The Nordic Africa Institute – Publications

Democracy is challenged across the globe. However, summing up the elections held last year across Africa, there are some positive signs. Five democracies (Botswana, Ghana, Senegal, Somaliland and Mauritius) held elections that ended with incumbent presidents handing over power peacefully to successful opposition candidates. And one country(South Africa) saw the end of three decades of single-party rule. Altogether, these six elections show proof of democratic resilience in Africa and bring hope of a trend reversal.

Droughts have severely affected the pastoral production system resulting in hunger, massive loss of livestock, acute water shortages, and drought-related conflicts. This study aimed to understand the drought adaptive mechanisms from a gender perspective in Modogashe Ward, Kenya. To achieve this, the study investigated the impacts of droughts and the various ways in which men and women cope and adapt to the impacts. Due to the homogeneousness in sociocultural and economic activities in the Ward data was obtained from 60 respondents comprising 30 males and 30 females through a stratified random sampling method. One respondent, either the husband or wife, was chosen per household. Both men and women rely on pastoralism as the main source of livelihood. Thus, the impacts and adaptation mechanisms were similar for both genders. However, due to the attachment of men to livestock, the impacts and adaptation mechanisms revolved around environmental factors while those of women revolved around the provision of household basic needs. Furthermore, the study area had limited adaptation mechanisms options resulting in similar coping and adaptation strategies among men and women but with minor variations in the preferred strategies. The variations in the preferred strategies were a reflection of the existing gender roles within the social construct of the community. Men were inclined toward measures that promote livestock keeping while women preferred measures that enhanced the provision of household basic needs. The findings from this study highlight the significant role of gender dimensions driven by the local socio-cultural settings in influencing the uptake of drought adaptation practices and strategies among communities.

This working paper explores the perspectives of young men and women in rural Kenya on social equity and climate adaptation. It draws on research conducted in three Endorois indigenous communities in Baringo County. Focus group discussions addressed young people’s understandings and experiences of social equity and fairness, empowerment, collective action, local governance, natural resource management, and climate adaptation. By applying a social equity lens to young people’s understandings and interpretations of the risks and opportunities they face, this research aims to identify entry points that empower them to advance their own lives and communities in ways they value. The findings suggest that young men and women perceive their communities as largely equitable — despite facing compounding disadvantages that include climate change and loss of livestock, the mainstay of their livelihoods. They value social equity and fairness, advocating for a balanced approach that prioritizes the most vulnerable, treats people equally, and ensures inclusive decision-making guided by competent leaders. Based on these understandings, they emphasize the strength of their village institutions and of their generation’s agency and capabilities. Nevertheless, the testimonies also reveal significant barriers to achieving equitable climate adaptation, related to the need for greater access to resources and opportunities. Young women, especially, report a deep sense of marginalization and experience significant gender inequalities, noting their limited participation in the institutions and networks governing decision-making and resource distribution within their households and communities. Despite these challenges, both young women and men in the study had attained education at high school or college level, and felt empowered by their academic achievements. Their aspirations for improving their lives and strengthen their villages’ resilience to climate change offer a basis for optimism. The study proposes investing in stakeholder capacity, fostering youth leadership and intergenerational exchanges, and developing strategies and partnerships responsive to the needs of rural youth, with particular concern for young women’s inclusion. It underscores the importance of locally-led governance, inclusive decision-making, and collective action as key to achieving equitable climate adaptation and social transformation.

In the mountainous areas of south-western Uganda, peasant miners are characterized aspeople who ‘work for the stomach’ and pursue an unsustainable activity: extracting alluvialgold with artisanal technology. After days of hard work in the mines, they allegedly squander their money on alcohol and sex. A common way of disapproving of these miners’ behaviour isto compare them to lake fishers (ababariya). By focusing on the ababariya narrative as anentry point into the lifeways of miners, and the relationship between mining and fishing andagriculture, we explore how peasant miners think about a sustainable life. Our argument isthat the ababariya can be instrumental in the reproduction and legitimization of existing social and economic inequalities. We therefore examine the contexts that frame the ababariyanarrative and the inequalities that it legitimizes. This leads us to reflect on whether this narrative on ‘excessive behaviours’ reveals something about an alternative way of thinkingabout economy and social relationships based on abundance rather than scarcity.