"Migrant remittances have become an important source of income for many developing countries, exceeding official development assistance. As a result, migration and remittance behaviour are becoming a growing focus of international attention. Understanding the processes and patterns of remittance behaviour can help shed light on their usage and impact, both on recipient households and on wider socio-economic development in migrant-origin countries. One key aspect of such an understanding is the gender dynamics of migration and remittance practices. Globally, there is evidence of the feminization of migrant flows, with women increasingly migrating as independent migrants in their own right. Female migrants maintain strong ties to family members in their home countries. These include significant flows of remittances, of both cash and goods, sent to family members at home."

"Africa is entering a new era of conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The formulation of the AU in 2002 and the Peace and Security Council (PSC) in 2004 firmly established institutions dedicated to the promotion of peace, security and stability in Africa. The Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the PSC includes mediation as a specific function of the PSC (AU, 2004: Article 6, 3). The seminar was convened in order to inform the AU Mediation Work Programme, based on four themes: Mediating Peace in Africa; The New Architecture – Lessons and Insights; Mediation Experiences from the Field ; Mediation Support: Challenges and Opportunities. Five recommendations emerged from the seminar: That partnerships and cooperation would strengthen the mediation and conflict prevention aspects of the AU’s PSC. That institutionalising mediation was integral to strengthen the AU’s mediation capacity. That early warning systems should form an integral part of the mediation and conflict resolution process. That the AU should establish measures to learn from experiences and record lessons for future best practice. That civil society can and should play a key role in mediation processes."

"This 82-page report describes the devastating condition facing women with fistula in Kenya and the wide gap between government's policies to address reproductive health and the reality of women's daily lives. It documents health system failures in five areas: education and information on reproductive and maternal health; school-based sex education; access to emergency obstetric care, including referral and transport systems; affordable maternity care and fistula repair; and health system accountability. It also documents stigma and violence many fistula sufferers face."

"Drawing from the varieties of capitalism theoretical framework, the study explores the home country influences of MNCs on their CSR practices when they operate outside their national/regional institutional contexts. The study focuses on a particular CSR practice (i.e. corporate code of conducts) of seven MNCs from Europe (4) and the USA (3) operating in the oil and gas sector of the Nigerian economy. The study concludes that the corporate codes of conduct of these MNCs operating in Nigeria, to a large extent, reflect the characteristics of their home countries model of capitalism, respectively. The home countries model of capitalism is also found to have implications for the degree of adaptability of these MNCs CSR practices to the Nigerian institutional context. It is anticipated that the study will contribute to the emerging literature on the institutional embeddedness of CSR practices in trans-national spaces and that of CSR in developing economies."

"Despite the well-documented negative impacts on the 'brain drain' of health professionals from Africa, there is an argument that their departure is not an absolute loss and that transnationally-oriented medical migrants (or diasporas) can act as development agents in their home countries."

"Until recently, the peace process in Darfur has focused on an elite dialogue between the Sudanese government and rebel movements. The idea has been that these parties would agree to a classic power- and wealth-sharing deal, and local reconciliation initiatives and development projects would help tidy up the remaining difficult issues. Although international diplomats have publicly lamented the absence of a broader range of Darfuri stakeholders in the peace process, many privately regard their inclusion as infeasible. The deterioration of many of the rebel movements since the process began and the refusal by one of the most important groups to even come to the table has exposed the fallacy of this view. Indeed, the absence of viable track-one actors in Darfur—and the presence of track-two actors with genuine influence—demands a rethink of the process."

"Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and a major oil exporter, suffers from chronic energy shortages. Years of under-investment, lack of maintenance and perpetual resource supply problems have elevated the situation to crisis levels. National policy makers have consequently expressed an interest in nuclear power as a source of stable electricity. Despite progress in some areas, including the ratification of international treaties, development of regulatory infrastructure and signing of bilateral technical cooperation agreements, significant challenges remain before nuclear energy production in Nigeria is a reality."

"Since its secession from Somalia in 1991, the east-African nation of Somaliland has become one of the most democratic governments in eastern Africa. Yet Somaliland has never been recognized by the international community. This paper examines how this lack of recognition—and the consequent ineligibility for foreign financial assistance—has shaped Somaliland’s political development. It finds evidence that Somaliland’s ineligibility for foreign aid facilitated the development of accountable political institutions and contributed to the willingness of Somalilanders to engage constructively in the state-building process."

"Rice production in Africa has tended to be low-yielding, geographically dispersed, and uncompetitive against low-cost Asian imports, even when protected by high freight costs and substantial trade barriers. Skyrocketing prices in world markets in 2007–08 were a shock to African consumers, producers, and governments alike. When international rice prices were relatively low, rice imports did not pose economic or political problems for West African governments. Extremely expensive imports reverse that equation. This paper addresses the response to that reversal first by presenting a historical review of trends in the West African rice sector and, second, by assessing the effect of world rice prices on domestic prices, primarily at the consumer level."

"In this paper, we argue that West Africa’s conflict experiences since 1990 have never been devoid of the concurrent influence of the youth bulge problematic and the effects of the economic downturns of countries in the sub-region. These factors can therefore not be relegated to the background in present and future attempts to achieve peace. We also argue that the outbreak of conflicts has had grave ramifications on the region’s environmental security. This paper starts with a section that analyses the nexus between demography and conflict from which evidence is deduced to explain the youth bulge phenomenon and supporting destabilizing factors. Subsequently, we discuss migratory flows and conflict in terms of the role of migration and its impact in fuelling tensions and the cyclical impact of conflict on migration trends. The third section assesses the possible role of environmental challenges in fomenting tensions and the effects conflicts have on the environment. The paper concludes with possible policy options for West Africa."