Call for Papers: Africa’s Fiscal Space, Fragility and Conflict

The United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) has extended the deadline for accepting expressions of interest for the call for papers on “Africa’s fiscal space, fragility and conflict.”  Kindly submit a short proposal (maximum 1,000 words) to osaa@un.org with the subject line “Call for Papers – Africa’s fiscal space, fragility and conflict”  by 5pm (EST) on Tuesday 30 November 2021.

Background

Although instability and conflict in Africa were already on the rise, the COVID-19 pandemic heightened the major structural inequalities that drive conflict. Faced with shrinking fiscal space resulting from growth collapse and associated decline in income and revenue, due to the direct and indirect effects the pandemic, African governments had to cut spending on key services, including social protection. This had a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable people, including marginalised groups. In addition, efforts to counter violent attacks and illegal activities by national security forces put further strain on already overstretched national budgets.

This call for papers is being launched to raise awareness of this important issue, and to promote efforts by African countries and development partners to improve the fiscal space for sustainable development, avert deterioration of fragility, and prevent conflict on the continent.  

Applicants who submit short proposals will be informed of the organizer’s decision no later than Wednesday 15 December 2021. The selected applicants will be requested to submit full papers, which will be compiled into one or several publications. The applicants will also be invited to participate in a conference with representatives of Member States and UN entities to be held in a hybrid virtual/in-person format in the first quarter of 2022. 

Please submit expressions of interest and send any queries to osaa@un.org, with the subject line “Call for Papers – Africa’s fiscal space, fragility and conflict”

Read the more detailed call for papers here.

OSAA looks forward to receiving your intellectual contributions to promote Africa’s development!