Ambivalent Rwanda

Rwanda is an ambivalent country: the more I know about it, the more I both like and dislike it. I had visited Rwanda twice before starting my PhD. In 2006 and 2008, I travelled from Japan, where I was doing my Masters degree, to this country of a thousand hills, to observe the activities of [...]

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Mali’s Curious Coup

Weeks away from what would have been the West African nation’s fifth consecutive democratic elections, the people of Mali woke up to military rule on the morning of Thursday, 22 March 2012. The incumbent President, Amadou Toumani Touré (known as ATT) was not even standing for election. Much of the media commentary on the coup [...]

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Discovering the spirit of Ubuntu in the Horn of Africa

The Horn is like no other place in Africa, at least that is what I thought prior to my six months research trip to Ethiopia, with a brief visit to Somaliland. The truth is that no two places are the same in Africa. Yet, I discovered that whether I am in the Horn, Southern or [...]

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Life in the Mara

Spending the last year learning two new languages, Swahili and Maa, buying a car, and building a mud hut in the Maasai Mara, Kenya has been an unbelievable experience but it is very satisfying to finally get stuck in with my PhD research. I am based just north of the Maasai Mara Reserve in South [...]

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Refugee Rights in Johannesburg

Over the course of two months, May and June 2011, I was fortunate to do an internship with Sonke Gender Justice Network in Johannesburg. I was working within the Refugee Health and Rights unit, which helps migrants and refugees to gain access to services, challenges xenophobia, and promotes gender equality. The unit runs workshops, distributes [...]

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Spotlight on Uganda’s Oil debate

In an unprecedented show of unity in Uganda’s parliament, opposition and pro-government MPs this week banded together in a bi-partisan demand that the government temporarily halt the completion of any oil agreements until an independent regulator is in place. Citizens and their representatives across the political spectrum believe there should be more transparency in the [...]

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Energy: A Key to Women’s Empowerment and Ending Poverty

In the developing world, the day-to-day activities of a rural woman quite often begin before dawn. She wakes early, cooks for her family, minds children or prepares them for school, collects water and firewood, cooks additional meals if there is food, and works the land. A long list transpiring into a very long day. Most [...]

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What is Justice? Thoughts from the field

Having recently returned from two incredible months in Johannesburg, it is obviously impossible for me to document all of the wonderful experiences that I had. I can however, give you a little insight into the work that I was involved in and some of the dilemmas that are faced by civil society. I was lucky [...]

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Development in Practice

Working with ‘ACTION Support Centre’ in Johannesburg, South Africa, has given me a multitude of opportunities to experience the ‘practical side of development’. ACTION is an NPO comprised of a small team of close-knit individuals who tackle a range of solidarity and capacity building projects within the Peace and Conflict arena. Although my role has [...]

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ECAS 4: CAS in Uppsala, Sweden!

From the 15th to the 18th of June 2011 the 4th European Conference of African Studies took place in Uppsala, Sweden. There was a cohort of staff, PhD Students and others associates of CAS in attendance at the Conference, some giving papers, other chairing panels and Paul was in attendance as the President of the [...]

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