Africa Now

This book is the first to address the tenor of the journalistic coverage of Africa, using multiple case studies of news production processes conducted in Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Mali and South Sudan.

This book presents relevant and timely endogenous procedures for addressing the challenge of transforming ideas into sustainable opportunities in Africa. It explores how Africa could be understood in the context of emerging global realities, providing alternative frameworks that will not just be participatory in conception and practice, but equally show a contextual workability for the varying aspects of the developmental enterprise in Africa. Despite having alternative and less cumbersome sources of funding, with commendable economic growth indices, and several economies among the fastest growing globally, African countries have been unable to transmute related opportunities into sustainable human development outcomes for majority of its citizenry. Over four rich sections the authors cover subjects ranging from environment and natural resource management, to governance, economy and sustainable development. The book continues with a section on Education and Human Development and a case study in transnationalism. The final section discusses crime, conflict and regional dynamics, including highly disputed topics such as forced migration and sex trade. This indispensable resource will be of great use to students and researches globally in fields such as sociology, anthropology, environmental studies, politics and economics with a focus on contemporary Africa, as well as to policy planners and human rights activists invested in the future development of Africa.

Where does South Africa go? Since the dawn of democracy in 1994, the country has been ruled by the former liberation movement, the African National Congress (ANC). Formerly a beacon of hope for most South Africans, the perception of the party has changed. Striking miners, corruption scandals, alleged restrictions on the freedom of the media and cadre employment pose challenges to the rainbow nation and its democracy. But there is also a lot of hope around the Cape: the liberation of South Africa from apartheid gave way to a new generation of young South Africans – the emerging black middle class. Well-educated and highly motivated to work and achieve, this group of people benefits from the lifted restrictions and new opportunities in post-apartheid South Africa. But will it also contribute to the consolidation and further development of democracy in the country? Research in western nations suggests that the middle class is fostering the development of democracy. But does this relation also hold for the emerging black middle class in South Africa? This study tries to shed some light on this extremely relevant and though neglected issue. It draws a picture of the emerging black middle class’ attitudes towards democracy and assesses how this group relates to democracy.

Africa's artistic landscape is immensely fertile. It has emerged from its colonial past, and is once again asserting its own identity.