VIVA AFRICA 2010

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Venue: Scientific Library, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
Date: May 6-7, 2010

Theme: POWER AND POWERLESSNESS IN AFRICA

Fifty years since the memorable Year of Africa, the distribution of power and powerlessness seems to
be more rigid than on other continents. Political power is in the hands of narrow elites while the
overwhelming majority has hardly any access to decision-making. The degree of the cleavage
depends on the type of political system. The ratio of power/powerlessness may have its own specific
characteristics in domestic units such as households and families, between the sexes/genders,
generations, centres and peripheries, between states, but on the whole reflects the political
patterns. The solicited papers will have to tackle one or more aspects of power and powerlessness
relying on a variety of African examples, using comparable approach that allow drawing conclusions
which would point out common and specific traits.

Linguists, anthropologists, political scientists, historians, and other researchers, who have Africa as
their field of study, are welcome. The conference is open for professors, academic scholars, PhD.
students, and other specialists who want to present results of their primary research. The language
of the conference will be English.

Keynote lecture will be pronounced by
Professor Paul Nugent (University of Edinburgh)
on States and Social Contracts in Africa