Reassessing the Power of a Sub-Regional Security Provider: The Case of Nigeria in the Gambian Crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-380
Author(s):  
Sunday Omotuyi
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
African Country ◽  
West African ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Hegemonic Stability

Abstract Nigeria’s traditional role as a security provider in West Africa being a sub-regional hegemon and mainspring of the ECOWAS has enjoyed scholarly engagement since the end of the Cold War. Its advocacy for the ‘African solutions to African problems’ has been a critical component of its African diplomacy since independence in 1960. This advocacy finds its loudest expression in the leadership roles it played in peacekeeping efforts in the continent in tandem with what has been dubbed Pax-Nigeriana. However, Nigeria’s intervention in the Gambian political crisis has generated endless controversies in light of its regional hegemonic disposition. The study, against this background, investigates its intervention in this tiny West African country. It argues, within the context of hegemonic stability theory, that its intervention presents little evidence to suggest that Abuja’s ‘leadership role’ in the resolution of the crisis is indicative of hegemonic influence.

scholarly journals Aðskilnaður ríkis og kirkju. Síðari grein

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hjalti Hugason
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Church And State ◽  
Western Culture ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
Spiritual Culture ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Church

This is the second article of two where the author analyses the discourse about the separation between church and state in Iceland in the period 1915–1995. In this article he deals with the arguments given against separation. In the first one he dealt with the opposite views. In the discussion it was common to state that separation would reduce the potential of the National church of Iceland to fulfill its traditional role among the nation at least on the countryside. It was also considered that, when separated, the National church would be far worse positioned to fulfill its multifaceted social role in the community. Still, some participants argued for separation of “principle reasons”. As an example, it was pointed out that Christianity was one of the main defenses of Western culture against the threat posed by Communism during the Cold War. It was also pointed out that in Iceland the Church had been one of the main sources of spiritual culture among the nation. Furthermore, it was pointed out that the separation of state and church would trigger a religious chaos when fanatical sectarian groups funded by foreign movements would advance in Iceland. Finally, it was stated that some connections would always be needed between church and state wherever and they must be organized by law according to the history, tradition and experience of each country.

The New ‘Multiplex’ Cold War in the Indo-Pacific

2019 ◽  
pp. 45-67
Author(s):  
Timothy Doyle ◽  
Dennis Rumley
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Central Element ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Security Cooperation ◽  
Security Environment ◽  
Regional Strategies ◽  
Sphere Of Influence ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Regional Primacy ◽  
New Strategies

In this chapter we argue that one of the principal inhibitors of sustainable security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region is that the Cold War has yet to end. Strategic concepts and postures reflecting containment, ‘constrainment’, sphere of influence, expansionism, and territorial competition still inhabit the rhetoric not just of the regional security environment. Regional strategies can therefore be interpreted within the framework of Cold War ‘logic’, thus impeding regional security cooperation. The ‘old’ Cold War has thus been perpetuated, reinforced, and reinterpreted as a ‘new’ Cold War due to geopolitical competition over global and regional primacy. Even within this process of geopolitical competition, old geopolitical concepts such as ‘pivot’ and ‘Indo-Pacific’ have also been reinterpreted and reused to justify new strategies that ultimately continue to foster a new Cold War in the region. Indeed, the Indo-Pacific has returned as a central element of the new Cold War.

“Restoring hope where all hope was lost”: Nelson Mandela, the ICRC and the protection of political detainees in apartheid South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 98 (903) ◽  
pp. 799-829
Author(s):  
Andrew Thompson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Cold War ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
African Country ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
The Past ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
The Cold War

AbstractAmidst the violent upheavals of the end of empire and the Cold War, international organizations developed a basic framework for holding State and non-State armed groups to account for their actions when taking prisoners. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) placed itself at the very centre of these developments, making detention visiting a cornerstone of its work. Nowhere was this growing preoccupation with the problem of protecting detainees more evident than apartheid South Africa, where the ICRC undertook more detention visits than in almost any other African country. During these visits the ICRC was drawn into an internationalized human rights dispute that severely tested its leadership and demonstrated the troubled rapport between humanitarianism and human rights. The problems seen in apartheid South Africa reflect today's dilemmas of how to protect political detainees in situations of extreme violence. We can look to the past to find solutions for today's political detainees − or “security detainees” as they are now more commonly called.

The Quest in the United Kingdom for African Unity, 1945-48

1970 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-86
Author(s):  
Marika Sherwood
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
West African ◽  
Gold Coast ◽  
Afrique De L’Ouest ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Afrique De L'ouest ◽  
Political Groups ◽  
Groupes Ethniques

This article outlines the formation, ideology and activities of the West African National Secretariat (WANS), established in London in 1945-6 by Nkrumah and this colleagues, from both the English and French West African colonies. Their aim was unity, as the only hope of real independence was through unity of all ethnic groups and all social classes, not just the ‘intelligentsia’. Outlined are WANS’ activities, its work with other political groups/activists in the UK and France, and reports in Gold Coast and Nigerian newspapers, which were kept fully informed. Labelled a communist, Nkrumah was under surveillance by MI5 in the UK and on his return home in 1947. Was this the beginning of the Cold War in West Africa? La Quête au Royaume-Uni pour l’Union Africaine, 1945-48  Résumé Cet article présente la formation, l’idéologie et les activités du West African National Secretariat [Secrétariat National de l'Afrique de l'Ouest] (WANS), établi à Londres entre les années 1945 et 1946 par Nkrumah et ses collègues issus des colonies anglophones et francophones en Afrique de l’Ouest dont le but était l’union, le seul espoir pour l’Independence réelle étant réalisable à travers l’union de tous les groupes ethniques et de toutes les classes sociales, et non pas seulement « l’intelligentsia ». Sont présentés dans cet article les activités de WANS, ses opérations avec d’autres groupes/militants politiques au Royaume-Uni et en France, ainsi que les rapports dans les journaux au Gold Coast et au Nigeria qui étaient bien informés. Qualifié de communiste, Nkrumah était sous la surveillance de MI5 au Royaume-Uni et à son retour au pays en 1947. Ce fait marque-t-il le début de la Guerre Froide en Afrique de l’Ouest?

Resurgent Russia pushes Nordic states towards West

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Security Policies ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Sharp Change ◽  
Baltic Region ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Baltic Sea Region ◽  
Defence Cooperation ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
The Cold War

Subject Outlook for Nordic-NATO defence cooperation. Significance The Russian intervention in Ukraine and assertive stance against NATO -- particular in the Baltic Sea region -- has pushed the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden to reassess their defence and security policies in order to be better prepared to manage crises and deter aggression in northern Europe. This constitutes a sharp change in strategic outlook, as the Nordic-Baltic region has been characterised by low tensions, stability and continued economic and political integration since the end of the Cold War. Impacts Nordic participation in multilateral international operations may wane as their defence focus shifts to the Baltic region. Scandinavian procurement programmes present commercial opportunities to defence and aerospace firms. Prioritising bilateral security arrangements may fragment a unified US-Nordics approach to regional security. Closer security ties with the West are likely to compromise Scandinavia's negotiating position with Moscow on other issues.

Complementary Tools for Studying the Cold War in Africa

2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla R. Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
West African ◽  
Award Winning ◽  
Primary Documents ◽  
Historical Text ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Historical Moment ◽  
Race And Culture

This review of Piero Gleijeses’ monumental historical text, Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington and Africa, 1959-1976, and Jihan El-Tahri’s award-winning documentary, Cuba: An African Odyssey, not only examines the strengths and weaknesses of these powerful complementary texts regarding Cuban internationalism in Africa but also provides pedagogical guidance for their use in teaching about the Cold War in Africa. These texts demonstrate how central Africa was to the history of the period and provide a means for educators to undermine students’ preconceived notions of the power of the West, African insignificance, and the major actors in the Cold War. This review offers suggestions for how instructors might use the two media to stimulate students’ critical thinking about such broad historical and political themes as race and culture, imperialism and anticolonialism, nationalism, revolution, and nation building foundational to the discourse. Additionally, it suggests other resources—books, newspaper articles, and primary documents—that might also be used when examining this tumultuous historical moment.

“It Is a Day of Judgment”: The Peacemakers, Religion, and Radicalism in Cold War America

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leilah Danielson
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Politics Of Resistance ◽  
The Cold War

AbstractThis article argues that Christian beliefs and concerns shaped the political culture of anti-nuclear activism in the early years of the Cold War. It focuses in particular on the origins of the Peacemakers, a group founded in 1948 by a mostly Protestant group of radical pacifists to oppose conscription and nuclear proliferation. Like others who came of age in the interwar years, the Peacemakers questioned the Enlightenment tradition, with its emphasis on reason and optimism about human progress, and believed that liberal Protestantism had accommodated itself too easily to the values of modern, secular society. But rather than adopt the “realist” framework of their contemporaries, who gave the United States critical support in its Cold War with the Soviet Union, radicals developed a politics of resistance rooted in a Christian framework in which repentance for dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the first step toward personal and national redemption. Although they had scant influence on American policymakers or the public in the early years of the Cold War, widespread opposition to nuclear testing and U.S. foreign policy in the late 1950s and 1960s launched them into leadership roles in campaigns for nuclear disarmament and peace.

scholarly journals Managing and Contatoing Displacement after the Cold War: UNHCR and Somali Refugees in Kenya

Refuge ◽  
1997 ◽  
pp. 6-10
Author(s):  
Jennifer Hyndman
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Somali Refugees ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Human Displacement

This paper argues that distinct patterns of managing human displacement have emerged since the end of the Cold War. Using the case of Somali refugees in Kenya, the author illustrates what some of these strategies are: the deployment of "preventive zones" on the Somalian side of the border; the designation of prima facie refugee status which restricts Somali refugees to camps, and the reduction of opportunities for resettlement abroad. All of these serve to regionalize displacement in camps, for the most part, without providing a sustainable solution to the social and political crisis at hand.

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