Marginality and Crisis : Globalization and Identity in Contemporary Africa

Description

Marginality and Crisis: Globalization and Identity in Contemporary Africa extends the scope and understanding of the effects of globalization and its forces on Africa. With each chapter written by specialists who recognize that the future of Africa is entwined with that of the rest of the world, this volume explains with fresh vigor the new thinking on the historical specificity, value, opportunity, and shortcomings of globalization for a continent many regard as marginalized and in crisis. In the face of much pessimism, several questions have engaged the attention of this young generation of African scholars: Where is Africa in relation to globalization? Where are the things that make Africa Africa (such as economy, politics, culture, identity, and human relations) headed? Are Africa's communities helpless against global forces or empowered by new avenues of access? How do scholars and policymakers engage the problems of globalization vis-^-vis Africa's ethnic, linguistic, and other identities? What are the economic and political trajectories in various countries and localities? An invaluable source for scholars, students, and the general reader, the essays in this book have confidently and clearly explored and explained the crises that have engulfed the continent in the age of globalization. Unlike other works that have dwelt only on the continent's victimhood, this volume identifies key areas in which Africa can become more proactive and outward-looking in response to the forces and values that take the globe as their reference points. Cover Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Page Table of Contents Figures Tables Preface Acknowledgments Section 1: Discourse on Globalization 1. Introduction 2. Globalization: The Politics of "We" and "Them" 3. Origin and Dynamics of Globalization: A Historical Approach 4. Compatriotism vs. Cosmopolitanism: Exploring a New Cosmo-Morality of Human Relations from the Yoruba in the Age of Globalization Section II: Globalization and Culture 5. Kiswahili Language and the Future of East African Integration in the Age of Globalization 6. The Kabba Dress: Identity and Modernity in Contemporary Cameroon 7. Beyond Memoir: Echoes of Globalization, Identity, and Gender Struggle in Soyinka's Ake: The Years of Childhood 8. From the Global to the Local: The Media and Islam in Nigeria, 1979-2007 Section III: Marginality: Africa and the Political Economy of Globalization 9. Globalization and the Privatization of State-Owned Enterprises: An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Privatization on the Nigerian Economy 10. Contemporary Trade, Investment Practices, and the Challenges of Regionalism and Poverty Alleviation in Africa 11. Community-Based Organizations: Household Food and Livelihood Security in Southern Nigeria 12. Trade Liberalization and Employment in Nigeria 13. Globalization, Poverty, and the Failure of States in Africa: Is there a Connection? Section IV: Crisis: Hot Spots and Contestations 14. A Cross-Regional Analysis of African Conflicts in the Age of Globalization 15. Globalization, Identity Politics, and the Escalation of Ife-Modakeke Crisis 16. The 2001 Tiv-Jukun Ethnic Crisis: The "Indigene-Settler" Factor Reconsidered 17. Petroleum, the Environment, and the Economics of Nationalism in the Niger Delta 18. Oil Conflict in the Niger Delta: Revisiting the Odi Genocide Section V: Conclusion 19. Conclusion Index About the Editors About the Contributors