Cheeseman, Nic, and Blessing-Miles Tendi. “Power-Sharing in Comparative Perspective: the Dynamics of ‘Unity Government’ in Kenya and Zimbabwe.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 48, no. 2(2010): 203–29. doi:10.1017/S0022278X10000224.

This paper draws on the recent experience of Kenya and Zimbabwe to demonstrate how power-sharing has played out in Africa. Although the two cases share some superficial similarities, variation in the strength and disposition of key veto players generated radically different contexts that shaped the feasibility and impact of unity government. Explaining the number and attitude of veto players requires a comparative analysis of the evolution of civil–military and intra-elite relations. In Zimbabwe, the exclusionary use of violence and rhetoric, together with the militarisation of politics, created far greater barriers to genuine power-sharing, resulting in the politics of continuity. These veto players were less significant in the Kenyan case, giving rise to a more cohesive outcome in the form of the politics of collusion. However, we find that neither mode of power-sharing creates the conditions for effective reform, which leads to a more general conclusion: unity government serves to postpone conflict, rather than to resolve it.

Source: Article abstract

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Cheeseman, Nic

Professor of Democracy and International Development/Director of the Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR), University of Birmingham

Address: International Development Department, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK

Email: n.cheeseman@bham.ac.uk

Chernoff, John Miller. African Rhythm and African Sensibility: Aesthetics and Social Action in African Musical Idioms. University of Chicago Press; Revised Edition, 1981.

Chernoff develops a brilliant and penetrating musicological essay that is, at the same time, an intensely personal and even touching account of musical and cultural discovery that anyone with an interest in Africa can and should read. . .. No other writing comes close to approaching Chernoff's ability to convey a feeling of how African music 'works'.

Source: James Koetting, Africana Journal as culled from https://press.uchicago.edu

Francesca Chiejina

Soprano

instagram.com/frannychichi/?hl=en

Simukai Chigudu

Associate Professor, African Politics, Oxford University

Contact:

simukai.chigudu@qeh.ox.ac.uk

Chitando, Ezra and Afe Adogame. African Traditions in the Study of Religion, Diaspora and Gendered Societies. London, Routledge, 2013.

The historiography of African religions and religions in Africa presents a remarkable shift from the study of 'Africa as Object' to 'Africa as Subject', thus translating the subject from obscurity into the global community of the academic study of religion. This book presents a unique multidisciplinary exploration of African Traditions in the Study of Religion, Diaspora, and Gendered Societies. The book is structured under two main sections. The first provides insights into the interface between Religion and Society. The second features African Diaspora together with Youth and Gender which have not yet featured prominently in studies on religion in Africa. Contributors drawn from diverse African and global contexts situate current scholarly traditions of the study of African religions within the purview of academic encounter and exchanges with non-African scholars and non-African contexts. African scholars enrich the study of religions from their respective academic and methodological orientations. Jacob Kehinde Olupona stands out as a pioneer in the socio-scientific interpretation of African indigenous religion and religions in Africa and the new African Diaspora. This book honours his immense contribution to an emerging field of study and research.

[Source: Abstract from taylorfrancis.com]

Asiyati Lorraine  Chiweza

Associate Professor, Department of  Political and Administrative Studies, University of Malawi, Malawi

Contact:

achiweza@cc.ac.mw

Chiweza, Asiyati Lorraine. "The Ambivalent Role of Chiefs: Rural Decentralization Initiatives in Malawi." In State Recognition and Democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa, pp. 53-78. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2007.

Chiweza argues that democratic decentralization initiatives in Malawi have rather sought to reduce the role and influence of the chiefs in favor of locally elected local government councilors. Yet this has not succeeded in eroding chieftaincy as chiefs still have increased roles and influence in the rural areas. This makes the position of the local councilors a loose one. Because the chiefs act both as intermediaries and gatekeepers to the rural community, they have gained increased recognition as key development actors at the local level. As a result, donor agencies  and NGOS who wish to carry out activities within such communities require the chiefs’ authority and support for their programs. Chiweza concludes that the position of the chiefs and their constant engagement and interaction with locals makes them more visible as compared to the local councilors.