In contrast to the rich tradition of academic analysis and understanding of the pre-colonial and ... more In contrast to the rich tradition of academic analysis and understanding of the pre-colonial and colonial history of Zambia, the trajectory of post-colonial Zambia has been all but ignored by historians. The assumptions of developmentalism, the cultural hegemony of United National Independence Party orthodoxy and its conflation with national interests, and a narrow focus on Zambia's diplomatic role in Southern African affairs, have all contributed to a dearth of studies centring on the diverse lived experiences of Zambians.
In "The Objects of Life in Central Africa" the history of consumption and social change... more In "The Objects of Life in Central Africa" the history of consumption and social change from 1840 until 1980 is explored. By taking consumption as a vantage point, the contributions deviate from and add to previous works which have mainly analysed issues of production from an economic and political perspective. The chapters are broad-ranging in temporal and geographical focus, including contributions on Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Angola. Topics range from the social history of firearms to the perception of the railway and include contributions on sewing machines, traders and advertising. By looking at the socio-economic, political and cultural meaning and impact of goods the history of Central Africa is reassessed.
This paper examines through qualitative study the effect of government regulatory restriction and... more This paper examines through qualitative study the effect of government regulatory restriction and repression on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) engaging in transnational advocacy. The focus is on NGO's advocacy activities, in the realm of human rights, environment, labor and development in particular, using illustrations from Bangladesh and Zambia. It finds that next to some NGOs disbanding and moving towards service activities, many NGOs shift in terms of substantive advocacy and form of organizational collaboration. To continue cross-border interactions with their foreign partners, many NGOs adjust to circumvent or compensate for restrictions and repression. Because of this, transnational advocacy can be said to continue, but repression and restrictions have significant substantive and organizational effects for the collaborations studied, and cross-border NGO collaborations in our sample are increasingly fragile and their advocacy more tempered. Policy Implications • Policy makers should take note that as a result of repressions and restrictions, many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) devoted to labor and human rights, are disbanding, reducing and/or ceasing transnational advocacy activity. • Policy makers should note that as a result of repression and restrictions, NGOs committed to labor, human rights, development and environmental themes are creating a more tempered form of transnational advocacy, that adjusts for the targets, issue and language of advocacy, with significant implications for the role that transnational NGO advocacy plays in domestic and international politics.
ABSTRACT Much has been written about the strength of African presidentialism. This article studie... more ABSTRACT Much has been written about the strength of African presidentialism. This article studies the resilience of presidential power in Zambia in the face of electoral turnover. Opposition election campaigns, conducted by both the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) and the Patriotic Front (PF), featured deep constitutional reform as prominent campaign pledges. Nevertheless, after winning the presidency, both parties failed to reduce presidential power. We support this conclusion by an analysis of constitution making in Zambia since the early 1990s and an analysis of the latest 2016 amended constitution. We argue that presidential powers become valuable institutional assets for newly elected elites attempting to reduce electoral uncertainty and consolidate power. Consequently, reduction in presidential power is unlikely as long as the executive is able to control the constitution making process.
In contrast to the rich tradition of academic analysis and understanding of the pre-colonial and ... more In contrast to the rich tradition of academic analysis and understanding of the pre-colonial and colonial history of Zambia, the trajectory of post-colonial Zambia has been all but ignored by historians. The assumptions of developmentalism, the cultural hegemony of United National Independence Party orthodoxy and its conflation with national interests, and a narrow focus on Zambia's diplomatic role in Southern African affairs, have all contributed to a dearth of studies centring on the diverse lived experiences of Zambians.
In "The Objects of Life in Central Africa" the history of consumption and social change... more In "The Objects of Life in Central Africa" the history of consumption and social change from 1840 until 1980 is explored. By taking consumption as a vantage point, the contributions deviate from and add to previous works which have mainly analysed issues of production from an economic and political perspective. The chapters are broad-ranging in temporal and geographical focus, including contributions on Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Angola. Topics range from the social history of firearms to the perception of the railway and include contributions on sewing machines, traders and advertising. By looking at the socio-economic, political and cultural meaning and impact of goods the history of Central Africa is reassessed.
This paper examines through qualitative study the effect of government regulatory restriction and... more This paper examines through qualitative study the effect of government regulatory restriction and repression on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) engaging in transnational advocacy. The focus is on NGO's advocacy activities, in the realm of human rights, environment, labor and development in particular, using illustrations from Bangladesh and Zambia. It finds that next to some NGOs disbanding and moving towards service activities, many NGOs shift in terms of substantive advocacy and form of organizational collaboration. To continue cross-border interactions with their foreign partners, many NGOs adjust to circumvent or compensate for restrictions and repression. Because of this, transnational advocacy can be said to continue, but repression and restrictions have significant substantive and organizational effects for the collaborations studied, and cross-border NGO collaborations in our sample are increasingly fragile and their advocacy more tempered. Policy Implications • Policy makers should take note that as a result of repressions and restrictions, many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) devoted to labor and human rights, are disbanding, reducing and/or ceasing transnational advocacy activity. • Policy makers should note that as a result of repression and restrictions, NGOs committed to labor, human rights, development and environmental themes are creating a more tempered form of transnational advocacy, that adjusts for the targets, issue and language of advocacy, with significant implications for the role that transnational NGO advocacy plays in domestic and international politics.
ABSTRACT Much has been written about the strength of African presidentialism. This article studie... more ABSTRACT Much has been written about the strength of African presidentialism. This article studies the resilience of presidential power in Zambia in the face of electoral turnover. Opposition election campaigns, conducted by both the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) and the Patriotic Front (PF), featured deep constitutional reform as prominent campaign pledges. Nevertheless, after winning the presidency, both parties failed to reduce presidential power. We support this conclusion by an analysis of constitution making in Zambia since the early 1990s and an analysis of the latest 2016 amended constitution. We argue that presidential powers become valuable institutional assets for newly elected elites attempting to reduce electoral uncertainty and consolidate power. Consequently, reduction in presidential power is unlikely as long as the executive is able to control the constitution making process.
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Papers by Marja Hinfelaar