Afrika Tanulmányok / Hungarian Journal of African Studies

The War on Tigray: Geopolitics and the Struggle for Self-Determination

Meressa Tsehaye Gebrewahd — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Tigray continues to be a unique case among ancient kingdoms, Westphalia nation-states, post-colonial Africa, and post-Cold War national liberation struggles. It is one of the oldest civilizations (Aksumite Kingdom) and the historical, cultural, and political soul of ancient and modern Ethiopia. But it was made to be an ‘oppressed nation struggling for regional autonomy and survival from genocidal aggression’ by the empire state of Ethiopia and the ‘garrison state’ of Eritrea. It also survived Egyptian and Mahdist expansionists, and Italian colonialism, though it lost ‘Bahre-Negash’ (Eritrea) to Italy due to the Wuchale Agreement (or Treaty of Wichale) in 1889. Eritrea was handed over to Italian colonialists by Menelik II of Shewa-Amhara in order to weaken Tigray’s geopolitical power base. Tigray was also the hotbed of the first Woyane rebellion in 1943 which sparked the idea of ‘land to the Tiller, fair taxation, and self-rule,’ and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) led the second Woyane rebellion (1975–91) that restructured the empire state of Ethiopia into a federation with the 1995 constitution. Since 2018, after 27 years of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF)- led federal experiment, Tigray again became a victim of a ‘genocidal war’ led by the Ethiopian federal army, Amhara forces, Ethiopian regional forces, and Eritrean army, supported by UAE and Turkey drones, and the Somalian army. The international community and the African Union supported Abiy Ahmed and Issaias Afewerki’s genocidal war in the name of “maintaining the territorial integrity of Ethiopia” by neglecting the principles of Responsibility to Protect (R2P), people’s self-determination rights, and the prevention of genocide. Tigray, therefore, is a rare case in the vicious cycle of violence. The Tigrayan ‘two-year’ survival war (from November 2020 to November 2022) against those who practice genocide was destined to break Tigray’s historically vicious cycle of violence perpetrated by Ethiopia and Eritrea. The paper aims to investigate the historical, geopolitical, and security reasons that have trapped Tigray into facing the post-2020 genocidal war.

Mitumba: second-hand clothing industry in Kenya. A blessing or a curse?

Judit Kiss — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Kenya is one of the leading SHC importers in Africa. The aborted import substitution industrialisation, the liberalisation of the economy, and the failure of the domestic textile industry led to the SHC trade surge, which is the direct product of the global (ultra)fast fashion linear business model. SHC industry is beneficial for the economy and the people of Kenya due to job creation, income and revenue generation, and the provision of affordable clothing. However, it has detrimental impact on the environment and the local textile/fashion industry. To maintain the benefits and reduce the negative effects, it is important not to completely eliminate it. In the short run, quantity should be decreased, and the quality should be improved to reduce waste. In the long run, there should be a gradual decrease and eventually elimination of second-hand clothing imports, depending on the revitalization of domestic garment industry.

Spirituality in the Black Arts Movement

Nadjiba Bouallegue — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

The article investigates the significance of spirituality in the works of the Black Arts Movement poets. By examining the poetry of Amiri Baraka and Maya Angelou, the study uncovers the various facets of spirituality that African Americans embrace, including “Africanized” Christianity, jazz poetry, and Islam. The article aims to show if spirituality is merely a way to celebrate cultural diversity or a vehicle for social change. It draws on Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s theory of minor literature to demonstrate that the Black Arts Movement is a minor literature, whereby cultural markers such as spirituality are politicized. Because spirituality endows the Black Arts Movement with a political value and a collective enunciation, this movement becomes a revolutionary force that aims to enact social change. This politicized spirituality is symptomatic of a desire to foster a strong, positive bond with Africa, which is an antidote to the strangeness of mainstream society. The remembrance of the African past through Afrocentric spirituality is a tool for defining and redefining one’s sense of belonging. It is also a quest for an essentially black aesthetic.

Economic Determinants of Industrial Symbiosis on the Micro-level in Sub-Saharan Africa. A Case Study from Uganda

Gergely Buda — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Sub-Saharan Africa faces serious challenges related to waste management due to increasing population, consumption, and industrialization ambitions pursued by governments seeking economic development. This paper contributes to research on waste utilization in the region through a case study of industrial symbiosis in Uganda. More specifically, it focuses on the different cost items of waste suppliers of an eco-farm based on a fitness condition equation, including costs of landfilling, transportation, handling, pre-processing, storage, and the waste selling price. Uncovering these elements on the micro level may inform policymakers on how to incentivize industrial symbiosis and help its implementation in an economically feasible way. Data for this research was collected via company visits, semi-structured interviews, and participant observations during two research trips in 2021 and 2022. The results indicate that the additional revenue from selling waste is the least important item in the rationale for IS. In most cases, the potential for reducing landfilling costs motivates companies to participate in IS. The high difference in the other cost items calls for a case-by-case rather than a standardized policy intervention.

Rethinking Afro-Asian Relations - Assessing TICAD 8 on African Development

Pamela Jeptum Chemelil — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Africa has become a significant focus for many international partners, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to changes in how the continent engages with its partners. With numerous countries in Asia, external partners have made consistent efforts to establish their presence on the continent. Japan is one such Asian country that has sought to expand its influence in Africa, especially in response to China’s significant presence on the continent. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected different sectors of the African economy; hence, there is a focus on creating future policies that allow resilience related to such pandemics and any unpredicted future global crises like the current one caused by the Ukrainian war. Similar to others, Japan is prepared to strengthen its engagements with African countries as they align their interests with Agenda 2063, differentiating them from China’s debt approach. Despite Japan being in the region well before the COVID-19 pandemic, it continues to make efforts to increase its presence following the recent Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) held in Tunisia. This has reaffirmed Japan’s intentions and goals despite the competitive presence of China in the continent. This paper aims to analyse TICAD 8 and its consequences on African development. What promises has Japan made, and how will they lead to a developed Africa? How is Japan’s approach to bringing development to Africa different from that of other Asian partners?