Contending images of Africa (African Renaissance Vol 5 No 2 2008)
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ISSN : 1744-2532 (Print) 2516-5305 (Online)
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Contending images of Africa
In the last edition of the journal issue, we focused on the quality of leadership in the continent, looking at the challenges, triumphs and emerging trends in the continent. In this issue we look at the contending images of Africa, in the press and in the popular imaginations.
Marcel Kitissou discusses a number of arenas and stories to illustrate this contending image. He notes for instance that while there were calls both from inside and outside Liberia for the former war lord Charles Taylor to be brought to justice, many West African leaders saw his indictment by the international court of justice as being of little help to Liberia. Their argument was that since Charles Taylor’s supporters had not disarmed, handing Taylor over to the court could trigger widespread violence, which would defeat the entire aim of his trial because for justice to be implemented, a sustainable peace was needed. He argues that similar arguments are being made today, especially by African leaders, about the anticipated indictment of the President of Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, by the International Criminal Court regarding the ongoing genocide in Darfur. In essence
Monique Theron and Gerrie Swart discuss how South Africa is using the concept of the “Rainbow Nation” not just as a nation-building tool for the new South African nation, but also as an ideology that she is exporting to the rest of Africa to pursue the reconstitution of the African identity at large. Claudine Inamahoro discusses xenophobia In South Africa in what would appear to be a contradiction to this policy. She noted that President Mbeki admitted to being 'concerned' and had ordered a high-powered Investigation.
Besides the above articles on the lead theme, we also brought articles on other Issues, from poverty alleviation programmes in Ghana to a discussion of the capture theory of politics In Nigeria.