Africa: CODESRIA Democratic Governance Institute - 2008 Session

CODESRIA DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE INSTITUTE

Theme: Religions and Religiosities in African Governance
Date: 04 – 29 August, 2008
Venue: Dakar, Senegal.

Call for Applications for the 2008 Session

The CODESRIA Democratic Governance Institute is an interdisciplinary forum which brings together African scholars undertaking innovative research on topics related to the broad theme of governance. The aim of the Institute is to promote research and debates on issues connected to the conduct of public affairs and the management of the development process in Africa. The Institute was launched in 1992 and has been held every year since then in Dakar, Senegal. It serves the critical function of forging links among a younger generation of African intellectuals and meeting the scientific needs of these intellectuals in terms of access to recent documentation, participation in current debates, the retooling of their research capacities, and the updating of their conceptual, theoretical and methodological approaches. Increasingly, the Institute appeals to the interests of African policy intellectuals and civil society activists as well, thereby permitting a judicious mix of researchers, activists, and policy makers to be achieved in the admission of participants. In general, a total of fifteen African researchers drawn from across the continent and the Diaspora, and a few non-African scholars participate in the Institute each year.

Objectives:
The main objectives of the Governance Institute are to:
1. encourage the sharing of experiences among researchers, activists and policy makers from different disciplines, methodological and conceptual orientations, and geographical/linguistic zones on a common theme over an extended period of time;
2. promote and enhance a culture of democratic values that allows Africans effectively to identify and tackle the governance issues confronting their continent; and
3. foster the participation of scholars in discussions and debates about the processes of democratisation taking place in Africa.

Organisation:
The activities of all CODESRIA institutes centre on presentations made by resident researchers, visiting resource persons, and the participants whose applications for admission as laureates are successful. The sessions are led by a scientific director who, with the help of invited resource persons, ensures that the laureates are exposed to the range of research and policy issues generated by or arising from the theme of the Institute for which they are responsible. Open discussions drawing on books and articles relevant to the theme of a particular institute or a specific topic within the theme are also encouraged. Each of the laureates selected to participate in any of the Council’s institutes is required to prepare a research paper to be presented during the course of the particular institute they attend. Laureates are expected to draw on the insights which they gain from the Institute in which they participate to produce a revised version of their research papers for consideration for publication by CODESRIA. For each institute, the CODESRIA Documentation and Information Centre (CODICE) prepares a comprehensive bibliography on the theme of the year. Access is also facilitated to a number of documentation centres in and aroundDakar.

The 2008 Session:
Religions and Religiosities in African Governance Over the last two and half decades, there has been a major religious revivalism engulfing the African continent, side-by-side with the efflorescence of new religiosities that are manifested in private as much as they are exhibited in public. Evidence of both the religious revivalism and increased religiosities are strewn in various forms across the landscape of most African countries. The evidence includes: The emergence of new religious denominations alongside the revamping and re-composition of old ones; the spread of a generalised religious fervour that has gone hand-in-hand with innovations in modes of worship and a greater variety in doctrinal interpretations; the massive production and distribution of religious literature, paraphernalia and icons; the proliferation of institutions and places of worship in rural and urban centres, most times regardless of established city and rural master plans; the mobilisation of large numbers of people to regular religious crusades/rallies on a scale and with a frequency not commonly seen on the continent; the growth and expansion of religious broadcasts, gospel music and televangelism; the massive expansion of the social welfare function and presence of the church and the mosque; the expansion in religious associational life spanning various spheres of life and livelihood; the (re-)establishment on a massive scale of religious schools (including universities); and the emergence of religious institutions as major economic/financial players.

Although much of the literature has focused on Christian religious revivalism and religiosity, the resurgence that has occurred has not by any means been limited to the Christian faith; both Islam and “traditional” religions have enjoyed a boom in their own way, doing so sometimes in reactive competition among the different denominations and sects for the hearts and souls of the populace. Similarly, although much of the concern in the dominant literature about the revivalism taking place among Muslims has been disproportionately focused on Islamic “extremism” and “terrorism”, clearly practices which may be characterised as extremist are also present in the Christian religious revivalism that has occurred, manifesting itself in various ways that deserve to be closely studied too. At the same time, syncretism in religious practices has enjoyed a revival, sometimes translating into social movements that stake direct political claims. Furthermore, the reasons underpinning the revival in religions and the efflorescence of new religiosities have been much debated in the literature and are the objects of a continuing discussion that deserves to be engaged but which needs not detain us here for now. Suffice it to note though that much of that discussion has sidestepped the question of the impact of religious revivalism and religiosities on the governance of state and society across the continent. It is precisely this gap that the 2008 session of the CODESRIA Governance Institute is designed to fill.

In the construction of the contemporary African state system, the underlying assumption is that religion belongs to the private sphere and, in a “true” liberal, republican spirit, is to be separated from the state. Little wonder then that the framers of the constitutions of independent African countries underscored the secular status of the state and went to great lengths to inscribe the principle of the separation of state and religion into the system of governance. And yet, even in the 1950s and 1960s, as colonialism came to an end and independence was achieved, it was clear that the matter of the role of religion in governance could not simply be reduced to a legal-constitutional matter. For, many were the sociological reasons and processes that made for the interpenetration of the public and private realms such that even with the best efforts, religions and religiosities did creep, almost instinctively, into the conduct of state affairs in the same way as they were infused into the making and reproduction of the public realm. In the worst cases, direct legal and political challenges were posed by the partisans of the dominant religions and bearers of the new religiosities to the principle and practice of the secular state as to force the recognition of the role and place of religion in national life unto the national agenda. The social polarisation occasioned by such challenges sometimes resulted in violent conflicts between Christians and Muslims; clashes between religious militants and the local forces of law and order; ethno-regional conflicts in places where the spread of different religious persuasions co-terminated with geographical-administrative regions and ethnicity; sustained pressures for constitutional changes and the reform of national-territorial administration to accommodate religious claims; attempts at narrowing morality in public life to religious morality; and campaigns aimed at re-defining civic identities and the educational curricular in accordance with various religious creeds. Through the 2008 Governance Institute, the Council proposes to focus scholarly attention primarily on the implications of the religious revivalism and the new religiosities that have been experienced in Africa for governance on the continent. To this end, various governance dimensions of the resurgence in religions and religiosities will be explored. At one level, attention will be paid to the impact of the new religiosity on the governance of the public realm in Africa, that realm being understood in all-encompassing manner to include political, economic, social, cultural, artistic, aesthetic, ethical and moral dimensions that are permeated by various class, gender, ethno-regional and inter-generational relations. At another level, laureates of the Institute will be encouraged to examine the impact of religion and religiosities on the African state and its functioning, doing so from a historicized perspective that also takes on board the plethora of legal-constitutional, political-administrative and sociological-cultural challenges arising. Furthermore, the consequences of competing religious claims and religiosities on the nation-building project, especially in multi-ethnic contexts where various religious sects and denominations exist side-by-side, will be examined in-depth. Also, the role of religious associations in national politics will be explored, as will their impact on the mobilisation and reproduction of leadership and legitimacy. Of interest too will be the manner in which religious/spiritual power and temporal authority and power are interfaced in the process of governance in Africa both historically and contemporaneously. The role of religious institutions, including the media organisations they control, in the democratic processes taking place in Africa will be examined, it being understood that a central part of the African democratic project is the promotion of gender equality. The new religiosities have also been accompanied by the emergence of new social movements anchored in religion such as the Holy Spirit Movement and the Lord’s Resistance Army. The politics of those movements will be examined. The Director For every session of its various institutes, CODESRIA appoints an external scholar with a proven track-record of quality work to provide intellectual leadership. Directors are senior scholars known for their expertise in the topic of the year and for the originality of their thinking on it. They are recruited on the basis of a proposal which they submit and which contains a detailed course outline covering methodological issues and approaches; the key concepts integral to an understanding of the object of a particular Institute and the specific theme that will be focused upon; a thorough review of the state of the literature designed to expose laureates to different theoretical and empirical currents; a presentation on various sub-themes, case-studies and comparative examples relevant to the theme of the particular Institute they are applying to lead; and possible policy questions that are worth keeping in mind during the entire research process.

Candidates for the position of Director should also note that if their application is successful, they will be asked to:
- participate in the selection of laureates;
- identify resource-persons to help lead discussions and debates;
- design the course for the session, including the specification of sub-themes;
- deliver a set of lectures and provide a critique of the papers presented by the resource persons and the laureates;
- submit a written scientific report on the session.

In addition, the Director is expected to (co-)edit the revised versions of the papers presented by the resource persons with a view to submitting them for publication in one of CODESRIA’s collections. The Director also assists CODESRIA in assessing the papers presented by laureates for publication by the Council.

Resource Persons
Lectures to be delivered at the Institute are intended to offer laureates an opportunity to advance their reflections on the theme of the programme and on their own research topics. Resource Persons are, therefore, senior scholars or scholars in their mid-career who have published extensively on the topic, and who have a significant contribution to make to the debates on it. They will be expected to produce lecture materials which serve as think pieces that stimulate laureates to engage in discussion and debate around the lectures and the general body of literature available on the theme.

Once selected, resource persons must:
- submit a copy of their lectures for reproduction and distribution to participants not later than one week before the lecture begins ;
- deliver their lectures, participate in debates and comment on the research proposals of the laureates ;
- review and submit the revised version of their research papers for consideration for publication by CODESRIA not later than two months following their presentation.

Laureates
Applicants should be African researchers who have completed their university and /or professional training, with a proven capacity to carry out research on the theme of the Institute. Intellectuals active in the policy process and/or in social movements/civic organisations are also encouraged to apply. The number of places offered by CODESRIA at each session of its institutes is limited to fifteen (15) fellowships. Non-African scholars who are able to raise funds for their participation may also apply for a limited number of places.

Applications Applicants for the position of Director should submit:

1. an application letter;
2. a proposal, not more than 15 pages in length, indicating the course outline and showing in what ways the course would be original and responsive to the needs of prospective laureates, specifically focussing on the issues to be covered from the point of view of concepts and methodology, a critical review of the literature, and the range of issues arising from the theme of the Institute;
3. a detailed and up-to-date curriculum vitae; and
4. three writing samples.

Applications for the position of resource persons should include:
1. an application letter ;
2. two writing samples ;
3. a curriculum vitae ; and
4. a proposal, not more than five (5) pages in length, outlining the issues to be covered in their proposed lecture.

Applications for Laureates should include:
1. an application letter;
2. a letter indicating institutional or organisational affiliation;
3. a curriculum vitae ;
4. a research proposal (two copies and not more than 10 pages), including a descriptive analysis of the work the applicant intends to undertake, an outline of the theoretical interest of the topic chosen by the applicant, and the relationship of the topic to the problematic and concerns of the theme of the 2008 Institute; and
5. two reference letters from scholars and/or researchers known for their competence and expertise in the candidate's research area (geographic and disciplinary), including their names, addresses and telephone, e-mail, fax numbers.
An independent committee composed of outstanding African social scientists will select the candidates to be admitted to the institute.

The deadline for the submission of applications is set for 06 June, 2008. The Institute will be held in Dakar, Senegal, from 04 - 29 August, 2008. All applications or requests for further information should be addressed to:
CODESRIA Democratic Governance Institute Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop x Canal IV BP 3304, CP 18524, Dakar, Senegal.
Tel.: (221) 825 98 21/22/23 Fax: (221) 824 12 89 E-Mail: [email][email protected] Website: http://www.codesria.org