Emil Uddhammar – författare

This book takes a closer look at the role and meaning of political opposition for the development of democracy across sub-Saharan Africa. Why is room for political opposition in most cases so severely limited? Under what circumstances has the political opposition been able to establish itself in a legitimate role in African politics? To answer these questions this edited volume focuses on the institutional settings, the nature and dynamics within and between political parties, and the relationship between the citizens and political parties. It is found that regional devolution and federalist structures enable political opposition to organize and gain local power, as a supplement to influence at the central level. Generally, however, opposition parties are lacking in organization and institutionalization, as well as in their ability to find support in civil society and promote the issues that voters find most important. Overall, strong executive powers, unchecked by democratic institutions, in combination with deferential values and fear of conflict, undermine legitimate opposition activity.

This book was originally published as a special issue of Democratization.

This book takes a closer look at the role and meaning of political opposition for the development of democracy across sub-Saharan Africa. Why is room for political opposition in most cases so severely limited? Under what circumstances has the political opposition been able to establish itself in a legitimate role in African politics? To answer these questions this edited volume focuses on the institutional settings, the nature and dynamics within and between political parties, and the relationship between the citizens and political parties. It is found that regional devolution and federalist structures enable political opposition to organize and gain local power, as a supplement to influence at the central level. Generally, however, opposition parties are lacking in organization and institutionalization, as well as in their ability to find support in civil society and promote the issues that voters find most important. Overall, strong executive powers, unchecked by democratic institutions, in combination with deferential values and fear of conflict, undermine legitimate opposition activity.

This book was originally published as a special issue of Democratization.

Afrika söder om Sahara präglas idag av urbanisering och en växande befolkning. Regionen får allt större ekonomisk och politisk betydelse. Men alla bedömare betonar en sak för den som vill göra affärer lokalt: man måste lära sig marknadsvillkoren från grunden. Det går heller inte att bortse från samhällsproblem som korruption och politiska risker.

Svenskt företagande har gamla band till kontinenten. Förbindelserna tog fart i slutet av 1800-talet i och med södra Afrikas industrialisering. År 1907 började Asea leverera gruvutrustning dit, 1946 startade Atlas Copco ett försäljningskontor där. Tetra Pak påbörjade tillverkning av mjölkförpackningar i Kenya 1956. Ericsson har tagit aktiv del i kontinentens IT-revolution. Under senare år har entreprenörer inom sjukvård, fruktimport och solkraft etablerat sig framgångsrikt. Svenska företag är en del av den utveckling som pågår i Afrika.

Författarna skildrar i sin analyserande intervjubok dagens företagande med svenska bindningar från Kenya till Ghana, från Somaliland till Sydafrika. De belyser de tidiga handelskontakterna från 1600-talet och framåt på gott och ont. Afrikas historia, möjligheter och problem analyseras också. Allt detta gör denna bok till en viktig källa för kunskap om en del av världen vi behöver lära oss mer om.

Emil Uddhammar är professor i statsvetenskap vid Linnéuniversitetet i Växjö. Peter Stein är nationalekonom, konsult och har bl. a. haft uppdrag för OECD.