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This book compromises 26 well-researched essays in honour of Professor Verkijika G. Fanso, who retired in 2011 after over 36 years of distinguished service at universities in Cameroon. Contributors include colleagues, former students and close collaborators in Cameroon and beyond. Contributions cover a wide range of issues related to the contested histories, politics and practices of boundaries and frontiers in Africa. These are themes on which Fanso has researched, published and taught extensively, and earned international recognition as a leading scholar. The book explores, inter alia, indigenous and endogenous practices of boundary making in Africa; as well as colonial and contemporary traditions, practices and conflicts on and around frontiers. In particular focus, are disputed colonial boundaries between Cameroon and its neighbours. Issues of intra- and inter-disciplinary frontiers, politics and cultures are also addressed. The volume is crowned by a farewell valedictory lecture by Fanso. Like Fanso and his rich repertoire of publications, this bumper harvest of essays is without doubt, truly immortalising.
West African history is usually seen as mainly influenced by English or French colonialism. There is a new interest in German colonialism, but most research is done in European archives and with a European point-of-view. This book explores German colonial exploits and their consequences in Ghana, Togo, and Cameroon, mostly from an African point-of-view. By means of research on sites of the colonial hinterland and the agency of entangled people, the book reveals the simmering impact of the past encounters on indigenous religious, cultural, political, and socio-economic developments in West Africa. (Series: African Studies / Afrikanische Studien - Vol. 49)
Many have viewed Kaiser Wilhelm II as having personally ruled Germany, dominating its politics, and choreographing its ambitious leap to global power. But how accurate is this picture? As The Kaiser and the Colonies shows, Wilhelm II was a constitutional monarch like many other crowned heads of Europe. Rather than an expression of Wilhelm II's personal rule, Germany's global empire and its Weltpolitik had their origins in the political and economic changes undergone by the nation as German commerce and industry strained to globalise alongside other European nations. More central to Germany's imperial processes than an emperor who reigned but did not rule were the numerous monarchs around the...
This book brings together a series of new case studies, some by young scholars, others by widely published authors. All are based on original research and designed to enhance our understanding of the process of the abolition of slavery in Africa at the grass-roots level. Part of the studies are on new areas of interest such as the German colonies and the Algerian Sahara. Others throw new light on questions already debated, such as emancipation of the Gold Coast. Some focus on the impact of abolition on particular groups of slaves, such as the royal slaves in Nigeria and concubines in Morocco. Among the themes considered is the role of slaves in their own emancipation, the short and long-term results of abolition, the role of the League of Nations, and the vestiges of slavery in Africa today.
African Sacred Spaces: Culture, History, and Change is a collection of carefully and analytically written essays on different aspects of African sacred spaces. The interaction between the past and present points to Africans’ continuing recognition of certain natural phenomena and places as sacred. Western influence, the introduction of Christianity and Islam, as well as modernity, have not succeeded in completely obliterating African spirituality and sacred observances, especially as these relate to space in its various iterations. Indeed, Africans, on the continent and in the Diasporas, have responded to the challenges of history, environmentalism, and sustainability with sober and versatile responses in their reverence for sacred space as expressed through a variety of religious, historical, and spiritual practices, as this volume attempts to show.
Migration happens. Migration is a global phenomenon that did not just emerge in the 21st century. It is perceived by many as a constant source of problems and threats. This notion is propagated by politicians, among others, who use migrants for to further their own political ideologies. Due to economic and security developments globally, migration is beset by increasing ethnical conflicts and restrictive immigration policies. This in turn creates heightened difficulties for migrants. But it also generates new life situations, shapes lives and reshapes identities. The region of the South-Pacific is no exception. Considering conflicts in recent years, the issue of migration in this area exemplifies the contestation over migration. This book provides an overview on migration issues in the South Pacific. Issues such as gender, the historical aspects and the history of migration in the Pacific, migration and conflicts, challenges for second generation migrants as well as the situation of Indians after the coup in Fiji are addressed in this volume of the NOVARA - Contributions of Research in the Pacific.
This book explores a collective understanding of the perception and treatment of borders in Africa. The notion of boundary is universal as boundaries are also an important part of human social organization. Through the ages, boundaries have remained the ‘container’ by which national space is delineated and ‘contained’. For as long as there has been human society based on territoriality and space, there have been boundaries. With their dual character of exclusivism and inclusivism, states have proven to adopt a more structural approach to the respect of the former in consciousness of the esteem of international law governing sovereignty and territorial integrity. However, frontier peo...
Angst, Hunger, Tod und Zerstörung prägen das Gesicht des modernen Krieges. Wie halten Menschen diesem Schrecken stand – täglich, über Jahre hinweg, im Schützengraben oder an der sogenannten Heimatfront? Der Band geht der Frage nach, wie es den am Ersten Weltkrieg beteiligten Gesellschaften gelang, über die Dauer von mehr als vier Jahren »durchzuhalten«. Sicherte dabei vorrangig Zwang oder Begeisterung die Kriegführung? Welche Unterschiede und Gemeinsamkeiten lassen sich für die unterschiedlichen europäischen und außereuropäischen Länder ausmachen? Das Buch beleuchtet dabei Kontexte, die Art der Kriegführung, die Einbeziehung der Bevölkerung sowie die politisch-ideologische Rechtfertigung der Beteiligungen und es verdeutlicht den Zusammenhang von Kriegskulturen und Kriegspraktiken.