Jeffrey
Conroy-Krutz—Other African Politics Resources Online
Photo: View of l’Île
de Gorée, from atop Le Castel,
Sénégal
The following is a
selection of websites that researchers on African politics—particularly those interested
in the electoral realm—might find useful.
(At the moment, my offerings are Sénégal- and Uganda-centered, due to my
experience conducting fieldwork in those countries.)
Sénégal
Research
Organizations
- Centre de Recherche Ouest Africain/West
African Research Center (Dakar): A necessary stop for any researcher in
the social sciences and the humanities in Sénégal. The Center offers events (lectures,
films, workshops, etc.), very reasonably priced Internet and photocopying
services, a small library, and even office space for longer-term
researchers who have official affiliations. The staff and affiliated researchers
also have extremely valuable networks of contacts.
- Groupe d’Etudes et de Recherches Constitutionelles et Politiques (GERCOP), Université de Gaston Berger (Saint-Louis): Home to a number of researchers on
various aspects of Senegalese politics, and the center of survey projects
on the political attitudes and behaviors of Senegalese voters.
- Ecole Nationale d’Economie
Appliquée (ENEA) (Dakar):
A number of faculty and students here work on collection of
demographic and survey data in Sénégal.
- Council for
the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) (Dakar):
CODESRIA is one of the most important academic centers in all of Africa. The Dakar headquarters is
home to a library, publications center, and the offices of a number of
affiliated political scientists.
Civic Education (and Other Selected) NGOs and
Associations
- Forum Civil (Dakar):
The Sénégal section of Transparency International. In recent years, members have been
heavily involved in encouraging inter-party dialogue, evaluating processes
of registration and voting, and promoting civic education, in addition to
myriad other activities.
- Conseil des ONG d’Appui au Développement du
Sénegal (CONGAD) (Dakar):
An association of dozens of Senegalese NGOs. (A very good place to start for those
unfamiliar with the very rich NGO landscape in the country.)
- Ligue Civique
Sénégalaise (Dakar): Focuses on civic education, and general
democracy-promotion in Sénégal.
- Réseau Africain pour le Développement
Intégré (RADI) (Dakar, Kaolack): RADI has a broad mission, including
support of rural development and women’s rights, but it has also done
extensive work in recent years in civic education and improving democratic
transparency.
- Open
Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) (Dakar): OSIWA is a network of almost three dozen
organizations, with goals of democracy promotion in the fifteen ECOWAS
states, Cameroon, Chad, and Mauritania.
- Aide Transparence (Dakar):
Aid Transparency’s focus extends far beyond Sénégal, but it has
done extensive work on media development, promotion of democratic
transparency, and reporting on corruption.
- Rencontre Africaine pour la
Défense des Droits de l’Homme (RADDHO) (Dakar):
RADDHO is one of the most active NGOs in Sénégal, and it conducts
important work on protection of human rights in the country. In recent years, it has also
participated in democracy-promotion and election-monitoring activities.
- Centre of
Resources for the Emergence of Social Participation (CRESP)
(Yoff): CRESP is doing truly
exciting work, both to improve literacy rates and general use of information
technology in Sénégal, but also to establish what it calls a “Système d’Information Populaire,”
or SIP. SIP mobilizes youth, in
urban communes and rural areas across the country, to work with their
local governments to create online portals, which citizens can use to
access information about government services and performance. These local communities often also use
these websites, which are accessible at http://www.sip.sn/,
to promote commerce and tourism. [Note: The CRESP and SIP websites are down at the moment.]
Government
Uganda
Research
Organizations
- Uganda
Studies Organization: Helpful
links on Uganda
publications, a small database of scholars, and lots of practical
information on doing research in the country. [Website currently down.]
- Makerere
Institute of Social Research (MISR) (Kampala): The hub of social-science research in Uganda. Foreign researchers can establish
affiliations with MISR, which can provide accommodations, work space, library
access, participation in research seminars, and assistance in obtaining
formal research clearence with the
Uganda National Council of Science and Technology (UNCST).
Government
- Uganda Bureau of
Statistics (Kampala): Source for government-collected
data. Unfortunately, detailed,
sub-national data are not available online.
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