{"id":6646,"date":"2024-05-27T16:49:01","date_gmt":"2024-05-27T14:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/?p=6646"},"modified":"2024-11-26T16:11:26","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T14:11:26","slug":"looking-back-at-ifas-workshop-intermediaries-and-governance-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/blog\/looking-back-at-ifas-workshop-intermediaries-and-governance-in-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking back at IFAS Workshop: Intermediaries and Governance in Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On the 14th<\/sup> of May\n2024, IFAS-Research in collaboration with the Wits Institute for Social and\nEconomic Research (WiSER), hosted the \u2018Intermediaries and Governance in Africa\u2019\nworkshop at the Dibuka Francophone Library, based at the Alliance Fran\u00e7aise in\nJohannesburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This workshop is the first to be planned under our new call for projects aimed at the organisation of events. It constitutes a preparatory stage for an upcoming workshop in July, entitled \u2018Competence, Loyalty, and Control: Indirect Governance of Violence, Economy, and Religion in Africa\u2019, to be led by Youssef Mnaili and Micha\u00ebl Bourdon at the University of the Witwatersrand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workshop brought together\neconomists, historians and political scientists from the University of the\nWitwatersrand and the University of Johannesburg in two sessions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Panelists in conversation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A first presentation by Youssef\nMnaili (researcher in political science at WiSER) focused on the theoretical\nunderpinnings of the workshop and sparked a dialogue on indirect rule dilemmas\nin Africa. The presentation was followed by a conversation with Keith\nBreckenridge (Professor of history and Co-director of WiSER). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Youssef Mnaili<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The second session took the form\nof a panel discussion where the panelists offered insight and engaging\nperspectives on the intricate dynamics of governance in Africa. Jonathan\nKlaaren (Professor of Law and Society at the University of the Witwatersrand) shared\nhis views on regulatory governance in Africa and its instruments of control. Joel\nQuirk (Professor of Politics at the University of the Witwatersrand) challenged\nhow society defines and demarcates political authority in Africa\u2019s precolonial history.\nHe problematized how political authority in Africa often gets defined through a\nEurocentric mirror. Sarah Delius (postdoctoral researcher in the Department of\nHistory at the University of Johannesburg) highlighted problems surrounding\narbitrary border definitions, using the example of the Luawa chiefdom during\nthe late 1890\u2019s, on the border between Sierra Leone and Liberia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The audience, comprised of students, academics and members of civil society in attendance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a conclusion to the event,\nLaura Phillips (researcher in the African Trust Infrastructures Chair at the\nUniversity of the Witwatersrand) offered remarks on the modes of governance and\ntypes of loyalty in African democracy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speakers’ contributions gave rise to rich discussions on the definition of concepts such as \u201cpolitical authority\u201d in an African context. The event was attended by approximately twenty people, including academics, students, and members of civil society.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speakers and panelists in attendance<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Youssef Mnaili<\/strong>:\nResearcher at WISER. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the European\nUniversity Institute. His work focuses on indirect governance, delegation, and\nagency problems, with publications in esteemed journals like the Review of\nInternational Organization<\/em> and Politics and Society<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keith Breckenridge: <\/strong>Professor\nand acting Co-Director at WISER who is known for his expertise in the cultural\nand economic history of South Africa, particularly in the gold mining industry\nand the development of information systems. His extensive research on biometric\nidentification systems, highlighted in his acclaimed book Biometric State<\/em>\nhas garnered international recognition, including the Humanities Book Award by\nthe Academy of Science of South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laura Phillips<\/strong>: Researcher in the African Trust\nInfrastructures Chair. She holds a PhD in African History from New York\nUniversity. Her research delves into histories of rural South Africa, mining,\nand class formation. Notably, she is leading a collaborative research project\non the history of currency and money in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan Klaaren:<\/strong> Professor of Law and Society at the\nUniversity of the Witwatersrand. He specializes in human rights, competition\nlaw, and socio-legal studies. With a wealth of experience including serving as\nan Acting Judge on the High Court of South Africa, his research interests span\nAfrican legal profession, competition policy, economic regulation, and\nmigration law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joel Quirk:<\/strong> Professor\nof Politics at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is a leading authority\non enslavement and abolition, gender-based violence and historical repair. With\neight books to his credit, including Research as More Than Extraction<\/em>,\nhis work contributes significantly to understanding the complexities of African\nsocieties and histories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah Delius:<\/strong>\nPostdoctoral researcher at the University of Johannesburg. She specializes in\nWest African History, with a focus on gender, conflict, and state formation.\nHer doctoral thesis explores the historical genealogy of practices of forced\nmarriage in Sierra Leone, showcasing her expertise in archival research and\nnuanced understanding of colonial legacies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the 14th of May 2024, IFAS-Research in collaboration with the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WiSER), hosted the \u2018Intermediaries and Governance in Africa\u2019 workshop at the Dibuka Francophone Library, based at the Alliance Fran\u00e7aise in Johannesburg. This workshop is the first to be planned under our new call for projects aimed at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":6666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,21,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-news","category-researchers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6646"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6667,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6646\/revisions\/6667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}