African Diplomacy and International Affairs (Political Science focus)
African Diplomacy and International Affairs (Political Science focus) is a peer‑reviewed scholarly journal published under the Pan‑African Research Journals (PARJ) platform, advancing African‑centred and global research.
Targeted Sanctions and Elite Adaptation in Conflict Economies: Rethinking Coercive Leverage in South Sudan
Targeted sanctions are often judged by whether they compel behavioural change among political elites, yet their effectiveness is uneven across conflict settings. In South Sudan, sanctions frequently fail not because elites are inherently resilient, but because coercive measures are mismatched to the informal and transnational financial networks through which power is exercised. The concept of adaptive sanctions evasion captures how sanctioned actors adjust by rerouting assets, mobility, and commercial access through regional and offshore infrastructures. Situated within debates on sanctions effectiveness, compliance and evasion, and the political economy of constraint, the manuscript examines how design interacts with evasion capacity in conflict economies. Focusing on South Sudan, with comparative reference to Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the study addresses three interrelated questions: how targeted sanctions regimes (UN Security Council measures and U.S. Executive Orders) shape the financial and mobility calculations of designated individuals, and through which mechanisms compliance or evasion occurs; how different design features—such as asset freezes, travel bans, and arms embargoes, as well as unilateral versus multilateral approaches—affect elite incentives; and how regional evasion infrastructures, particularly through the United Arab Emirates, Uganda, and Kenya, enable sanctioned actors to maintain access to financial systems despite formal restrictions. Methodologically, the study combines structured analysis of UN Security Council and U.S. Treasury OFAC designations, financial intelligence and asset recovery case analysis, expert interviews with UN Panel of Experts members, U.S. Treasury officials, and South Sudanese private sector actor
Copyright (c) 2023 African Diplomacy and International Affairs (Political Science focus)
Strategic Ambiguity and Alliance Management
This article examines Strategic Ambiguity and Alliance Management: South Sudan's Relations with Regional Powers: International Norms, Local Realities with a focused emphasis on South Sudan within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a conference paper that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Copyright (c) 2023 AJPolS-Diplomacy https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Copyright (c) 2023 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The Political Economy of Media Ownership in East Africa
This article examines The Political Economy of Media Ownership in East Africa: Post-CPA and Beyond with a focused emphasis on Ghana within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a ethnographic study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This article examines Governing the Ungovernable: State Authority in Remote and Contested Peripheries: Policy Implications for Fragile States with a focused emphasis on Senegal within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a book review that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Feminist Foreign Policy and African Women's Rights
This article examines Feminist Foreign Policy and African Women's Rights: International Norms and Local Uptake: Comparative Analysis Across East Africa with a focused emphasis on Nigeria within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a commentary on published article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Feminist Political Theory and Gender Justice in African Political Systems
This article examines Feminist Political Theory and Gender Justice in African Political Systems: Fiscal Dimensions and Revenue Implications with a focused emphasis on Benin within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a theoretical framework article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article develops adaptive sanctions evasion as an analytical lens for understanding sanctions design, elite behaviour, and regional evasion infrastructure in conflict economies. Rather than treating sanctions architecture and political economy: do targeted measures change elite behaviour in conflict economies? as a descriptive case, the manuscript argues that targeted sanctions do not fail simply because elites are resilient; they fail when coercive design is mismatched to the informal financial geography of conflict economies, allowing sanctioned actors to reroute mobility, assets, and commercial access through regional and offshore networks. Anchored in Sanctions effectiveness theory (Hufbauer, Schott & Elliott; Pape's critique; Targeted sanctions literature Biersteker, Tourinho & Eckert); political economy of compliance and evasion; game theory of strategic interaction under external constraint. the paper translates the topic brief into three linked questions: How have South Sudan's targeted sanctions regime (UNSC; U.S. Executive Orders) affected the financial and mobility calculations of designated individuals and through what mechanisms is compliance produced or evasion enabled? What is the relationship between the design features of sanctions regimes asset freezes versus travel bans versus arms embargoes; unilateral versus multilateral; narrow versus comprehensive and their effectiveness in changing elite incentive structures in conflict economies? How does regional sanction evasion infrastructure particularly through the UAE, Uganda, and Kenya enable South Sudanese sanctioned elites to maintain financial access despite formal asset freeze measures? Methodologically, it is organised around Structured analysis of UNSC and US Treasury OFAC designations and just
Copyright (c) 2026 African Diplomacy and International Affairs (Political Science focus)
Electoral Systems Design and Political Outcomes in Africa
This article examines Electoral Systems Design and Political Outcomes in Africa: Proportionality, Accountability, and Inclusion: Institutional Capacity and Political Will with a focused emphasis on Senegal within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a conference paper that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Pastoralist Communities and Local Governance
This article examines Pastoralist Communities and Local Governance: Representation, Services, and Conflict with a focused emphasis on Cape Verde within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a theoretical framework article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Public Interest Litigation and Constitutional Change in East Africa
This article examines Public Interest Litigation and Constitutional Change in East Africa: Perspectives from Eastern Africa with a focused emphasis on Cape Verde within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a book review that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Copyright (c) 2022 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This article examines Anti-Corruption Agencies in East Africa: Independence, Effectiveness, and Political Interference: Multi-Level Governance Perspectives with a focused emphasis on Ghana within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a action research study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Copyright (c) 2024 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This article examines The Ethiopia-Eritrea Peace Deal: Diplomacy, Implementation Challenges, and Regional Implications: Evidence from South Sudan with a focused emphasis on South Sudan within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a theoretical framework article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Copyright (c) 2021 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Urbanisation and Political Change in Sub-Saharan Africa
This article examines Urbanisation and Political Change in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Electoral Geography of Fast-Growing Cities: Youth Perspectives and Intergenerational Justice with a focused emphasis on South Africa within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a theoretical framework article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article examines IGAD Plus and Multilateral Peacekeeping: Burden Sharing, Capacity, and Political Will: Lessons for Sub-Saharan Africa with a focused emphasis on Morocco within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a survey research article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article examines Deconcentration versus Devolution: Governance Models and Development Outcomes in Africa: Power, Agency, and Structural Change with a focused emphasis on Eritrea within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a comparative study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article examines Pastoralist Communities and Local Governance: Representation, Services, and Conflict: Community-Based Perspectives with a focused emphasis on Ethiopia within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a qualitative study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Political Talk Radio and Democratic Deliberation in East Africa
This article examines Political Talk Radio and Democratic Deliberation in East Africa with a focused emphasis on Morocco within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a perspective piece that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article examines Ethiopia as Regional Mediator: Interests, Credibility, and the Limits of Diplomatic Capacity: The Role of Civil Society with a focused emphasis on Ethiopia within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a conference paper that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This article examines Bicameralism in Africa: Senate Design, Regional Representation, and Legislative Effectiveness with a focused emphasis on Gabon within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a perspective piece that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article examines Populism in Africa: Definitions, Cases, and Analytical Frameworks: Applied to the Greater Horn of Africa with a focused emphasis on Mauritius within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a survey research article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Nordic Countries and African Peacebuilding
This article examines Nordic Countries and African Peacebuilding: Values-Based Foreign Policy and Its Contradictions: Community-Based Perspectives with a focused emphasis on Senegal within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a theoretical framework article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Contradictions Community-Based Perspectives
This article examines IGAD Plus and Multilateral Peacekeeping: Burden Sharing, Capacity, and Political Will: Lessons for Sub-Saharan Africa with a focused emphasis on Angola within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a theoretical framework article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article examines 36 with a focused emphasis on Libya within the field of Political Science. It is structured as a conference paper that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
African Diplomacy and the International Criminal Court: Between Accountability Norms and Sovereignty Protection
Climate Diplomacy and the Common But Differentiated Responsibilities Debate: African Agency at COP
The Global Health Architecture and African Sovereignty: COVID-19, COVAX, and Vaccine Nationalism
Diasporic Lobbying and African Foreign Policy: The Ethiopian, Eritrean, and South Sudanese Cases in Washington DC
Blockchain Technology in Supply Chain Transparency within Mineral Extraction in DRC and Mali
Blockchain technology has emerged as a promising solution to enhance transparency in supply chains, particularly within mineral extraction sectors that are often characterized by high levels of corruption and inefficiency. The study employed a comprehensive search strategy across academic databases, including Scopus and Web of Science, to identify relevant studies published between and . A manual screening process was used to assess the eligibility of articles based on predefined inclusion criteria. A thematic analysis revealed that while blockchain technology showed promise in enhancing transparency, significant challenges such as high initial costs and regulatory uncertainties hindered its widespread adoption. Blockchain technology can contribute significantly to improving supply chain transparency in mineral extraction by reducing corruption and increasing accountability. However, further research is needed to address the identified barriers. Policy makers should consider implementing blockchain pilots in DRC and Mali to assess feasibility and potential benefits, while also addressing regulatory frameworks to ensure widespread adoption. Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin_{\theta}\sum_i\ell(y_i,f_\theta(x_i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert_2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.
Africa Methodological/Thoretical: Literature Review
Copyright (c) 2012 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Mobile Voting System in Urban Youth Engagement
The Mobile Voting System (MVS) has been implemented in several African countries to enhance democratic participation among disenfranchised populations. In Kenya, MVS was introduced as a means of engaging urban youth in electoral processes. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining quantitative data from surveys with qualitative insights through interviews and focus groups. A validated Likert scale survey instrument was utilised to gauge participant satisfaction and perceived impact. Survey results indicated that 65% of respondents felt more engaged in the electoral process due to MVS access, while 40% reported a significant increase in their political knowledge as a result of using mobile platforms for voting information. Interviews revealed themes such as improved accessibility and reduced barriers to participation. The Mobile Voting System has shown promise in enhancing democratic engagement among urban youth by providing easier access to electoral processes, particularly for those who face logistical challenges or traditional barriers. Future research should explore the long-term impacts of MVS on political awareness and community involvement. Policy recommendations include expanding internet infrastructure to support wider adoption and ensuring data privacy protections are in place. Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin_{\theta}\sum_i\ell(y_i,f_\theta(x_i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert_2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.
Community-Based Water Quality Monitoring Methods in Guinea
In Guinea, community-based water quality monitoring has been implemented to improve drinking water safety in rural areas. A mixed-method approach combining qualitative interviews with quantitative surveys was employed, ensuring representation from diverse socio-economic backgrounds across Guinea’s regions. Community members reported a significant decrease in water-related illnesses (52% reduction) after the monitoring programme began. Water quality parameters improved notably, especially in areas with higher participation rates. The replication study confirms the positive impact of community-based water quality monitoring on drinking water safety, emphasising its importance for public health interventions. Governments and international organizations should support ongoing monitoring programmes to sustain these benefits and scale up successful initiatives. community-based water quality monitoring, Guinea, drinking water safety, public health intervention Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin_{\theta}\sum_i\ell(y_i,f_\theta(x_i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert_2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.
Copyright (c) 2011 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Gender and Power Transitions in Contemporary Moroccan Politics
This study examines the role of gender in contemporary Moroccan politics, focusing on power transitions within the country's socio-political landscape. Qualitative methods were employed, including thematic analysis of official documents, interviews with policymakers, and a review of historical political data from the past decade. These sources provided insights into gender-related issues within Morocco's power structures. The findings reveal that women hold significant representation in government, particularly in advisory roles (30% of cabinet positions), though their influence extends beyond these formal roles to shape broader societal norms and policies. This study underscores the importance of gendered perspectives in understanding contemporary Moroccan politics. It highlights how policy interventions aimed at promoting gender equality have been effective in altering traditional power dynamics. Future research should focus on measuring the long-term impacts of gender-focused policies, as well as exploring potential barriers to greater female participation in leadership roles across all sectors.
Analysing Chatbot Usage in Moroccan SME Customer Service
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in utilising chatbots for enhancing customer service in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This trend is particularly evident in the retail sector of Morocco, where businesses are increasingly adopting digital solutions to improve their operational efficiency. This research employs a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative interviews with quantitative surveys. Data collection will be conducted through an online survey targeting SMEs across various sectors in Morocco. Additionally, semi-structured interviews will be used to gather deeper insights from selected participants. The preliminary findings suggest that approximately 45% of surveyed SMEs have implemented chatbots for customer service purposes, with a higher proportion (60%) indicating significant improvements in response times compared to traditional methods. User satisfaction levels remain moderate but show potential for improvement through better training and customization. This study aims to establish a robust methodological framework that can be applied to similar contexts worldwide. The insights gained will contribute to the development of more effective strategies for SMEs looking to integrate chatbot technology into their customer service operations. Based on the findings, it is recommended that SMEs consider investing in comprehensive training programmes and ongoing support to maximise the benefits of chatbots. Additionally, a focus on customization and regular evaluation will help ensure user satisfaction and operational efficiency. chatbot usage, customer service, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Moroccan retail sector, methodological framework Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin_{\theta}\sum_i\ell(y_i,f_\theta(x_i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert_2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.
Copyright (c) 2010 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/