Ineffective leadership have characterized disability movements in Nigeria across three decades. Leaders of most Disabled People Organizations (DPOs) here after referred to as disability movements in the country often prefer charity to rights-based approach. They hardly unite to champion a common course for members’ collective benefits just as each group adopts different methods in efforts to address their peculiar needs. This trend has continuously thwarted efforts to reduce the socio-economic, political, and cultural inequalities preventing persons with disabilities (PWDs) from participating fully in the Nigerian society. PWDs are most disadvantaged in terms of access to resources, education, and job opportunities. Living in a country rife with high inequality profile, they are therefore on the margin of society grappling with myriad of challenges. Ineffective leadership thus expresses itself in leaders’ predilection for charity, lack of unity and framework explaining disposition to separate approaches in finding solutions to groups’ needs. As I argue in this paper, leaders of Nigerian disability movements lag in activating the institutionalized disability laws to pursue a just and more rewarding rights-based approach. Whereas the society takes advantage of the laws’ ineffectiveness to perpetuate disability rights abuse. Hence, this research relies on the institutional theory as the most suitable theoretical the role of institutions in shielding the weak and vulnerable members of the society like PWDs. This research relies on secondary sources of data Including: published articles, newspapers, and organizations’ websites. It will also benefit from my personal experience as a Nigerian with a disability as well as archival sources of data collection.

Partisanism and ethnic chauvinism have seen the willingness to trade-off democratic principles for potentially conflicting considerations such as political ideology and policy preferences in Africa. It is confirmed that ethnic chauvinism has thwarted the progress of democracy in the continent. As ethnic groups are caught in a reciprocal struggle for power to secure the interests of their group which in certain parts of the continent has witnessed an unprecedented rise of authoritarian leaders who defy democracy. In response, scholars and organizations are pursuing innovations to strengthen democracy in Africa. This study explores the causes of democratic backsliding in Africa and identify solutions to build more resilient democracy in the continent. However, the imperatives of partisanism and ethnic chauvinism are far more demanding than the claims of democracy. In the context of the precedent, this study seeks to answer the following research questions; What is the origin of partisanism and ethnic chauvinism in Africa? How has partisan politics and ethnic chauvinism reshaped patterns of political behaviour in Africa? What are the solutions to build more resilient democracy in Africa? Answers to these questions would be obtained through extensive literature review of secondary data that comprise of journal articles, government publications, websites, books and other relevant sources.

The voice of rural youth in the Global South is still missing from the sustainable development agenda and related academic research. Rural youth are one of the most underrepresented groups. Despite the fact that most of the global south population is young and lives in rural areas. Academic literature has largely failed to capture rural youth voices and neglected youth’s experiences and positionality regarding the places where they live. The existing literature on rural youth is largely focused on economic aspects, which considers youth as labour in agricultural production. Few articles consider other aspects that might have a direct influence in rural youths’ decision-making process such as their role models, relationships with their surrounding community, and social norms, which ultimately impact their own agency and capacity to explore and pursue alternative life trajectories.

This research study provides relevant data on the prevailing conditions that influence decision-making processes in rural areas of Colombia from the perspective of rural youth. In the communities where the research was conducted, legal and illegal economies co-exist. This presentation is based in the results of participatory research to make participants collaborators in the study. To do that the research conducted four photovoice projects and focus groups. The research study evidences that although the macro structures (economic, social) and the regime (community) influence the decision-making process, rural youth's self-determination might explain why some individuals choose one life-course or another. Therefore, a systems-based approach is required to explore and understand rural youth realities in the Global South. Understanding what aspects influence rural youth decision-making processes provides critical information to design and implement age and context-appropriate policies and programs.

Cette communication présente les résultats d’une recherche interrogeant la relation entre projets de développement, gestion des ressources naturelles et conflits en Afrique de l'Ouest. Elle interroge la manière dont les impacts socio-environnementaux et politiques suscités par le développement minier, l'agriculture intensive et l’encadrement des aires naturelles protégées contribuent à l'émergence de tensions et conflits localisés pouvant s'interconnecter aux conflits armés en cours dans la sous-région, mais également aux initiatives locales pouvant gérer et mitiger ces conflits. Issue d’une collaboration scientifique, cette recherche étudie une zone transfrontalière partagée entre le Togo, le Bénin et le Burkina Faso. Plusieurs terrains de collecte des données sont en cours de réalisation, au premier trimestre 2024, par des équipes béninoises, burkinabè et togolaises afin d’évaluer d’une part les impacts socio-environnementaux des programmes de conservation de l’environnement et d’évaluer d’autre part les impacts socio-environnementaux des activités extractives et agricoles intensives menées dans la périphérie immédiate de ces espaces de conservation de l’environnement. Les données sont constituées d’entrevues semi-dirigées réalisées auprès des femmes et des hommes issus des communautés riveraines des aires naturelles protégées et des projets de développement ciblés par l’étude, ainsi que des représentants des autorités traditionnelles, des représentants politiques et associatifs, des autorités administratives et des forces de sécurité des communautés et régions ciblées par l’étude. D’un point de vue théorique, cette recherche permettra autant d’interroger les injonctions contradictoires du développement, que d’enrichir la connaissance des approches en sciences politiques, en droit international, en sociologie, en études du développement et en géographie sur les impacts sociaux, politiques et sécuritaires pouvant être générés par l’exploitation non responsable des ressources naturelles au sein de pays en développement.