When President Houphouët-Boigny died in 1993, it became clear that he had constructed a political system in which he was indispensable and the procedure for selecting his successor had intentionally been rendered confusing. The continued political instability and associated human rights abuses in Cote d’Ivoire are directly funded by the cocoa industry. Due to the fact that most cocoa products are made from blends and because so much of the cocoa on the international market is from Cote d’Ivoire, it is extremely difficult to avoid purchasing cocoa from the country. This brief explores the cocoa trade’s connection to the conflict and argues that consumers should pressure chocolate producers to reveal their cocoa sources.

Contemporary development theory has evolved to incorporate a vision of progress that goes beyond an emphasis on economic indicators as a barometer of the welfare of society. Instead, holistic human-centred approaches towards development, that re-conceptualise what development means to the individual, are now defended.  This brief explores the challenges of practical implementation of HD and PD in the 2006/7 Tantyi Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) of the non-governmental organisation (NGO), ‘The Spirals Trust’.

Both state radicalism and revolutionary approaches in the state-society system have been attributed to Venezuela and Zimbabwe, who emerged from revolutionary situations in their opposition to the neoliberal West. Although Mugabe and Chavez have initiated certain reforms through the radicalised state, their ideas on populism remain fundamentally different. This brief examines Mugabe and Chavez’ representation of the masses and genuine rural support, as well as their differing degrees of radicalisation and opening spaces for civil society participation.

The International Coffee Agreement (ICA) was successful at maintaining high coffee prices and providing producers with a modicum of control over their portion of the coffee supply chain for more than twenty years. In September 1989, the quota system collapsed and the market was flooded with coffee that had previously been kept in storage to honour the ICA obligations. Small-scale coffee farmers’ access to socio-economic rights was severely affected by the flooding of the market. This brief focuses on how Ethiopia, the biggest coffee producer in Africa, has been able to provide some protection for small-scale farmers by successfully introducing co-operative famers’ unions into the local coffee industry.

Unfortunately, Africa is the first choice of location for the dumping of European waste. The need for cash in developing countries has led to a new import-export market for toxic garbage. This matter is clearly proved by the toxic waste disposed in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire in August 2006, described as the biggest toxic dumping scandal of the 21st century. The incident in Abidjan is sadly part of a growing trend known as toxic waste colonialism, which sees underdeveloped states used as inexpensive disposal sites for waste refused by developed states. This CAI brief takes a closer look at the human rights implications of toxic waste colonialism and discusses possible solutions to the issue.