Structural Stability: meaning, scope and use in an African context

Andreas Mehler ()

Africa Spectrum, 2002, vol. 37, issue 1, 5-23

Abstract: This article inquires into the potential meaning of a technical term originally used in natural sciences and introduced by the OECD DAC and the European Commission into the rhetoric of development co-operation in the face of growing violent conflicts in Africa. The need to clarify the scope of the leitmotif leads to a balanced interpretation of slightly differing official definitions. This exercise shows that there are political, economic, ecological and social ingredients of Structural Stability - (with clear emphasis on political goals) - that, in the end, all serve the capacity of individuals, groups and institutions to manage change without resorting to violent conflict. What matters most here is the assumption that all these elements (7) are explicitly interlinked and mutually reinforcing. The article confronts this new leitmotif with prior reflections on a complex "peace system" in the framework of the "civilisational hexagon" (Senghaas). It gives indications how the concept could be turned operational and addresses a number of open questions (state-centrism, priorities and sequencing, etc.).

Date: 2002
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gig:afjour:v:37:y:2002:i:1:p:5-23

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.giga-hamburg.de/afrika-spectrum

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Africa Spectrum from Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Andreas Mehler ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ).