Bøger af Uwem Essia

Security and Conflict Analysis is Book 2 of the Series, Lecture Notes on Actor Analysis Methodology. It aims to apply the principles, tools, and methods. The book is divided into nine (9) Lectures (Chapters). In Lecture One, conflict analysis is described as the deliberate study of the causes, actors, and dynamics of conflict. Lecture Two explains how to use conflict analysis for assessing conflict sensitivity, program development, actors/ stakeholders networking, and programming of conflict resolution/ transformation interventions.Gathering information for conflict analysis is discussed in Lecture Three. Lectures Four, Five, Six, and Seven explain the various tools/ techniques and methods used for conflict analysis. Lecture Eight explains factor analysis as complementary to actor analysis. Factors are interdependent elements that affect the operational environment and actors individually and in groups. Lastly, Lecture Nine applies the tools and methods of conflict analysis to the design, implementation, and monitoring of security programs/ interventions for peace building and conflict transformation.

The book Brinkmanship: Fear Creation as a Bargaining Tool explains how fear creation can be used to drive an argument to the brink, and by so doing compel parties in a conflict to accept or reject negotiated settlements. Two diametrically opposed kinds of fears may be created. The first and most commonly used since World War I emphasizes the cost of Mutually Hurting Stalemates (MHS) and the associated danger of sliding ¿beyond the brink.¿ The second, popularized by peace economists, is creating fear around the cost of losing Mutually Exciting Opportunities (MEOs). Applying the MHS may cause a conflict to become intractable, especially where at least one of the conflict parties has a true-believer culture. However, creating fear around the MEOs can promote cooperative and integrative resolutions because the urge to collaborate and exchange is more human than suffering to destroy others. Using the frosty United States-North Korea relationship as an example, it is explained how the application of MEOs can lead to improved relationships among countries when mediators are able to do their jobs well.

Actor analysis is a set of approaches that can be used to diagnose problems, formulate policies, and assess the performance of programs, projects, and policies. Actor analysis approaches are currently used for problem-solving in nearly all fields, especially political system engineering, environmental resources management, policy formulation and analysis, and performing arts. Fundamentals of Actor Analysis is Book 1 of the Series, Lecture Notes on Actor Analysis Methodology. Essentially, the basic concepts, tools, and methods of actor analysis are identified and explained. How to apply actor analysis in different fields of practice is also discussed.

Fundamentals of Scenario Analysis is Book 1 of the Series of Lecture Notes in Scenario Analysis Methodology. Book 1 provides an overview of key terms, concepts, and approaches relevant to scenario analysis, and explains how scenarios can be constructed and used for decision-making. It is also explained how scenario analysis can support assessing the resilience of policies and programs, ease transitioning, minimize physical risks, and ensure the sustainable management of climate change.

Applications of Scenario Analysis is the third in the book series, Lecture Notes on Scenario Analysis Methodology. Such topics as What-If Scenario Analysis (WISA) and the application of scenario analysis to national policy formulation, planning, and program implementation are explained. Also discussed are the application of scenario analysis to risk analysis, environment, and natural resources management, climate change, intelligence gathering, and security analysis, and the management of businesses and political organizations.

Tools and Methods of Scenario Analysis is the second of a three-book series titled, Lecture Notes on Scenario Analysis Methodology. It has thirteen Lectures (Chapters).Lecture One discusses futurology as the science of studying/ mapping future occurrences. Lecture Two explains the different scenario analysis methods. Lecture Three presents a step-by-step approach to constructing scenarios using an illustration. Lecture Four is on analytical tools for creating scenarios and financial modeling. In Lecture Six, the ideal-typical scenario techniques are explained. Lecture Seven presents, while Lecture Eight applies scenario analysis to youth empowerment programs. Lectures Nine and Ten explain the essential techniques of scenario analysis. Lectures eleven and twelve discuss scenario modeling techniques. Lecture thirteen explains the archetypes of scenario analysis. Lecture fourteen focuses on strategic thinking, portfolio management, and scenario planning, and Lecture fifteen explains methodological commonalities and differences, and the range-field of scenario methodology.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) generally has poorly diversified economies and limited entry points and spaces for citizens to realize their livelihood and sociopolitical aspirations. Hence, more citizens look up to the government and donors for jobs/ contracts and patronage. The scarcity of productive opportunities has pushed many into a survivalist mode and cutting corners to enrich oneself, albeit illegal, has become the norm. Rather than serve as the primal agency for development, many African governments are turned to the battlefield for wealth grabbing. The received economic development paradigms that prioritize growth via capital accumulation as the core measures of development, without considering their sources, how they are distributed, and how well the population uses the wealth at their disposal to enhance wellness, are also to blame for underdevelopment in SSA. Amartya Sen¿s Capability Approach Framework comes in handy by emphasizing capability building and utilization as important factors for development and its sustainability. Hence, an attempt is made here to reconstruct Sen¿s capability approach to explain what can be done to speed up development in SSA.

The Book Trump Vs Biden: The Triumph of Trumpism argues that alas President Joe Biden may not make much difference in American politics because he is out to rubbish his predecessor without taking a deep look at Donald Trump¿s policies. Yet, many of what Joe Biden is doing have the footprints of Donald Trump. Four key themes were used here for the comparison, as follows: (1) the counter-COVID strategy/ efforts; (2) the US withdrawal from Afghanistan; (3) the immigrants¿ challenge; and (4) foreign policy doctrine. Generally, it is submitted here that despite some mistakes, President Donald Trump made efforts to do well on all four themes, and so far President Biden is building on the foundations laid by the Trump presidency, and not adopting strategies/ approaches that are significantly different. The Triumph of Trumpism argues that ultimately the Biden-Harris presidency may barely recycle Trump's strategies, with very minor variations.

COVID 19 is a pandemic like no other; unprecedented, unpredictable, and devastating yet yielding enormous opportunities for disruptive innovational thinking. Despite its poor health emergency preparedness, and challenges of poverty and food insecurity, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) generally suffers fewer COVID deaths compared to the advanced countries¿ regions. Essentially, the traditional African diet has more micronutrient-rich vegetables, herbs, spices, and fruits that are immune-boosting. Moreover, the SSA population commonly suffers malaria and typhoid fever attacks, which are treated regularly with the so-called Dr. Didier¿s dual therapy. Perhaps the long-term use of the dual therapy and the dietary habits of most SSA people render them more immune to COVID 19.While the world should learn from Africa, governments and businesses in the continent should modernize African Traditional Medicine (ATM) and propagate herbal food and medicinal materials. The World Health Organization should unbiasedly investigate the reported successes of ATM remedies for the treatment of COVID and other ailments, and the global community should help incorporate ATM into the mainstream healthcare mix.

Conventionally, industrial economics uses neoclassical economic theory to explain the productivity of enterprise/ industry. The micro-level concerns the analyses of structure, conduct, and performance and the competitiveness advantage factors of the firm/ industry. The macro-level deals with the analyses of capacities, incentives, and other policies and programs aiming to promote market-making, overall creativity, and innovativeness, and how the industry can be shielded from shocks. However, digitalization has changed the situation of firms/ industries and made neoclassical economics-inspired industrial economics models incapable to explain current realities. Also explained is how the surge in Artificial Intelligence has taken the Information Age to its advanced stage, referred to here as the Intelligentsia Age, and the rise of ingenuity capital as the comparative competitiveness advantage factor and source of surplus value in the new economy.

This book submits that the recent Anglophone crises in Cameroon is protracted for two main reasons.Firstly, the unreconstructed colonially inspired education system has institutionalized a bifurcated elite class based on the historic French-British cultural rivalry. The two cultures have historically not been mixed successfully in a Unitarian state structure. Implementing education system reforms to progressively unify the intellectual culture of upcoming Cameroonian youth elites is necessary.Secondly, many disadvantaged youths perceive that they are excluded from participation spaces and support systems that can help them realize their aspirations. To deal with this aspiration gap crises, an alchemical process to transform the mental models of ex-combatants, and those at risk of joining rebellions movements, is proposed and articulated here. The mindset transformation program will ease the process of accumulating ingenuity capital and channel the beneficiaries towards utilizing it in productive activities.Success in implementing both transformational processes will end the Anglophone crises, and at the same time leapfrog Cameroon to economic emergence sooner than can be imagined.