia

Precious Moyo Shoko, Copperbelt University, Zambia

 
Socioeconomic inequalities and post-electoral conflict in Mozambique

Cristiano Matsinhe, Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique

 
‘Não ao ProSavana’ campaign: civil society mobilizations against Japan-Brazil trilateral cooperation development project in Mozambique

Carla Bringas, Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique

 

Part 2:  22-23 February, 2016
              University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, Republic of South Africa
Presentations (see here for the full program details)
Politics in South Africa: facts and fictio

Mr. Roland Henwood, Department of Political Sciences, UP

 

The travails of becoming a democracy in an undemocratic world system

Dr. Siphamandla Zondi, Institute for Global Dialogue

 

The Free State Province: An example of neo-patrimonial rule
Mr. Roy Jankielson, Leader of the Opposition in the Free

State Legislature

 
Media and government in South Africa in 2016

Mr. Gert Coetzee, Editor of Volksblad

 

The South African economy: Is there still hope?

Mr. Rocco Carr, Business Development Manager, Glacier

 

Economic policy for growth and jobs

Prof. Philippe Burger, Head of Department of Economics, UFS

 

South Africa’s Foreign Policy and BRIC(S): A Critical Analysis

Prof. Theo Neethling, Head of Department of Political Studies and Governance, UFS

 

Why the Penny Sparrows are coming out of the closet

Ms. Zubeida Jaffer, Writer-in-Residence, Department of Communication Sciences, UFS

 

How race can blind us

Dr. Johann Roussouw, Department of Philosophy, UFS

 

 

Professor Jonathan Jansen, Rector, UFS

 

 

The role of the local media in Burundi’s 2015 coup attempt

Prof. Virgil Hawkins, Osaka University

 
Infrastructure for Peace (I4P): Re-learning the lessons of the past

Mr. Willem Ellis, UFS

 
Political stability and foreign direct investment in SADC: A love-hate relationship

Mr. Yani Karavasilev, Osaka University

 
Analyzing UN Security Council responses to African conflicts: Introducing a database tool

Ms. Elisabet Vergara Velasco, Osaka University

 

Beyond capacity building: The interaction between Africa and the UN Security Council

Dr. Marina da Silva, Osaka University and University of the Free State

 

China’s international peacekeeping contributions: Understanding China’s global positioning and involvement in peacekeeping in Africa

Prof. Theo Neethling, University of the Free State

 

The outcome of institutional engineering in Nigeria

Prof. Michiya Kawamura, Osaka University

 

International and domestic contestation: The case of Mozambique's Prosavana Project

Dr. Carla Bringas, Eduardo Mondlane Univeristy, Mozambique

Research visit to Ethiopia

updated 22 Sep 2015

Photo by Maria Dyveke Styve

In September 2015, Marina Magalhães Barreto Leite da Silva, who is currently based at the University of the Free State in South Africa with the CEAPS program, visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as part of her research on the relations between the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (with a particular focus on the UN Security Council). She visited and interviewed researchers at the offices of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), and the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) at Addis Ababa University. She also conducted an interview with the chair of political affairs at the UN Office to the African Union (UNOAU) focusing on the interaction between the AU and the UN.

University of Burundi partnering with CEAPS

updated 16 Jul 2015

The University of Burundi (specifically the Research and Training for Peace Centre, CERFOPAX, UNESCO Chair) is partnering with the University of the Free State and Osaka University (along with other universities and research institutes in Africa) for the CEAPS program. This partnership will involve joint involvement in CEAPS and other research programs. The University of Burundi's participation is led by Professor Leonidas Ndayisaba, the Director of CERFOPAX. This partnership follows a CEAPS visit to Burundi University in February 2015, and a visit by Professor Ndayisaba to Osaka University in July 2015.

Visit to Lesotho

updated 18 Jun 2015

In June 2015, M. K. Mahlakeng (University of the Free State) and Virgil Hawkins (Osaka University) participated in a CEAPS visit to Lesotho. They held discussions with Lesotho's Minister of Communications, Science and Technology and Minister of Home Affairs on various subjects pertaining to peace and security in the southern African region. The visitors also participated in the Social Accountability Learning Lab, held by World Vision in Berea District, which brought together representatives from the government, the media and civil society, including representative from World Vision throughout the region. The visitors particularly played an active part in the panel focusing on the role of the media in brokering state-citizen accountability relationships.

Researcher takes up position at University of the Free State

updated 28 May 2015

In May 2015, Marina Magalhães Barreto Leite da Silva took up a ten-month research position with the CEAPS program at the University of the Free State, South Africa. Based at the Faculty of the Humanities with Professor Hussein Solomon, she will focus her research efforts on the relationship between the African Union (AU) and the United Nations, with a particular emphasis on the UN Security Council, and the ongoing discussions surrounding the possibility of its reform.

Researchers take up positions at Eduardo Mondlane University

updated 29 Apr 2015

In April 2015, Rui Faro Saraiva and Carla Bringas took up ten-month research positions with the CEAPS program at Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique. Both are based at the Centre for African Studies at the university. Rui Faro Saraiva's research will be focused on the security issues surrounding the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), as well as Japanese involvement in security issues in Africa. The topic of Carlas Bringas' research is the role of development aid in peacebuilding, particularly in Mozambique.

A year at the University of the Free State

フリーステイト大学での一年間

 

PhD Candidate Graduate School of International and Cultural Studies Tsuda College

Sayaka KONO

 

津田塾大学大学院

河野明佳

 

updated 10 Mar 2015

I am interested in the people who have been excluded not only economically but also socially and politically in the post-apartheid South Africa. Thus I have visited poorer areas in townships and conducted fieldwork since I was an undergraduate student. The University of the Free State, to which I was dispatched, was located in the area where I have conducted field research since 2009. So I was excited to have this opportunity to stay in my field for a longer period, and expected to see the dynamics of the people’s life which I could not see in the short-term visits.

アパルトヘイト崩壊後の南アフリカ社会の中で、経済的にだけでなく、社会的、政治的に阻害され続けている人びとへの関心があった。学部時代より、大学の長期休みを利用して、旧アフリカ人居住区(タウンシップ)、特にその中でも貧困地区を中心に滞在し、フィールドワークを行ってきた。今回の派遣先であるフリーステイト大学は、私が2009年よりフィールドワークを行ってきた地域に位置する。1年という長期間滞在することで、2~3か月の短期では見えてこない人びとの様相が垣間見られるのではないかと、今回の派遣はとても楽しみであった。

CEAPS 2nd Annual Conference
"Perspectives on African Peace and Security" UFS

updated 10 Mar 2015

Presentations (see here for the full program details)
South African politics in dynamic equilibrium – a political shift to the left?

Andre Duvenhage, University of the North-West, South Africa

 

South Africa’s Political Risk Profile: Premier League or Second Division?

Theo Neethling, UFS

 

The Development of Sesotho Identity in South Africa: Implications for a South African National Identity

Sayaka Kono, Tsuda University, Japan

 
Hybrid Political Orders as an Alternative to African Westphalian States

Albert Schoeman, UFS

 

The Patriotic Front and Political Stability in Zambia

Maximilian Mainza, Osaka University, Japan

 
The African Union and Counter-Terrorism

Hussein Solomon, UFS

 

The African Union’s Response to Water Conflict on the River Nile, Mr. Mahlakeng,

Khosi Mahlakeng, UFS

 

I am Charlie, but I am Baga too. Why are African lives deemed less newsworthy?

Alta Vermeulen, UFS

 

If it bleeds, it leads? Distant media coverage of the peace process in Angola

Virgil Hawkins, Osaka University, Japan

 

China and India in the Sudans: Energy and Peace

Ambrose du Plessis, UFS

Hussein Solomon Speaks on Critical Terrorism Studies

updated 08 Mar 2015

Hussein Solomon (professor, University of the Free State, South Africa) visited Osaka University in March 2015, discussing ongoing joint research projects on the subject of peace and security in Africa (including the hosting of international conferences) and further ties between the two universities. He also gave a talk on the subject of Critical Terrorism Studies, emphasizing its importance particularly in light of the apparent failure of current counter-terrorism efforts, which are largely state-centric and offer primarily military solutions.

Virgil Hawkins Visits the University of Burundi

updated 01 Mar 2015

In February 2015, Virgil Hawkins (associate professor, Osaka University, Japan) visited the University of Burundi, in particular the UNESCO Chair at the University, hosted by CERFOPAX Director, Professor Leonidas Ndayisaba. Discussions were held regarding joint research projects, and the possible posting of one or more researchers at the university. Hawkins also gave a talk at the university on the subject of stealth conflicts, discussing the failure of policymakers, media and the public in the world beyond the continent to pay adequate attention to the continent, with a particular focus on the Great Lakes region.

Chija Twala Discusses the 2012 Marikana Incident

updated 20 Dec 2014

Chitja Twala, a lecturer at the University of the Free State, South Africa, visited Osaka University in November 2014. He provided a video interview and a lecture on the subject of the August 2012 Marikana Incident, which resulted in the violent death of 44 people, primarily striking mineworkers. He offered his insights on the incident itself, the issue of responsibility, and the aftermath, including updates and thoughts on the work of the Farlam Commmission, which is charged with conducting an inquiry into the incident.

Virgil Hawkins Visits the Comoros

updated 15 Sep 2014

In August 2014, Virgil Hawkins (associate professor, Osaka University, Japan) visited the Comoros, an archipelago with a host of security issues at local, national, regional and even global level, including a history of political instability and coups, sometimes violent independence movements, and an unresolved colonial legacy, which has left one of the islands of the archipelago under the control of France. He held discussions with representatives of foreign missions (in particular the Embassy of Tanzania), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, police, and local NGOs.

Hussein Solomon Talks About Political Islam

updated 01 Jun 2014

In May 2014, Hussein Solomon (professor, University of the Free State, South Africa) visited Osaka University partly for the purposes of discussing the hosting of researchers from Osaka University and joint research programs, but also to provide a talk to faculty and students at the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) about Political Islam. His talk looked at areas of tension and armed conflict on the African continent, with a particular focus on a particular focus on the cases of Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria, and Somalia.

CEAPS Kick-off Conference, UFS

updated 10 Mar 2014

The CEAPS held its kick-off conference on 4 February 2014 at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein. The theme for the conference was “African Solutions for African Problems: Reflections on Peace and Security on the African Continent”. With presentation topics ranging from grassroots-level reconciliation and the distribution of resources, to border disputes, cross-border warlordism and state reconstruction, participants provided plenty of food for thought on what “African” solutions mean, and the many questions this approach raises. The conference was opened by the dean of the Faculty of the Humanities at UFS, and closed by the dean of OSIPP at Osaka University. The proceedings were reported on by the Volksblad newspaper.

Presentations (see here for the full program details)
African Perspectives on State Reconstruction: The Case of Somaliland

Hussein Solomon, University of the Free State

 

African Approaches to Reconciliation

Andre Keet, University of the Free State

 

When African Solutions Become African Problems – Interrogating the Malawi-Tanzania Border Dispute

George Mhango, Mzuzu University

 
Malawi Regional Media and the Malawi-Tanzania Border Dispute

Virgil Hawkins, Osaka University

 

The Lord’s Resistance Army and the Problem of Ungoverned Spaces in the DRC

Theo Neethling, University of the Free State

 
Wisdom from Africa: African Approaches to Mediation

Willem Ellis, University of the Free State

 

A Lesson for FOCAC: A Case Study of Angola Balancing the Strategic Partnership?

Ambrose du Plessis, University of the Free State

 

The Deficiency of Distribution Principles in Nigeria

Michiya Kawamura, Osaka University

 

Promises and Disappointments of African Solutions to African Problems

Gladys Mokhawa, University of Botswana:

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