Centre of African Studies thesis and dissertation collection
Founded in 1963, the Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh is the only such academic unit in Scotland dedicated to the study of Africa. Drawing on a proud history of links between Scotland and Africa, from the missionaries who played a major role in southern Africa to the African leaders, such as Julius Nyerere, who studied at Edinburgh, the Centre of African Studies brings together African expertise from across the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and more widely. In turn, the Centre seeks to relate African Studies to the wider community, through links with NGOs and major educational and cultural organisations in Africa and Scotland.
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Recent Submissions
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Kilowatts, megawatts and power: electric territorialities of the state in the peripheries of Ghana and Tanzania
(The University of Edinburgh, 2018-11-27)Recent years have brought a resurgence of state-led plans to expand access to electricity over African polities. Nonetheless, and in line with deep-seated patterns of infrastructural and general abandonment by the centre, ... -
“Blood neighbours” and border enemies: transport, trade, Talibee networks and the Gambia-Senegal relations, 1960- 2015
(The University of Edinburgh, 2018-07-09)Since the Senegambia Confederation collapsed in 1989, The Gambia-Senegal interstate conflicts over the border have intensified. Irrespective of the recurrence of interstate political difficulties, people in the two ... -
Voter behaviour in Tanzania: a qualitative study of the 2015 elections
(The University of Edinburgh, 2018-07-09)In October 2015, John Magufuli became President of Tanzania and his party (Chama cha Mapinduzi, CCM) won a large majority in parliament. This thesis explains why Tanzanians choose to vote the way they do in general and ... -
Stability and change in South African public policy: 1994-2014
(The University of Edinburgh, 2018-07-09)This thesis narrates the exercise of state autonomy to achieve macro-economic stability and effect incremental policy change in South Africa between 1994 and 2014. Employing a composite case study of the macro-economic ... -
Regime stability, social insecurity and mining in Guinea: a case study of bauxite and diamond mining (1958-2008)
(The University of Edinburgh, 2016-06-29)This thesis explores how the mining of bauxite and diamonds enabled the coexistence of regime stability and social insecurity in Guinea under the regimes of Presidents Sékou Touré (1958- 1984) and Lansana Conté (1984-2008). ... -
Sustainable Africapitalism? Grassroots perceptions of Maasai Mara conservancies and their relationship with development
(The University of Edinburgh, 2016-06-29)Integrated conservation and development projects have been widely promoted across Africa. These often involve public-private partnerships targeting tourism. Despite this encouragement, there are conflicting views regarding ... -
Anticipating the revolt: trends in military mutinies in West and Central Africa, 1960-2012
(The University of Edinburgh, 2014)This thesis examines patterns of military mutinies in West and Central Africa from 1960 to 2012. The research explores the ways in which primarily rank and file soldiers express their discontent within a military ... -
From refining to smuggling: the everyday politics of petrol in Ghana
(The University of Edinburgh, 2017-11-28)This thesis presents an ethnographic study of the downstream petroleum industry in Ghana focusing on trade, infrastructure, flow, politics and social relationships. In 2010, the West African Republic of Ghana started ... -
Activating justice: local appropriation of transitional justice in Sierra Leone
(The University of Edinburgh, 2017-11-28)This thesis examines local transitional justice programmes and processes in Sierra Leone. I will examine both recognised mechanisms – official institutions with preconceived goals and processes that are already recognised ... -
Imagining the Somali lands: nationalism in a transnational public sphere, and the political reconfiguration of Somalia
(The University of Edinburgh, 2017-11-28)This thesis examines the 'public sphere' of state reconstruction and political conflict across the Somali territories through comparative discursive and contextual analysis of media production and consumption on the ground ... -
Expanding the One Health agenda - sustainable livelihoods, zoonotic disease and gender in Nigeria
(The University of Edinburgh, 2017-07-05)Livestock production is central to the livelihoods of millions of people in Nigeria, and indeed across the continent. Understanding how livestock based economies function and the issues that constrain them has long been ... -
Aligners, lovers and deceptors: aspirations and strategies of young urban hustlers in the Gambia
(The University of Edinburgh, 2017-07-05)This study investigates young Gambians’ social and economic aspirations. It considers how young Gambians’ aspirations are shaped and negotiated, and the strategies they employ to achieve their objectives. Whilst existing ... -
Standing on one leg: mobility, money and power in East Africa’s Somali social networks
(The University of Edinburgh, 2016-11-28)My thesis examines dynamics of inclusion and exclusion within Somali social networks in East Africa. It focuses on Somali mobility patterns and financial practices to draw insights on the maintenance, reproduction, and ... -
“There’s always going to be that political filtering”: the emergence of Second Generation Surveillance for HIV/AIDS, data from Uganda, and the relationship between evidence and global health policy
(The University of Edinburgh, 2017-07-05)Background: It is widely acknowledged that Uganda was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to experience a significant decline in HIV seroprevalence in the 1990s. Framed as the initial ‘success story’ in the history ... -
Black economic empowerment and changes in ownership and control in South Africa’s mining industry
(The University of Edinburgh, 2016-11-28)This study investigates how white and foreign-owned mining companies have complied with the Mining and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) and Mining Charter, the core of the Broad- Based Black Economic Empowerment ... -
Brethren in Christ mission in Zambia, 1906-1978: a historical study of western missionary leadership patterns and the emergence of Tonga church leaders
(The University of Edinburgh, 2005) -
Perspectives on teacher professional development : a study of the experiences and perceptions of black teachers in South Africa
(The University of Edinburgh, 1996) -
Learning to Work? : changing discourses on education and training in South Africa, 1976-96
(The University of Edinburgh, 1996) -
Transforming rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe: experiences of Fast Track Land Reform, 2000-2012
(The University of Edinburgh, 2015-11-25)This thesis examines the livelihood outcomes of Zimbabwe’s Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP). It asks, what has happened to rural livelihoods following land redistribution; how did land occupations and redistribution ... -
Development and role of trade unions in a developing economy: the case of Ghana
(The University of Edinburgh, 1968)
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