Identity Management: The Creation of Resource Allocative Criteria in Botswana

by Angela Gapa Abstract Botswana’s escape from the “resource curse” is an anomaly in the trend toward low economic growth and political instability in resource-rich developing economies. In literature on the resource curse, distributive injustices of resource wealth have traditionally been understood to occur along ethno-linguistic and sectarian lines and potentially cause weak institutions, social […]

Elephants are Like Our Diamonds: Recentralizing Community Based Natural Resource Management in Botswana, 1996-2012

by Parakh Hoon Abstract When the Botswana parliament passed a Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) policy in 2007, ten years after its implementation, the formal policy rejected some of the basic precepts of community based conservation-those who face the costs of living in close proximity to wildlife should receive a major share of benefits. In the national debate […]

Decentralization, Local Governance and the Democratic Transition in Southern Africa: A Comparative Analysis

by James S. Wunsch Introduction What factors are required for viable, democratic, local governments in Africa? This is an important question for several reasons. First, in an era of continuing economic problems and structural adjustment, national governments have been forced to reduce the services they provide. While the private sector may pick-up some of these, […]

The Organizational Structures for Community-Based Natural Resources Management in Southern Africa

by Bruce Campbell and Sheona Shackleton Abstract Throughout Southern Africa there has been a move to decentralize natural resource management (NRM). Decentralization has taken many forms, resulting in different organizational structures for NRM. Fourteen case studies from eight countries can be classed into four types, depending on the key organizations for NRM: (1) district-level organizations; […]

Civil-Military Relations in Botswana’s Developmental State

by Mpho G. Molomo Abstract This article discusses civil-military relations in Botswana with emphasis on internal security and regional instability as they affect Botswana’s development. It recommends that internal security should be left to the police, while the military serves as an instrument of foreign policy. It contends that the involvement of the military in […]

The State and Development in Southern Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Botswana and Mauritius with Angola, Malawi and Zambia

by Osei Hwedi Introduction African countries inherited economies that are backward, skewed and underdeveloped as a result of Western colonial rule. Since independence, African states have embarked on the transformation of inherited economic structures with varying degrees of success. The debate about the role of the state in development in Africa reached its peak in […]

African Studies Quarterly

Tag: Botswana