News & Events

The ASC Country Portal is online! Offering an abundance of information on African countries. This database brings together sources of digital information, grouped per country: news, statistics (UN, Worldbank, elections turnout), publications, Africa experts, Twitter, maps and much more. While 29 out of the 54 African countries are now ready, all countries can be accessed. Countries that are still under construction are marked as such.

On 21 August 1986 all human and animal life in the Nyos Valley in Cameroon died, without a trace of damage to houses or crops. Until today the cause of this disaster is not known. Was it an eruption of gas from a nearby crater? Or a French nuclear test? An Israelian bomb? Or punshment from the gods? In his book Stikvallei Dutch author Frank Westerman examines not only the facts and theories with respect to this catastrophe, but also the emergence of myths surrounding the mysterious mass deaths. The splendidly researched Stikvallei is our latest Acquisition Highlight. (Please note that it is written in Dutch, as is the book).

 Verina Ingram will defend her PhD thesis entitled 'Win-wins in forest product value chains? How governance impacts the sustainability of livelihoods based on non-timber forest products from Cameroon' on 18 March at the University of Amsterdam. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) such as nuts, leaves, resins, barks and honey have medicinal, food, energy, tool and cultural uses. This study examines eight such NTFP value chains from Cameroon, sold locally and exported worldwide. It shows that their combined value is over 32 million US$ annually, more than previously realised. Around 34,000 people, including harvesters and traders, derive income from this trade.

The ASC and the Netherlands African Business Council (NABC) will be organizing the second edition of the Africa Works! conference on 16 & 17 October 2014 in Leiden. The objective is to explore the challenges and opportunities Africa poses to companies, government bodies, NGOs and knowledge centers. Scientific seminars and practical workshops will highlight the themes that are relevant to people working in or with Africa today. Registration is now open!

This book is the first attempt to understand Boko Haram in a comprehensive and consistent way. It examines the early history of the sect and its transformation into a radical armed group. It analyses the causes of the uprising against the Nigerian state and evaluates the consequences of the on-going conflict from a religious, social and political point of view. The book is a co-publication of the ASC and IFRA-Nigeria (Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique).  

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been waging a brutal insurgency in Uganda since the late 1980s. Little is known, however, about the people who fought against the LRA. Who were these people and why did they take up arms against one of Africa’s most dreaded rebel groups? On 20 March, Klaas Castelein will consider the ‘Arrow Boys’, a militia that was founded in Teso in Eastern Uganda and successfully challenged Kony’s guerrilla fighters from 2003-2005. Castelein's findings are based on yet unpublished sources and data.

This Friday 14 February, 11:45, Lidewyde Berckmoes will defend her PhD thesis entitled 'Elusive Tactics: Urban Youth Navigating the Aftermath of War in Burundi'. This will take place at the VU University. Jan Abbink is her promotor. Everyone is welcome!

How can we imagine in today’s and tomorrow’s Africa a nation-state in which the cohabitation of ethnic groups forms a positive force? That is the crucial theme in the PhD Defence of Pascal Touoyem (Cameroon) on 18 February in Tilburg. The ethnic reality in Africa continues to be decisive as an absolute dimension of individual and collective life, which puts a heavy mortgage on the normal functioning of these nation-states. That is why the black continent is rich in failed states, or states on the road to failure or collapse. Please note that this PhD Defence will be in French.

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.