Central Africa

Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) of species Human mastadenovirus B (HAdV-B) are genetically highly diverse and comprise several pathogenic types. AdVs closely related to members of HAdV-B infect African great apes and the evolutionary origin of HAdV-B has recently been determined in ancient gorillas. Genetic evidence for intra-and interspecies recombination has been obtained for AdVs of humans and captive great apes, but evidence from wild great apes is lacking. In this study, potential HAdV-B members of wild Eastern gorillas were analyzed for evidence of recombination. One nearcomplete genome was amplified from primary sample material and sequenced, and from another 6 individuals genome fragments were obtained. In phylogenomic analysis, their penton base, pVII-pVI, hexon and fiber genes were compared to those of all publicly available HAdV-B full genome sequences of humans and captive great apes. Evidence for intra-species recombination between different HAdV-B members of wild gorillas as well as between HAdV-B members of chimpanzees and gorillas was obtained. Since zoonotic AdVs have been reported to cause respiratory outbreaks both in humans and monkeys, and humans in West and Central Africa frequently hunt and butcher primates thereby increasing the chance of zoonotic transmission, such HAdV-B recombinants might widen the pool of potential human pathogens.

We present results, analyses, and an in-depth historical contextualization of the fieldwork undertaken in 2012 and 2013 at the Kindoki site in the Lower Congo (DRC). This site is linked to Mbanza Nsundi, one of the Kongo Kingdom's provincial capitals, which turns out to be archaeologically 'elusive'. Pinpointing its location proved to be particularly challenging. To this end, a historically informed survey methodology was applied that has rarely been implemented on such a scale in Central Africa before. We combined a strategy * Koen Bostoen

This book presents a provocatively new interpretation of one of New Orleans' most enigmatic traditions, the Mardi Gras Indians. By interpreting the tradition in an Atlantic context, Dewulf traces the " black Indians " back to the ancient Kingdom of Kongo and its war dance known as sangamento. He shows that good warriors in the Kongo kingdom were per definition also good dancers, masters of a technique of dodging, spinning and leaping that was crucial in local warfare. Enslaved Kongolese brought the rhythm, dancing moves and feathered headwear of sangamentos to the Americas in performances that came to be known as " Kongo dances. " By comparing Kongo dances on the African island of São Tomé with those in Latin America, the Caribbean and Louisiana, Dewulf demonstrates that the dances on New Orleans' Congo Square were part of a much broader Kongolese performance tradition. He links that to Afro-Catholic mutual-aid societies that honored their elected community leaders or " kings " with Kongo dances. While the public rituals of these brotherhoods originally thrived in the context of Catholic procession culture around Epiphany and Corpus Christi, they transitioned to carnival as a result of growing orthodoxy within the Church. Dewulf's groundbreaking research suggests a much greater impact of Kongolese traditions and of popular Catholicism on the development of African-American cultural heritage and identity. His conclusions force us to radically rethink the traditional narrative on the Mardi Gras Indians, the kings of Zulu and the origins of black participation in Mardi Gras celebrations.

http://www.ulpress.org/item_224/From-the-Kingdom-of-Kongo-to-Congo-Square.php

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a global concern due to their ubiquitous presence and toxicity. Currently, there is a lack of information regarding POPs from South Africa. Here we report and interpret concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), -dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and co-planarbiphenyls (PCBs) in soils and sediments collected from central South Africa. High resolution gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS) and the H4IIE-luc bio-assay were used to identify and quantify individual PCDD/F congeners and to report the total concentration of 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro dibenzo-p-dioxin equivalents (TCDD-EQ), respectively. TCDD-EQs determined by use of the bioassay, and concentrations of WHO 2005 -TEQ (toxic equivalents) determined by chemical analysis, were similar. The limit of detection (LOD) for the bio-assay was 0.82 and 2.8 ng TCDD-EQ kg À1 , dw for sediment and soil, respectively. EQ20 concentrations determined by use of the bio-assay ranged from <LOD to 70 ng TCDD-EQ kg À1 , dw for soil, and from <LOD to 45 ng TCDD-EQ kg À1 , dw for sediment. Concentrations of WHO 2005 -TEQ in soils were generally greater than those in sediments, and soils from the industrial area of Vanderbijlpark and the residential area of Klerksdorp contained the greatest concentrations. Based on the congener-specific HRGC/HRMS analyzes, concentrations of WHO 2005 -TEQ ranged from 0.12 to 32 ng WHO 2005 -TEQ kg À1 , dw in sediments, and between 0.34 and 20 ng WHO 2005 -TEQ kg À1 , dw in soils. The sources, processes and threats that govern and are associated with the lesser concentrations in sediment and greater concentrations in soils need further investigation.

This training manual was develop for the DRC and more broadly for Central Africa and aims to build community resilience by teaching integrated fire management concepts and skills, including fire management planning, fire preparedness, fire ecology, prescribed burning methods, and how to avoid unplanned fires, at the local level. This manual provides various training options for different target audiences. It is divided into three levels progressing from introductory to expert. Modules within each level can be further adapted to specific training contexts. Trainers should always adapt the material to local conditions.

À rebours des autres régions du monde, l'Afrique pourrait devenir bientôt le continent de la déforestation, avec la RDC qui perd plus d'un million ha de couvert arboré par an. En Afrique centrale, la déforestation est le fait d'une petite agriculture dont l'emprise géographique s'accroit avec la démographie et la volonté de se constituer des patrimoines fonciers. Le phénomène d'accaparement des terres boisées par l'agrobusiness reste limité, la plupart des annonces impressionnantes ayant tourné court du fait des résistances paysannes et des réticences des gouvernements. L'exploitation des forêts se fait toujours très largement sous le régime des concessions, mais les intérêts européens sont devenus minoritaires face aux conglomérats asiatiques, notamment chinois. L'émergence d'une rivalité sino-indienne dans le secteur forestier se dessine au Gabon. Les initiatives internationales qui se succèdent n'ont pas obtenu de résultats convaincants et le processus REDD+ reste essentiellement une vitrine à destination des donateurs sans prise réelle sur le terrain. Le Gabon a su tirer parti d'une habile diplomatie climatique qui lui confère un leadership auparavant occupé par la RDC. La crise de 2020 pourrait entrainer une baisse de certaines pressions sur les forêts (infrastructures et activités extractives) mais risque d'en renforcer d'autres, de nombreux néo-chômeurs devant se rabattre sur l'agriculture vivrière. Summary: Geopolitics of Central Africa forests In contrast to other regions of the world, Africa could soon become the continent of deforestation, with DRC losing more than 1 million ha of tree cover per year. In Central Africa, small-scale agriculture is the main driver of deforestation. Its expansion is associated with demographic patterns and the desire to build up a land heritage. Land grabbing of forestland by agribusiness remains limited, as most of the impressive announcements have turned out to be short-lived due to local people resistance and government reluctance. Forest exploitation is still mostly carried out under the concession regime, but European interests have become a minority in the face of Asian conglomerates, particularly Chinese. The emergence of Sino-Indian rivalry in the forestry sector is emerging in Gabon. Successive international initiatives have not achieved convincing results, and the REDD+ process remains essentially a showcase for donors with no real grip on the ground. Gabon has been able to take advantage of a skillful climate diplomacy that gives it a leadership previously hold by the DRC. The 2020 crisis could reduce some pressures on forests (infrastructure and extractive activities), but may increase others, as many neo-unemployed people will have to resort to subsistence farming.

Des débats sur l'efficacité environnementale des plans d'aménagement en Afrique centrale se sont fait jour récemment. Une première discussion porte sur le déboisement supplémentaire qui serait lié aux concessions aménagées par rapport aux concessions sans plan d'aménagement. Des résultats publiés début 2016 et allant dans ce sens ont été questionnés par d'autres cher-cheurs, lesquels ont mis en évidence l'arbitraire de certains choix et proposent d'autres manières de mesurer cette efficacité. Une autre discussion émerge sur la durabilité de l'exploitation sous aménagement. Le renouvellement de plu-sieurs espèces commerciales importantes ne semble pas assuré après plusieurs rotations, ce qui contredirait l'idée d'aménagement durable. Néanmoins, ce processus se déroulant sur plusieurs décennies, il faut prendre en compte l'évo-lution du marché, le progrès technique et les transformations possibles des modes d'utilisation des écosystèmes forestiers sur le très long terme. La durabilité reste une question ouverte. Ce document a été préparé avec le soutien du Ministère français des Affaires Étrangères et du Développement International. Il est issu de travaux de recherche conduits par le Cirad.

What are and how are memories witten? Since classical antiquity that an understading of the phenomon of memory has been searched for. How do memories, images of another time, constitute themselves as representations? How do we make objects of the past became present? Writing about the memories of an exhibition becomes a challenge of creating a representation.

Operating a narrative that adds being. We assume that we narrate a process of something missing by evoking what became present in it.

À partir de l’évolution de la configuration réticulaire des voies de communication terrestres transfrontalières, cette thèse propose une analyse historique du processus d’intégration régionale entre le Cameroun et les pays limitrophes d’Afrique Centrale entre 1920 et 2016. Il s’agit de répondre à la préoccupation de savoir comment est-ce que, du point de vue du Cameroun, la construction desdites voies a influencé son rapport à ses voisins durant la période indiquée. Les méthodes de recherche et d’analyse historique sont couplées à la pluridisciplinarité. La démarche diachronique articule les mutations en deux temps.
Le temps colonial va de 1920 à 1960. Il est marqué, durant l’entre-deux-guerres, par des investissements importants en infrastructures de transports terrestres de la part de l’administration coloniale française pour projeter l’économie du Cameroun vers les colonies d’Afrique Centrale et leur faire profiter de sa position stratégique. Un processus d’intégration de fait s’esquisse entre le Cameroun et l’AEF. Toutefois, dès les années 1930 l’administration coloniale pense avoir établi la quantité de liaisons interterritoriales nécessaire pour susciter des interactions économiques entre le Cameroun et l’AEF. De 1940 à 1960 l’on constate une baisse progressive de l’intensité des travaux. En effet, le contexte politique heurte les enjeux économiques malgré la planification après 1945. La symétrie entre constructions des routes transfrontalières et désir d’exploitation économique harmonisée des territoires du Cameroun et de l’AEF qui cède à la construction d’un espace politique fragmentée au voisinage de 1960.
C’est dans ce contexte que le Cameroun et ses voisins de l’ex-AEF (Gabon, Congo, République Centrafricaine et Tchad) accèdent à l’indépendance. Considérablement, l’intégration est à reconstruire entre ces territoires qui décident de former une union douanière en 1964. Le Cameroun et ses voisins de l’UDÉAC l’envisagent tout en campant sur l’héritage matériel et immatériel (politique) colonial. Il est en résulte une stagnation du réseau routier transfrontalier et une dynamique d’intégration atténuée durant les trente-cinq ans de l’union. L’avènement de la CÉMAC en 1994 s’accompagne d’une cascade de projets d’infrastructures. Le Cameroun apparaît comme le point de départ ou d’aboutissement de plusieurs d’entre eux dans le sillage des travaux qui s’en suivent. Il en découle une redynamisation du processus d’intégration régionale avec les pays de la sous-région. Cependant, il est désormais sous l’influence de la mondialisation et du capital néolibéral.

The filoviruses, Marburg and Ebola, have the dubious distinction of being associated with some of the highest case-fatality rates of any known infectious disease-approaching 90% in many outbreaks. In recent years, laboratory research on the filoviruses has produced treatments and vaccines that are effective in laboratory animals and that could potentially drastically reduce case-fatality rates and curtail outbreaks in humans. However, there are significant challenges in clinical testing of these products and eventual delivery to populations in need. Most cases of filovirus infection are recognized only in the setting of large outbreaks, often in the most remote and resource-poor areas of sub-Saharan Africa, with little infrastructure and few personnel experienced in clinical research. Significant political, legal, and socio-cultural barriers also exist. Here, we review the present research priorities and environment for field study of the filovirus hemorrhagic fevers and outline a strategy for future prospective clinical research on treatment and vaccine prevention.

Et si la loi du plus riche était la meilleure ? Cet article tend à répondre à cette question, au regard de l'attitude d'un État dans le sous-système international CEMAC. Il choisit de rendre compte de la dynamique de contestation d'un rapport de force par un État nouvellement enrichi et montre ainsi comment l'enrichissement autorise et favorise la contestation de la confi guration antérieure du pouvoir et l'auto-affi rmation d'un État comme nouveau leader sous-régional. Ce faisant, il restitue le lien que Gilpin avait établi entre l'enrichissement et les changements de rapport de force dans le système international. En montrant cependant que le changement de rapport de force peut également se faire sans guerre hégémonique, il s'aligne derrière les études qui mettent en relation les logiques de puissance et les processus à vocation pacifi catrice de l'intégration régionale ; la quête de puissance des États et leur présence au sein des organisations internationales.

Cette étude évalue l’abondance des graines d’Erythrophleum suaveolens dans la banque de semences du sol des forêts denses humides d’Afrique centrale. Les travaux ont été menés au Nord-Congo dans deux types forestiers : la forêt à Celtis sur des sols argilo-sableux à sablo-argileux et la forêt à Manilkara sur des sols sableux. Les tiges d’E. suaveolens (dhp ≥ 10 cm) ont été inventoriées dans deux blocs de 400 ha, et les structures diamétriques de leurs populations ont été comparées. En outre, 80 fosses (2 x 40 fosses par type de forêt) ont été creusées au pied de 20 arbres (10 par forêt), sur trois couches contiguës de 10 cm chacune, soit à une profondeur totale de 30 cm, et l’abondance des graines dans la banque de semences du sol a été évaluée. La dormance des graines récoltées a été testée par des essais de germination après traitement au H2SO4 et cinq graines prélevées jusqu'à une profondeur de 20 cm dans la forêt à Celtis ont été utilisées pour estimer leur âge par spectroscopie de masse par accélérateur (AMS). Dans les deux types forestiers, les structures diamétriques présentent une distribution gaussienne, illustrant un déficit de régénération. Alors que les densités de tiges (dhp ≥ 10 cm) sont proches, avec 0,85 et 1,05 tige/ha respectivement, dans la forêt à Celtis et la forêt à Manilkara. Les densités de graines sont significativement plus élevées dans la forêt à Celtis (8,55 graines/m2) que dans la forêt à Manilkara (0,15 graine/m2). Le pourcentage maximum de germination obtenu était de 19,1 % pour des graines n’ayant subi aucun traitement. Les lots traités à l’acide ont présenté de moindres taux de germination. Ces graines semblent pouvoir se conserver une dizaine d’années au moins dans la banque du sol. Les facteurs pouvant influencer les variations de densité des graines sont discutés et des recommandations sylvicoles sont formulées.

Anthropologists have long recognized that breastfeeding involves much more than feeding; it entails intimate social interactions between infants or children and their mothers. However, breastfeeding has predominantly been studied with respect to structural features (frequency, timing) as well as nutritional and health aspects of infant feeding. Thus, in this study we complement previous anthropological studies by examining social interactions that occur during breastfeeding among the Aka and Bofi foragers and Ngandu and Bofi farmers at various ages (three to four months, nine to ten months, toddlers). Further, we use an integrated biocultural perspective to explore how patterns of breastfeeding and social interactions can be shaped by economic constraints, cultural values, and children's development. Overall, our findings illustrate how biological and cultural factors interact and provide useful explanations of variations in breastfeeding structure and social interactions more so than either perspective alone.

Au début des années 1930 au Congo
belge, l’administration diligente une
série d’enquêtes ethnographiques visant
à connaître, pour mieux les contrôler, les
Congolais. Benoît Henriet relate la façon
dont ces derniers usent cependant de
l’ignorance des fonctionnaires belges pour
contourner les ambitions hégémoniques de
l’État colonial. Au Congo comme dans le
reste de l’Afrique subsaharienne, loin d’être
vertical, le pouvoir circule entre l’ensemble
des acteurs qui donnent corps à la société
coloniale.

Du fait de leur multifonctionnalité, les forêts tropicales constituent
un objet d’étude privilégié pour analyser les politiques environnementales à l’échelle locale et globale. Qu’elles soient
considérées comme richesses nationales, bien public mondial ou
ressources communautaires, elles sont au cœur des débats environnementaux portés sur la scène internationale depuis les
années 1990. En suscitant des intérêts divers chez des acteurs agissant
à des échelles variées, elles permettent de comprendre la construction et l’articulation des politiques de biodiversité entre local et global, marquées par des tensions entre exploitation et conservation.

The campaign in East and Central Africa during the First World War has received relatively little attention despite the remarkable exploits of Major General Edward Northey and Norforce. In field command for two and a half years, he successfully led a multi-ethnic and polyglot force across some of the most difficult terrain of the war. Exerting strong leadership and overseeing detailed logistical planning, Northey was able to maintain an effective force that was consistently able to march and fight the German Schutztruppe under von Lettow-Vorbeck. In contrast to the main body of the British East African Force, Norforce maintained its combat effectiveness despite high levels of sickness and highly trying climatic conditions. Overall, Northey must be considered the outstanding British general of the East African Campaign while Norforce deserves full credit for its singular achievements.

The Ruzizi Valley, south of Bukavu in the extreme east of the DRC, is dominated by rice production. Rice is presumably not very old as it is an Asiatic crop, and was probably introduced in the 1920s. The rice is irrigated and the valley is potentially extremely productive, but in reality, yields are low. Only the high prices for rice beyond the border of the DRC probably keep production viable. The Ruzizi Valley is in DRC, but its direct neighbours are Rwanda and Burundi, small but densely populated nations with largely homogeneous populations. Neither has mineral resources, and both are forced to depend on well-organised agriculture to survive. As a result, viable irrigated rice production in this part of the DRC is intertwined with the administrative and economic system of the neighbouring countries. Remarkably, there is a publication from the 1980s describing rice marketing in the Ruzizi Valley (Thaholokya et al. 1983). Although of historical interest it is scarcely relevant to the situation thirty years later.  This short paper  is an attempt to describe the realities of rice production in a country where agricultural extension and indeed any notion of assistance to farmers is lacking.

All presidents in independent Chad have relied heavily on armed support, creating ample armies, feared presidential guards, and terrifying secret services. Proxy wars, political mistrust, economic opportunity-seeking, and strategic ever-changing armed alliances characterize Chadian politics. Flexibility and fluidity have embodied the heart of armed resistance in Chad since the establishment of the first important politico-military rebel movement Frolinat in 1966. In fact, for rebels and powerholders alike, the state is at its best when it is most fragile (in a Western sense). With fragility comes blurriness and flexibility and thus predation opportunities.

Burundi has one of the youngest and poorest populations in the world. Known as a rural-based nation, its urban growth rate is among the world’s highest. These defining characteristics of contemporary Burundi shaped field research on the state of Burundian adolescents and the role of violence in their lives. The research, undertaken in late 2012, found a profusion of young Burundians threatened by deprivation and domestic and sexual violence. Most receive limited social and state protection and have difficulty remaining in school, finding work or securing adulthood. In the countryside, strong cultural traditions and a weak state facilitate the mistreatment of orphans and girls who become unmarried mothers. In Bujumbura, many adolescents arrive alone and are vulnerable to exploitation. Their condition is underscored by girl prostitutes called Toto Show and the Manjema men who “eat” them. "Adolescents and Violence" contrasts factors and specific populations that might fuel violent conflict with countervailing factors that have the potential to promote peace. The discussion paper ends by highlighting twelve lessons, drawn from the field research in Burundi, that promise to powerfully impact post-war development and reconstruction work in other countries.

For decades articles and books have been published on the history of German foreign policy during Cold War. Regardless of whether Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, America or the world as a whole, the foreign affairs of the Western Federal Republic of Germany and the Eastern German Democratic Republic have been researched and analysed in context of a broad variety of locations. However, even though the list of publications continues to grow, the topic''s theses–especially its main thesis–do not show much progress. Already at an early stage, a central thesis–a core thesis–came to light, met no resistance and entered history''s and political science''s research canons on German foreign policy. This thesis reads: Inner German issues and the non-solved German question were so powerful, they dominated West and East German foreign affairs nearly right from the start. German foreign policy, that was the so-called Hallstein doctrine, that was the so-called German-German contradiction. And all studies–whether of history or political science, whether designed as a case study or as a global approach–confirm this thesis, use it as an integral part of their work–until today. But be that as it may. This study contradicts this thesis, this ''myth'' of German foreign policy. Instead it argues that neither the Hallstein doctrine nor the German-German contradiction, but national economic and international geostrategic interests dominated German foreign policy and German foreign activities–regarding the FRG, the GDR, and Germany as a whole. To proof this thesis, West and East German activities–of the two states, their economies and their societies–in nine Central African states between 1945 and 1975 are observed and analysed. More than a million file pages out of more than a dozen German archives were read to tackle this task–and shed some refreshing new light on the foreign policies of the two German states during Cold War.


Die deutsche Außenpolitik zur Zeit des Kalten Krieges stellt in historischer wie politikwissenschaftlicher Hinsicht einen Gegenstand dar, der mit gutem Gewissen als wissenschaftlich erschlossen bezeichnet werden kann. Zahlreiche Aufsätze, Artikel und Bücher sind in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten erschienen, welche die deutsche Außenpolitik in Europa, Afrika, Asien, Ozeanien, Amerika, oder auch gleich der Welt als Ganzem, in den Blick genommen haben. Dies gilt sowohl für die Außenpolitik der Bundesrepublik Deutschland als auch für diejenige der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik. Früh – wenn nicht sogar von Beginn an – kam hierbei eine zentrale These, eine Kernthese, zum Vorschein, die, ohne auf Widerstand zu stoßen, Eingang in den historischen und politikwissenschaftlichen Forschungskanon fand und ihn bereits nach kurzer Zeit zu dominieren begann. Die Rede ist von der die deutschen Auslandsaktivitäten angeblich bestimmenden Hallstein-Doktrin und dem mit ihr in engem Zusammenhang stehenden deutsch-deutschen Gegensatz. In dieser Arbeit wird dieser Kernthese, diesem ''Mythos'' der deutschen Außenpolitik, vehement widersprochen. Weder die Hallstein-Doktrin, noch der deutsch-deutsche Gegensatz, sondern nationale ökonomische und internationale geostrategische Interessen haben die deutsche Außenpolitik – und darüber hinaus auch die gesamten deutschen Auslandsaktivitäten, der BRD wie der DDR – maßgeblich bestimmt. Zur Stützung dieser Gegenthese werden in der vorliegenden Studie die staatlichen, wirtschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Aktivitäten West- und Ostdeutschlands in neun zentralafrikanischen Staaten zwischen 1945 und 1975 kritisch dargelegt, umfassend analysiert und im Hinblick auf mehrere zentrale Thesen zu den deutschen Auslandsaktivitäten ausgewertet.

The mukanda was once an essential institution in Central Africa, comprising a men’s fraternity with boys’ puberty initiation. Thanks to the charisma of its masquerading, the initiation is still going strong among the Eastern Pende (Democratic Republic of the Congo). This photo essay documents the role of masks in core rituals and explores the emotional intensity of the initiation.

In his attempt to overcome stagnation and enter adulthood, the Congolese Yankee makes a creative use of language and discourse. By speaking the urban Lingala variant known as Kindoubil, i.e. a consciously manipulated language that sets him apart from others, the Congolese Yankee builds his own identity and tries to find ways to escape marginalisation. This thesis begins by describing the city of Kisangani through the lens of language. Kisangani is a bilingual city where both Lingala and Swahili are widely spoken. Interestingly, youngsters in Kisangani deliberately choose to speak Lingala over Swahili. The former is often the easier
option, but possibly of greater importance is that youngsters seek to embody the prestige that envelops Lingala in order to prove they are in the know. Lingala, as such, is made an asset that can be negotiated in the linguistic marketplace. The thesis then turns to treat the general socio-economic background and livelihood of the Yankee, who is considered to be a master of survival strategies. It aims at
explaining how the informal economy works and how it is de facto formalized. This is achieved by describing the mechanism of the “co-ops”, or opportunities in precariousness. The Yankee is an ambivalent character, thus rather than attempting to define the Yankee, the thesis continues to analyze the possible features and registers of conduct of Kiyankee (Yankee-hood). When embodied, these features can be interpreted either positively or negatively. For example, lucidity is a quality needed for excelling in business, while at the same time essential for being a thief. In all cases, the Yankee relies on ingenuity and resourcefulness in order to survive and to be respected for his knowledge. Stagnation is the cause of his frustrations, but also a trigger for creativity. Because language is one of the only tools over which youth can have control, one of the best ways to embody Kiyankee is by adapting one’s
language use. By speaking Kindoubil, the Yankee creates an alternative reality onto which he grafts an egotistical discourse of success. Yet there seems to be more than
one of type Kindoubil. The one the Yankee deliberately chooses to speak is one that is unrecognized as arbitrary. It carefully weaves elements of modernity, urbanity, prestige and success and derives its power from being exclusive, because those who do not speak it reluctantly look up to it. Moving a step further, the adoption of Kindoubil culminates in youngsters consciously altering their identity. They create
instances of power where the dream of turning into a man of respect becomes momentarily real. The Yankee constructs an onstage existence, an alternative dream-like adulthood to which he does have access and when successfully dramatized appears real. Appearance permeates reality blurring the line between what is real and what is a dream.

The first part of this article provides an overview of the development of entrenched armed conflicts in Sub Saharan Africa which continue or have resurfaced in 2016. The author (JVdB) aims to expose the underlying causes and nature of the violent contestation by drawing on the works of C. T. Call in order to break open the black box of ‘failed states’ and analyze their legitimacy, capacity and security gaps separately. In addition the author will provide short scenarios of how these conflicts are likely to evolve in the short and medium-term and which (structural) factors will dominate these trends. The second part of this article (by JR) mainly aims at presenting the basic preconditions for the activities of the major terrorist organizations in Africa. With emphasis on the importance of the north-east and north-west regions of this continent in context of terrorist threats. Hence the initial focus was put on Somalia, which as a permanent fragile state remains under the increased influence of the Jihadist organization Al Shabaab, which is an organization with a high potential for increased capacity in the coming years. Next, was sketched out the situation in Egypt, considering, in essence, the activity of the so-called Islamic State in Sinai Peninsula. In this Analysis it also pointed to the intricate internal situation in modern Libya after so-called Arab Spring and international military intervention, where, despite earlier appearances, the terrorist threat was too much positioned, mostly by comprised to the internal conflict between the different Libyan political parties. Finally, efforts were made to illustrate the current terrorist activity in the Mali area, highlighting the importance of Al Qaeda branch AQIM and the situation in Nigeria where Boko Haram group operates.

In 1955, the West German Walter Hallstein had installed the Hallstein doctrine in West German foreign policy to weaken its East German counterpart by preventing the diplomatic relations of the latter with states of the 'First' and the 'Third World'. The doctrine said that a diplomatic recognition of the GDR would implicate its recognition as 'a' German state and thereby undermine the West German claim of representing 'the' German state as a whole. To prevent such a development, the West German Foreign Office was allowed and equipped to initialize counter-measures coming down to a full termination of diplomatic relations with each state threatening this doctrine. Since the 1950s, scholarship has outlined this policy – and its counter policy by the GDR – as the integral parts in German foreign policies' history. To this day, the German-German contradiction is one of the most popular myths in German history. But did economic motives actually had to step back behind this sheer political interest? After all, 'flag follows trade' is a common saying to paraphrase the process of European imperialist expansion during the first scramble for Africa even today. So, should the saying in the case of the German expansion during the second scramble for Africa really have to be transformed to 'trade follows Hallstein'?

"This book is drawn from my Ph. D. Thesis. It analyzes the growth of cross-border trade and trafficking in Central Africa (Cameroon, Gabon, Chad, Central African Republic) since the 1980's in a context of poverty, ongoing social and economic recession and dysfunctional state structures.
It is based on qualitative methods including interviews with traders, haulers and people working at the borders. It studies nature of flows, examines their spatial consequences (market creation) and profiles the variety of actors who develop strategies of avoidance, especially for managing risks.
My research discusses the idea of African states' decay and the fragility of national boundaries created by European colonization. For many authors, transnational informal flows and smuggling represent a threat to the State and a contestation of current national territories. The study of the internal structure of border areas, whose central poles are village-markets, reveals that such those border spaces are not autonomous nor new alternative territories. The border zones are evanescent spatial constructions because the road access to the borders evolve with time and the border markets are ephemeral. National identities often get stronger in border zones which are not administrated by a transnational political authority. Cities located in the inner territory (provincial or national capitals) take advantage of crossborder trade in the sense that they are mediators, centers of consumption and, they are above all the locations where profits from trade are reinvested. The increasing trade on borders  doesn't imply a de-territorialization process but at the contrary, they consolidate the integraty and the unity of national territories. African populations manipulate socio-economic differentials between states and this game signifies the acceptance and the acknowledgment of boundaries rather than their criticism or refusal.
"

This issue takes up the invitation Howard and Shain and the example of African borderlands studies to reconstruct the production and imagination of space, and of territoriality in particular, from the eve of the colonial period until its aftermath. Different conceptions of space, territoriality and boundaries have played an important role in the colonial history of Africa. As space is everywhere and space is (hu)man-made, a focus on space allows us to come to an interactive understanding of African colonial history without a priori privileging, excluding or exoticizing any group of actors. The focus is on areas close to territorial borders in ‘Berlin’s Africa’, that is the parts of East and Central Africa directly concerned by the Berlin Congo conference of 1884/5. This focus allows us to critically reassess the both overestimated and underestimated impact of this conference, and of colonialism more generally, on territorialization and space-making in Africa. Contributions to this issue include both analyses of interactive spatial practices and interpretations of spatial narratives, and taken together they overcome the teleology of the eventual borders and the rigidity of a colonial timeframe from 1885 until decolonization.

Projet du musée du Cameroun. par Commission de mise en place du Musée du Cameroun (dir. G.loumpet, rapporteur A. Loumpet-Galitzine, Aout 1992)
Appel d'offre international remporté.
Publication du Ministère de la culture et de l'information du Cameroun

O objetivo principal desta dissertação é o de recuperar a dimensão atlântica da história social das musicalidades afro-brasileiras criadas por africanos escravizados e seus descendentes durante o último século de escravismo e ao longo das primeiras décadas do período pós-abolição. O foco recai, sobretudo, no entendimento dos movimentos de transposição histórica dos tambores de fricção, de determinadas áreas do continente africano para as Américas, sua importância na formação das comunidades e culturas musicais afro-brasileiras, especialmente naquelas relacionadas ao samba urbano carioca, bem como nas transformações que o processo de diáspora imprimiu na organologia e na performance realizada por meio destes tambores de fricção. Este estudo, como também o inventário realizado dos instrumentos musicais que compunham as paisagens musicais do Brasil e de determinadas sociedades da África Central, sustenta-se sobre fontes históricas variadas, desde representações iconográficas contidas em crônicas, relatos de viagem e etnografias de viajantes e estudiosos que percorreram as diversas sociedades do período, análise de exemplares de instrumentos africanos pertencentes a coleções museológicas, até a escuta e análise de diversos fonogramas disponibilizados por meios eletrônicos.

Prunier displays a gift for drawing upon unusual resources to help illuminate Rwanda's tragedy. He uses Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to underscore the lasting power of Rwanda's ethnic mythology in one passage, and compares French histo- rial revisionism of Rwandan troubles to neo-Nazi tales in another. This effort to make Rwandans and the genocide that took place there accessible and understand- able informs Prunier' s purpose and approach. The Rwanda Crisis is written with clarity and passion. Prunier's essential intent is basic-in challenging the pervasive idea that "Africa is a place of darkness, where furious savages clobber each other on the head to assuage their dark ancestral bloodlusts," he hopes that "If this book does nothing other than dispel this feeling (which sneaks even into the recesses of many 'liberal' minds), it would already have fulfilled its main purpose" (p. xii). The book makes great strides in that direction.

SUMMARY As forest products from Cameroon and DR Congo are commercialised, a value chain is created from harvesters, processors, and retailers to consumers worldwide. In contrast to dominant narratives focusing on regulations and customs, these chains are actually governed by dynamic, multiple arrangements regulating access to resources and markets. New institutions have been created, led by project-related civil society organisations and enterprises. These increasingly take on roles traditionally the reserve of governments. In some chains, the state performs its duties, in others not. Customary authorities, projects, non-government organisations and market institutions fill some voids. Often actors with little voice in formal governance create their own messy, bricolaged arrangements, and governance based on 'exclusiveness' produces some of the most sustainable chains and livelihoods in the long term. The different governance arrangements and combinations affect the livelihoods of those involved in chains, forests and their sustainability in different ways, both positively and negatively.

Changement des arrangements de gestion: chaînes de valeur des NTFP dans le bassin congolais Alors que les produits en provenance du Cameroun et de la République Démocratique du Congo sont commercialisés, une chaîne de valeurs est créée à l'échelle mondiale, depuis les agriculteurs récoltants, les processeurs et les commerçants, jusqu'aux consommateurs. En contraste avec les narrations dominantes se concentrant sur les règles et les taxes, ces chaînes sont gérées pratiquement par de arrangements multiples et dynamiques régularisant l'accès aux ressources et aux marchés. De nouvelles institutions ont été créées, conduites par des entreprises et des organisations de société civiles liées aux projets. Ces dernières prennent de plus en plus des rôles auparavant réservés aux gouvernements. Dans certaines chaînes, l'état remplit ses rôles, mais pas dans d'autres. Les autorités habituelles, les projets, les organisations non-gouvernementales et les institutions de marché parent à certaines des carences. Souvent, les acteurs ayant peu de portée dans la gestion formelle créent leur propres arrangements et gestion, souvent dissipés et bricolés à la va-vite, basés sur l'`exclusivité`de certains produits, résultant en certaines des chaines et des revenus les plus durables à long-terme. Les différents arrangements et combinaisons de gestion affectent les revenus des personnes impliquées dans les chaînes, les forêts et leur durabilité de diverses façons, positives et négatives.

Cambios en las reglas de gobernanza: cadenas de valor de PFNM en la cuenca del Congo
A medida que se comercializan los productos forestales del Camerún y de la República Democrática del Congo, se crean cadenas de valor entre los recolectores, procesadores, minoristas y los consumidores de todo el mundo. En contraste con las narrativas predominantes, centradas en las regulaciones y costumbres, estas cadenas están en realidad gobernadas por una variedad de reglas dinámicas que regulan el acceso a los recursos y los mercados. Se han creado nuevas instituciones, lideradas por organizaciones de la sociedad civil y empresas relacionadas con los proyectos. Éstas asumen cada vez más algunos de los roles que tradicionalmente estaban reservados a los gobiernos. En algunas cadenas, el Estado desempeña sus funciones, pero en otras no lo hace. En tales casos, las autoridades tradicionales, los proyectos, las organizaciones no gubernamentales y las instituciones del mercado suplen estas carencias. A menudo, los actores con poca presencia en la gobernanza formal crean por si mismos sus propias reglas no estructuradas, y la gobernanza basada en la 'exclusividad' produce algunas de las cadenas y medios de vida más sostenibles a largo plazo. Las diferentes reglas y combinaciones de gobernanza afectan de forma diferente los medios de vida de quienes participan en las cadenas y están involucrados en los bosques y su sostenibilidad, tanto de manera positiva como negativa.

La situation instable à l'est du Congo (RDC) perdure depuis 1996. La région des Kivus est le théâtre de conflits quasi permanents que se livrent avec une intensité variable les multiples groupes rebelles (FDLR ; ex--CNDP ou M23 ; APCLS, etc.) ou milices (Maï--Maï, Raïa Mutomboki, Sheka, etc.), ainsi que l'armée régulière (FARDC), parfois appuyée par la force des Nations Unies (MONUSCO). Ces groupes présentent des degrés d'organisation et d'institutionnalisation ainsi que des objectifs parfois très différents les uns des autres, ce qui ne les empêche pourtant pas d'établir ponctuellement des alliances stratégiques inattendues, bien que souvent temporaires.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo investigar o termo batuque a partir de uma abordagem etnomusicológica fundada em metodologia decolonial. Defendendo a tese de que batuque atuou enquanto um dispositivo de racialização sonora perante as musicalidades e gestualidades negras no Brasil, busca-se aqui compreender os processos de surgimento, atuação, continuidades e ressignificações deste dispositivo na esfera da vida social de determinadas populações negras, cuja alcunha batuqueiro/batuqueira lhes atravessam desde o fluxo passado-presente.