In many African states development stagnates because political, economic and cultural issues seem to be solved more and more by military means. Instead of playing a rather protective role many African states have become an arena for military competition over its resources. How can civil society organisations respond effectively to this current crisis in Africa?
In Africa state formation is faltering. Instead of playing a protective role in which legal, cultural, economic, and political development takes place, the state has become an arena for -often military- competition over its resources.
Communities are often mobilised at a grass roots level leading to large scale proliferation of small arms. Non military solutions to solve these issues seem to be diminishing. The safe spaces in which life is run on other than military premises shrinks. While external inputs becoming another prize in the competition, development stagnates.
Dr Peter Adwok, Director of the Larjour Policy Research and Training Institute in Nairobi and Dr. Simon Simonse will discuss how civil society organisations can make a difference for communities coping with a permanent state of insecurity. What can civil society organisations do to address the security crisis resulting from failing state performance? How can international interventions benefit the security of the common citizen? What adjustments should actors in the field of international development cooperation, operating under conditions of state failure, make in their policies?
Leading this discussion is Jos van Gennip, chairman of the Society for International Development (SID) Nederland.
Vrije Universiteit, Auditorium
De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam
21 February 2005, 18:00
For more information, contact:
Secretariaat SID-Nederland
tel/fax: 010-4367891
e-mail: buro.op.orde@luna.nl
SID Nederland
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