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A Mixed Reception: Mozambican and Congolese Refugees in South Africa
The research examines the 'mixed reception' of Mozambican refugees in South Africa, arguing that despite ethnic solidarity and eventual legal amnesties, former refugees remained a marginalized underclass. It details how the apartheid government's refusal to grant refugee status ghettoized arrivals in homelands like Gazankulu, creating a vulnerable labour pool. The document highlights a three-tiered agricultural labour market in the lowveld where undocumented migrants were exploited as 'spare chaps' with minimal pay. It further critiques the UNHCR's flawed repatriation programme and suggests that a deep-seated xenophobic impulse in South African society continues to render permanent residents 'de facto undocumented' in practice.
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Document type: Research paper
MOZAMBICAN AND CONGOLESE REFUGEES IN SOUTH AFRICA
The document examines two distinct waves of forced migration to South Africa: Mozambicans fleeing civil war in the 1980s and Congolese migrants arriving from the 1990s. It highlights a persistent gap between the legal rights granted to refugees and the social reality of their reception, characterized by economic marginalization and xenophobia. Mozambican refugees, primarily rural peasants, were often ghettoized in homelands like Gazankulu and exploited as low-wage agricultural labor. Congolese migrants, typically urban and middle-class, face significant social dislocation, with many highly educated professionals relegated to survivalist roles such as car guarding and street vending. In both cases, the author argues that state officials and local communities often ignore formal legal statuses, maintaining the migrants' de facto 'illegal' status to sustain cheap labor markets or satisfy xenophobic impulses.
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Document type: Report
EU Trade Policy and Conflict
The report argues that while the EU has introduced initiatives to counter conflict resources and provide preferential access to Least Developed Countries, its broader trade policies—specifically agricultural subsidies and the push for reciprocal Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)—can inadvertently drive instability. It highlights the 'double standard' of preaching free trade while subsidising EU farmers and notes that commodity price volatility often undermines security in sub-Saharan Africa. The author suggests that the EU should conduct conflict assessments of trade agreements and reduce agricultural subsidies to better align its trade policy with its peace and development goals.
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Document type: Report
Rejoignant le Continent: Madagascar et la SADC
The document evaluates the SADC's integration efforts, highlighting the strategic entry of Madagascar under President Marc Ravalomanana and the exits of Seychelles and Tanzania (from Comesa). It analyzes how external partners like the EU, US, and China both facilitate and hinder regional cohesion. Finally, it reviews the ratification status of 34 legal instruments, arguing for a 'single undertaking' approach to ensure uniform implementation across member states.
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Document type: Report
Southern Africa Assessment: Food Security and HIV/AIDS
The document examines the 'entangling crisis' of food insecurity and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa. It argues that while environmental triggers like drought cause immediate shortages, the severity of these crises is rooted in structural issues, including the removal of agricultural subsidies, the impact of EU agricultural dumping, and the depletion of agricultural labour due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The report calls for a shift from reactive food aid to integrated long-term agricultural investment and improved governance to build community resilience.
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Document type: Report
Working Together Assessing Public–Private Partnerships in Africa
The report examines the record of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Africa, arguing that while they can address infrastructure backlogs, they are not a 'magic bullet' and are prone to the same failures as privatisation, including corruption and high consumer costs. Through eight case studies in transport, prisons, telecommunications, water, power, and eco-tourism, the document highlights that success depends on thorough feasibility studies, strong political commitment, and effective regulatory frameworks. Key failures are attributed to a lack of transparency, poor risk management, and unrealistic design specifications. The report recommends that African governments build institutional capacity, implement integrity pacts to combat graft, and adopt a phased approach by starting with smaller projects.
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Document type: Report
Focus on Kenya
The report identifies four critically stressed ecosystem services in Kenya: maintenance of biodiversity, food and fibre provision, water supply, purification and regulation, and fuel provision. These stresses are present across nearly all provinces, directly threatening the ability of the population to be adequately nourished, access clean water, obtain energy for cooking and warmth, and earn a livelihood. The document highlights a critical cycle where environmental degradation, such as deforestation and soil fertility loss, exacerbates poverty, particularly for women and children who bear the burden of gathering scarce resources.
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Document type: Report
Focus on Mozambique
The report identifies five critical stressed ecosystem services in Mozambique: biodiversity, food and fibre provision, water supply/purification/regulation, fuel provision, and flood regulation. It links these ecological stresses to threats in human well-being, specifically the ability to be nourished, access clean water, obtain energy, earn a livelihood, and remain secure against extreme events. The analysis highlights that Gaza, Manica, Nampula, Sofala, and Tete are the most critical regions where all five ecosystem services and well-being constituents are threatened. High population density in Nampula and Zambezia also makes them priority areas due to severe chronic malnutrition and poor water access.
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Document type: Report
Evolutions & Revolutions
The report examines the evolution of military institutions in Southern Africa, focusing on the transition from colonial forces to national armies. It details the impact of liberation struggles, civil wars, and regional destabilization on the structure, policy, and professionalism of militaries in countries including Angola, South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. Key themes include the integration of former combatants, the shift toward democratic civilian control, and the role of regional bodies like SADC in peacekeeping and security cooperation.
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Document type: Report
Maximizing the Impact
The report argues that integrating mine action with development requires understanding local contexts, institutional memory, and funding flexibility. In Cambodia, the 'Locality Demining' model reduces costs and supports vulnerable households by employing local residents. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 'Task Assessment and Planning' (TAP) methodology integrates community liaison and socio-economic analysis into demining operations to align with national and local development priorities.
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Document type: Report
Global Monitoring Report 2005
The report finds that global progress toward the human development MDGs is inadequate, with Sub-Saharan Africa off track for every goal. It identifies critical bottlenecks in the supply of skilled health and education workers and a disconnect between the need for recurrent personnel funding and the technical assistance provided by donors. The document advocates for pragmatic human resource strategies, such as using paraprofessionals and contract teachers, and calls for a shift toward predictable, budget-aligned donor support and improved public sector accountability to ensure services reach the poorest populations.
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Document type: Report
South African business marching north: is there a case for regulation?
The research paper examines the expansion of South African companies into other African markets, noting that these firms often invest in diverse sectors beyond extractive industries and employ innovative strategies to overcome infrastructural deficits. While South African business competitiveness is high, it has led to perceptions of dominance and 'bullying' in smaller economies. The author argues that while regulating criminal behavior like bribery is necessary, any broader code of conduct must avoid being overly restrictive to prevent deterring investment in a challenging business environment.
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Document type: Research paper
Political dissent and terrorism in Southern Africa
The document analyzes the progression of political dissent from legitimate protest to violent terrorism, focusing on how authoritarian governance in Southern Africa fuels this escalation. It examines specific case studies in Zimbabwe, Swaziland, South Africa, Mauritius, and Tanzania to illustrate how the closure of legal political channels leads groups to adopt covert and violent strategies. The author argues that the state's reaction to dissent is often the deciding factor in whether a movement remains peaceful or turns to terrorism.
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Document type: Research paper
Hawks, Doves or Penguins? A Critical Review of the SADC Military Intervention in the DRC
The document analyzes the roles of SADC member states in the DRC conflict, categorizing them as 'hawks' (military interveners), 'doves' (diplomatic proponents), or 'penguins' (avoidant/complex positions). It argues that while the intervention by Angola, Namibia, and Zimbabwe caused economic strain and international criticism, it was grounded in SADC principles of sovereignty and solidarity. The paper contends that perceived rifts between these 'allies' and South Africa were largely mythical, as evidenced by subsequent regional security protocols and the SADC Mutual Defence Pact.
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Document type: Research paper
Sustainable Development: The Case of Energy in South Africa
The document assesses South Africa's energy sector, primarily its electricity supply industry (ESI), through the lens of sustainable development. It analyzes the transition of Eskom from a vertically integrated monopoly to a corporatized entity and the government's efforts to liberalize the market while maintaining social equity. Key findings highlight the environmental burden of coal-dependency, the success of national electrification programs in expanding access to the poor, and the necessity of restructuring the ESI to optimize future investment and integrate renewable energy sources.
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Document type: Report
Towards a Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding: Getting Their Act Together
The report identifies a significant gap between high-level policy and project-level implementation in peacebuilding efforts by the U4 governments. It recommends shifting impact assessment from individual projects to a strategic level and adopting formal frameworks for both general and case-specific intervention strategies.
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Document type: Report
Understanding and Regulating Arms Brokering in Southern Africa
The document is a table of contents and summary page for a workshop report held in Johannesburg from 15-17 March 2004, focusing on arms brokering, legislation, and regional cooperation in Southern Africa.
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Document type: Report
la huella ecológica de exxon
The report calculates that between 1882 and 2002, ExxonMobil emitted 21.53 billion tonnes of carbon equivalent, representing approximately 5% of global CO2 emissions. It argues that the company has actively undermined climate science and the Kyoto Protocol despite increasing production to record levels after scientific consensus on human-induced climate change was established. The findings link these emissions to 3.4%-3.7% of human-attributable global temperature increases and 2% of sea-level rise, with the latter projected to reach 3.2%-3.6% by the year 2200.
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Document type: Report
Delivery Mechanisms for Rural Electrification
The report details a workshop on rural electrification in Eastern and Southern Africa, emphasizing that modern energy services must be integrated with income-generating activities and social welfare to drive development. It evaluates various delivery mechanisms—including grid extension, solar home systems, and micro-hydro power—and argues that while the private sector can play a role, government support, subsidies, and decentralized institutional frameworks are essential for sustainable rural energy access.
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Document type: Report
The Experience of South African Firms Doing Business in Africa
The report examines the expansion of South African business into the rest of Africa, highlighting a shift from traditional construction and mining into sectors like banking, telecommunications, and retail. While South African firms possess competitive advantages in capital and technology, they face significant structural hurdles, including political risk, corruption, poor infrastructure, and currency volatility. The document provides detailed case studies on sectors (Banking, Telecommunications, Retail, Mining) and countries (Uganda, Morocco, Mozambique, Ghana), concluding that sustainable growth requires improved governance, the rule of law, and stronger regional integration through initiatives like Nepad.
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Document type: Report