Call for papers: 50 Years of Transitions in Southern Africa and the Development Challenges ahead. 14-15 November 2024, Department of Political and Social Sciences University of Bologna, Italy
Deadline: 30 March 2024
The year 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of a watershed in Southern African political
history: the Carnation Revolution in Portugal that paved the way for the independence of
Angola and Mozambique. Since then struggles to end white minority rule in South Africa,
Namibia and Zimbabwe have been further intertwined with the Cold War dynamics and with
the transformations of the development paradigms adopted by various independent
countries in the region. Twenty years after those events, and in the aftermath of the Cold
War, the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994 represented a new political turning point
at a time when a ‘globalised’ international community had shifted its approach to the
prescriptions of the so called Washington (and post Washington) consensus . A gainst the
backdrop of these complex transformations spanning over 50 years , it is toda y more urgent
than ever to reflect on the results of both democratization processes and development
prescriptions based on market liberalization in order to grasp current and future challenges
for local development and international cooperation.
The Centre of Historical and Political Studies on Africa and the Middle East,
Department of Political and Social Sciences University of Bologna )), on behalf of
the EADI Working Group “Europe and Transitions in (Southern) Africa”, invites
paper proposals on the occasion of the EADI 50th anniversary on the following
issues:
- historical perspectives on Southern African ’s political history: turning points and continuities
- the democratic political systems: perspectives and challenges
- past and future development options and alternatives
- Southern Africa i n international relations-
Paper proposals with abstract (max. 250 words) and a uthor profile (max. 50 words) should be sent to Corrado Tornimbeni (corrado.tornimbeni(at)unibo.it) and Arrigo Pallotti (arrigo.pallotti(at)unibo.it) by 30 March 2024
- The selection of the papers will be communicated by 30 April 2024
- Draft papers should be submitted by 1 October 2024
Papers presented will be considered for publication in an edited collection