New publications

This book, a co-publication of the ASCL and IFRA (Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique), is the first to consequently use quantitative data in addition to qualitative data about violence in Nigeria in very different fields: from oil production to cattle breeding, radical Islam to motor accidents, land conflicts to witchcraft; quantitative data that was previously unavailable or inaccessible. The authors underline the necessity of a trend analysis to decipher the patterns and the complexity of violence in these fields. Open access!

The Netherlands has been an active supporter of international development aid. Dutch development cooperation started in response to Truman’s 'Four point programme' announced in 1949. It began as technical assistance, channelled through multilateral channels. Bilateral aid started in 1962 and was introduced by (then) Minister for Development Cooperation Berend-Jan Udink. Since then, the priorities, target countries and budget of Dutch development cooperation have continuously shifted. This thematic map illustrates how the partner countries for Dutch development cooperation have changed throughout the years.

The research project 'Defining, targeting and reaching the very poor' has resulted in field reports on Bangladesh, Benin, Jeldu (Ethiopia), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and a synthesis report. Anika Altaf is a PhD candidate whose research aims to discover how extremely poor people can benefit on a long-term basis from poverty-alleviation initiatives. In addition, she attempts to find out who the ultra poor are and what struggles they face.

President Zuma of South Africa and President Putin of Russia attended China’s victory parade in September 2015. Zuma’s visit reflected a broader shift in South Africa’s foreign policy in favour of China and Russia. The clear pivot towards China and Russia during Zuma’s presidency (2009-present) differs sharply from the more balanced multipolar approach under Nelson Mandela’s presidency (1994-1999), writes Heinrich Matthee in the latest ASC Infosheet.

This book, edited by ASCL researchers Akinyinka Akinyoade and Jan-Bart Gewald, brings together the results of studies of the various cultural, social, economic and historical aspects that are formative in African societies’ experiences of how people negotiated the spaces and times of being in transit on the road to prosperity. The book analyses the various outcomes of the process of mobility and the experience of spaces and times of transit across gender, generational, and class-differences. Many ASCL researchers have contributed to the book, that has been published by Brill.