My Take on the 2016 SVN Conference in Pretoria

[caption id="attachment_11691" align="aligncenter" width="600"] The attendees of the 2016 SVN Annual Conference pose for a group photo.[/caption]

This reflection by Dr. Yonas Adeto is a commentary on the March 21-24 Southern Voices Network Annual Conference co-hosted by the Wilson Center Africa Program, the Institute for Global Dialogue, the Human Sciences Research Council, the Institute for Security Studies, and the University of Pretoria Department of Political Science. A full report from the conference, including a summary of discussion and the papers presented, is available here.

The term project1 was frequently heard in the conference of the Southern Voices Network (SVN) in March 2016 in Pretoria, South Africa. In the spirit of the conference, to project means to cause to be heard by making one's voice louder and clearer; or to communicate vividly by simplifying and concertizing concepts; or to present an idea for consideration, examination, for practical implementation, etc. Among the very well projected points in the conference were identifying and settingresearch agendasand designingresearch plans,deemed critical global skills.2

The former is a concept seeking to pin down a "why," whereas the latter, a "how" question. For instance, decolonization was the dominant research agenda that was prominently projected in Africa in the 1950s and 1960s. Import substitution industrialization and structural adjustment in the 1970s and 1980s; privatization of the economy and liberalization cum democratization of politics in the 1990s; and, globalization and a human rights discourse, shortly followed by the war on terror (WOT), sustainable development, green growth, the blue economy, knowledge-based society, etc. were in the early 2000s and still are projected as research agendas in and beyond the continent.3 I will do two things here: (1) reflect on the importance of setting a context-specific research agenda and research plan by the SVN members under the theme of peacebuilding through inclusivity in Africa, as signified by the mission, goal, and objectives of the SVN; and (2) draw a tentative conclusion of my take on the 2016 SVN Conference in Pretoria.

In my view the mission of the Center, "…tackling global issues through independent research and open dialogue to inform actionable ideas…" emphasizes the significance of setting research agendas. The goal of the SVN is to urge international partners and donors - the U.S. government in particular - not only to hear, but also to understand "Southern" perspectives in order to "develop the most appropriate, cohesive, and inclusive policy frameworks for and responses to the issues of peacebuilding and state-building in Africa." The objective is to engender local evidence-based knowledge, perspectives and context – cultural, economic and political – on the connection between conflict, prevention, peacebuilding, and state-building.4 The mission, goal, and objectives of the Center project the importance of the involvement of SVN members in its research agenda, stated above.

[caption id="attachment_11686" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Dr. Gilpin presents on setting a research agenda at the conference. For more photos, please see here.[/caption]

In my view, a very significant step toward peacebuilding through inclusivity in Africa is networking institutionally (as well as individually) at a global level, e.g. with the Wilson Center, and at a local level with regional entities for instance in the Horn and Eastern Africa. The networking needs to be initiated and led by the individual members of the SVN. They can identify and set their research agendas under the above theme by discussing among themselves without waiting for the Wilson Center to say the final words. The aim is to strengthen south-south as well as south-north cooperation, with a view to enhancing regional economic integration as well as political integration which paves the way for SVN research agendas in the continent. Since conflicts on the continent are mainly asymmetrical with spillover effects from one African country to another, regional networking can be seen as an ideal instance of translating these agendas into action. Developing a research plan to concretize the research agenda in terms of the "3 Cs" (content, context, contribution)5 and make it actionable requires the commitment of SVN members.

In conclusion, to me the 2016 SVN conference means practically engaging in the ongoing dialog already opened and facilitated by the Pretoria conference, to project African voices clearly and loudly. A starting point, as implied above, is organizing a preliminary meeting in six months or so after a conference in a place like Juba, Nairobi, or Addis Ababa. Similar events can be organized in West and Southern Africa. The grand aim is to project African voices, in the spirit of pan-Africanism, not only to Washington, but also to other global north partners, African sub-regional groups, and to the individual member countries of the African Union. By so doing, I believe, we can project African voices and make them heard and understood by all stakeholders and translated into action, so that the livelihood of the ordinary citizens of Africa can be positively impacted by the SVN.

Yonas Adaye Adeto, Ph.D., is the Associate Academic Director at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies, Addis Ababa University in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

1: This term was used by Dr. Monde Muyangwa with a very positive tone throughout the duration of the conference. I used it here both literally and metaphorically.

2: These phrases are taken from the lecture given by Dr. Raymond Gilpin at the SVN conference.

3: Adapted from the discussions we had in the conference on the basis of the lecture.

4: This is taken from the conference notes provided by the SVN conference organizers.

5: This is taken from the lecture given by Dr. Raymond Gilpin at the SVN conference.