The Journal Cadernos de Estudos Africanos, the bi-annual Journal of the
Lisbon University Institute’s Centro de Estudos Africanos/ISCTE - IUL,
welcomes contributions for its special issue on:
Transnational security challenges in Africa in the 21st century
In the past decades, the dynamics associated with globalization and
transnationalism have exacerbated the proliferation and the visibility of
a myriad of non-state actors’ capacity to develop and maintain
transnational relations
In this context, the special issue follows the definition of transnational
relations as relations across national borders that engage at least one
non-state actor and/or those activities which take place outside the realm
of a national government or inter-governamental organisation (Josselin &
Wallace, 2001, p. 19).
In the africanist literature transnational relations have been extensively
analysed in their various dimensions (economic, political, social and
cultural). Transnational economic and social actors, such as transnational
companies, have been particularly under focus. However, the implications
of a variety of non-state actors’ transnational relations for
international security in Africa have received scant attention. Indeed,
scientific production and reflexion on non-state actors engaged in
transnational relations have tended to be limited, such as: diaspora
formations; think tanks; terrorist groups and those involved in
transnational organized crime, among others.
The special issue starts from the theoretical assumption that both the
understanding and the analysis of the strategies, tactics and influence of
the aforementioned actors (in terms of their impact on security dynamics
in Africa) require a multi-sectoral approach of the concept of
international security. This approach takes into account the following
sectors: military, economic, political, social and environmental.
Cadernos de Estudos Africanos ‘ aim for this issue is to publish articles
that will contribute to the debates on: 1) the implications and the impact
of transnational relations for the understanding of international security
dynamics in Africa and 2) the key questions which remain absent from the
international agenda. In the post-9/11 era of international relations,
important transnational phenomena such as piracy and narco-traffic
(comprised within the intensification of transnational organized crime)
and terrorist attacks (perpetrated by groups with links to the
transnational militant islamist movement) have tended to remain at the
centre of most concerns related to security in Africa. However, other
transnational dynamics and key-questions have been overlooked or
unsatisfactorily addressed.
This special issue particularly welcomes articles which address the
following questions:
- The definition of the actors, their strategies and tactics
and/or their influence in relation to the saliency of the key issues with
regards to international security in contemporary Africa;
- The historical background with regards to continuity and
changes in terms of the central place of transnational relations to the
understanding of security dynamics in contemporary Africa;
- The analysis of the implications and the impact of
transnational phenomena for the understanding of security dynamics in
Africa in the light of case-study’s findings. The aim is to confirm or
question the potential or, in contrast, the limitations of the focus on a
selection of actors and key questions which have tended to dominate the
international agenda.
The Journal will accept proposals and publish articles in Portuguese,
English, French or Spanish.
Guidelines for authors:
http://cea.iscte.pt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=67&Itemid=1&lang=en
(in English)
(in Portuguese)
The final articles should be submitted to: alexmagnolia.dias@gmail.com
& alexandra.dias@iscte.pt
All the articles will be peer-reviewed.
The deadline for submission is: 4 July 2011
Lisbon, 28 April 2011
