Leadership and Developing Societies

‘Towards a Feminist Consciousness’: Digitalising Leadership

Sara Soumaya Abed — 2023-12-31

This article examines the ways in which transnational and queer feminisms could conceptualise (new) meanings of leadership that are grounded in collectivism. Through being in conversation with the co-founders/running members and collaborators of Towards a Feminist Consciousness, a Pan-African queer feminist online platform from Western Sahara, this paper attempts to interrogate how their leadership praxis challenges the conventional thinking of leadership. The article demonstrates that Towards a Feminist Consciousness’s collective leadership turns cyberspace into a powerful communication instrument to establish mutuality and solidarity networks -transcending the boundaries of the nation and gender. First, the paper emphasises how their leadership emerged to challenge their erasure through decentralising knowledge production, which is usually restricted to certain geographical locations. It further addresses how hierarchal power relations could be negotiated through participating in the decision-making processes, thus allowing the alternation of power and influence. Second, the article highlights that facilitating open dialogue could solidify feminist consciousness transcending boundaries. In doing so, collective leadership processes are established through expert and referent power. Expert power is exhibited through theorising their lived experiences under the Moroccan occupation, while referent power is rooted in establishing mutuality based on their shared purpose and aspirations. The article lastly draws on emotional leadership as an integral element when theorising Towards a Feminist Consciousness’s leadership praxis through the prism of political love as the way forward.

Critique of the Teleological presuppositions of Peace-Conflict-Development Narrative Discourse in Africa

Oludele Solaja — 2023-12-31

Implicit in the dominant conceptualisations of discursive peace about conflict and development is the intrinsic presupposition of peace as "the means" towards the cessation of conflict - "the end", whose by-product is necessarily development. Several works have interrogated and criticised this peace construct. These works often recast peace as a social fact imbued with a teleological implication towards progressive development ideals and the end of conflict. Western social philosophy, particularly Aristotelianism, heavily influenced this reductionist approach, as surmised in Book IV of his (Aristotle's) Political treatise.

After examining several prominent works on peace, conflict, and development by scholars, we observe that their works are not immune from this utilitarian influence. Therefore, we argue for a refocusing and hermeneutical re-understanding of peace as a process in a continuum rather than the means towards an end. The paper, thus, critiques the teleological presuppositions of peace-conflict-development narrative discourse in classical and contemporary studies. Explanatory, historical designs and narratives using relevant examples from Africa and other communities in the global south were adopted to facilitate a better understanding of the subject.

The future of peace in Africa: complexities of local conflict(s) and liberal peace interventions.

Kafui Tsekpo — 2023-12-31

This paper argues that a systematic understanding of local populations and their worldviews of what constitute peace – as expressed in their norms of relations holds promise for the future of peace in Africa. Africa continues to be the centre of international efforts at peacebuilding. These efforts at best have achieved mixed results, while barely addressing the root causes of violent conflicts by transforming state-society relations that breeds inclusivity and assures the progress of the collective regardless of geographic, social, economic, and political differentiations. To achieve this, it is important for actors in the peacebuilding industry to emphasise the local as fundamental to building durable peace. This stems from the knowledge that all societies embody the idea of peace with different connotations. Such worldviews are important starting points for post-conflict peacebuilding efforts that portends for the collective good. In this article, the Bimbilla case shows how local spaces that have suffered violent conflicts have inbuilt ideational and normative structures that can be used to address the anomaly of state-society relations. This is indicative of the many conflict and post-conflict spots in Africa. Emphasising the norms of the locale as a critically anchor to effective contemporary peacebuilding, and the future of durable peace in Africa.

Stockholm syndrome re-examined: Understanding the relationship between radicalization and building mutuality within Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria

Gorata Chepete — 2023-12-31

This study re-examines the phenomenon of Stockholm syndrome within the context of Boko Haram, aiming to understand the intricate relationship between radicalization leading to extremism and mutuality building within the group. Conventional interpretations of Stockholm syndrome, where a clear emotional bond develops between the kidnapper and the kidnapped, fall short in explaining the complexities observed within Boko Haram. While victims may engage in the group's activities and even become members over time, this does not necessarily indicate an emotional bond as defined by traditional Stockholm syndrome. Instead, it points towards a process of mutuality building, which facilitates radicalization through various entry points, from ideological bond, coercion to strategic recruitment. Boko Haram's extremist and ideological motivations underpin its operations, but radicalization within its ranks often stems from a blend of social, ideological, political, and economic factors rather than emotional attachment, although in some instances that might be the case. The group's ability to retain members hinges on its leadership's adept exploitation of vulnerabilities, offering financial incentives, sustenance, and a semblance of security to those ensnared by chronic poverty and insecurity in Northern Nigeria. This nuanced understanding of mutuality building sheds light on how individuals become deeply embedded in the group's activities, driven by pragmatic considerations rather than emotional bonds with their leaders. The findings underscore the significance of leadership dynamics within Boko Haram and highlight the necessity of differentiating between mutuality building and Stockholm syndrome in the study of terrorist organisations. This distinction has profound implications for developing effective counterterrorism strategies. Future research should explore counterterrorism through a leadership framework and conduct comparative studies with other terrorist organisations to uncover commonalities and differences in recruitment tactics and leadership dynamics, ultimately contributing to the creation of comprehensive counterterrorism policies and strategies.

A framework for understanding the Horn of Africa

Medhane Tadesse Gebresilassie — 2023-12-31

This commentary piece offers a framework for understanding the situations encountered in the Horn of Africa sub-region. It offers something of a ‘framework within a framework’ by highlighting a series of issues and factors that must be unpacked to understand better the context of the Horn and the situations encountered therein, which we believe would aid leadership theorists and practitioners

Interrogating Boko Haram Studies: Where art the evidence?

Damilola Adegoke — 2023-12-31

This article critically examines the research and empirical evidence pertaining to the activities of Boko Haram.