News & Events

Inhabitants of poor, rural areas in the Global South heavily depend on natural resources in their immediate vicinity. Conflicts over these resources  severely affect their livelihoods. The contributors to this book leave behind the polarised debate that previously surrounded the relationship between natural resources and conflict, preferring a more nuanced approach. The book finds its origin in the research programme CoCooN, steered by The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research. Among the contributors are Ton Dietz and Marcel Rutten of the African Studies Centre.

Tanja Hendriks wrote the latest contribution to our Research Masters blog, ‘Inventing ourselves as Africanists’. Or: how to become an Africanist in a period (that lasts a month!) in the study programme that is officially known as ‘library time’ - yet unofficially as ‘time off’. Find out!

It is with immense shock and deep sadness that we have to announce the death of our colleague at King’s College (London), Patrick Chabal. Patrick died on Thursday 16 January, surrounded by his family, after bravely fighting a long illness. Patrick Chabal was one of the founders of AEGIS (Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies) and was a board member for many years. He had a long career in academics. His latest position was Chair in African History & Politics at King’s College.

Rhodesia was founded as a colony in 1890; most of its white population only arrived after World War II. The country did not have a deep history to tie white settlers’ loyalty to the land. So why would citizens fight a 14-year guerrilla war for its sake? That question is complicated by the respective rights and obligations of citizenship and residency. This seminar on 3 April by Luise White will argue that this complexity can only be understood by considering many sources: especially memoir and fiction.

The fourth and latest report in the series Agricultural Dynamics and Food Security Trends has just been published: the one about Kenya. As part of the Developmental Regimes in Africa (DRA) project, four case studies were done about the most promising agricultural sectors in Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. The DRA project is a collaborative venture between the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in the UK and the ASC in Leiden, and is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.