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This paper analyses the declining importance of political parties in the Central African Republic (CAR). The country can be considered an extreme example of the lack of viability of a state in general, and democracy in particular. However, the quality of elections has exceeded the average in the sub-region over a substantial time-span. Hopes for a democratic future only faded in recent years. The paper hypothesises that both political parties and rebel movements are failing to adequately represent (ethnoregional) interests, but that parties are suffering more in the course of the enduring war and the peace process. Patterns of elite behaviour are presented as the main explanation for the resulting crisis of representation, with international actors' preference for inclusionary power-sharing deals seen as the main aggravating factor. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents the analyses of data obtained from eight permanent 20 km transects to determine the relative effect of local human populations and ecological factors on the distribution of large mammals within the Dzanga sector of the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park and the adjacent area of the Dzanga-Sangha Dense Forest Special Reserve in south-west Central African Republic. Principal component analysis indicated that human activities significantly influence the distribution of large mammals, even within this protected area. Distance from the village and the main road as well as the distance from secondary roads appeared to have the greatest influence. Elephants in particular were significantly less common in areas related to human use. Our study showed that poachers use roads, both primary and secondary, to penetrate into the National Park. Thus increasing anti-poaching efforts along these roads could be an effective protection measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Central African Republic experienced unprecedented violence between 2012 and 2014. We analyse three recent ruptures that developed as a result of this crisis, suggesting a break with the country's past. First, the Séléka rebellion that started in 2012; second, the establishment of a robust UN Peacekeeping mission in 2014; and finally, the democratic election of a civilian president in 2016. However, three deep-rooted patterns of governance have in each case transformed these ruptures. A history of outsourced politics, a plurality of violence and peripheral neglect push actors to perpetuate the violent past rather than breaking with it. We conclude that after an initial attempt to break with the CAR's long-term political economic trends, rebel groups, the UN mission and the democratic government have backtracked and now risk reinforcing the violence that mark politics and everyday life in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on research undertaken in the west and north-west of the Central African Republic, identifying the conflicts and strategic groups known as ECRIS as the methodology. Information on the structure of the local political arenas; Categories the villages surveyed can be divided into; Details on the diversity of rural political institutions.

Based on field research in the Central African Republic, this article discusses several social and economic challenges to conservation programmes that include community development components. These interrelated challenges include immigration as people elsewhere are attracted to economic opportunities, the lack of tenure of land and natural resources, diversification of economic and subsistence strategies, ethnic diversity and the lack of a conservation ethic. Addressing these challenges requires fundamental socio-economic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between childhood undernutrition and poverty in urban and rural areas., Design: Anthropometric and socio-economic data from Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys in Angola-Secured Territory (Angola ST), Central African Republic and Senegal were used in this analysis. The population considered in this study is children 0-59 months, whose records include complete anthropometric data on height, weight, age, gender, socio-economic level and urban or rural area of residence. In addition to simple urban/rural comparisons, the population was stratified using a wealth index based on living conditions and asset ownership to compare the prevalence, mean Z-score and odds ratios for stunting and wasting., Results: In all cases, when using a simple urban/rural comparison, the prevalence of stunting was significantly higher in rural areas. However, when the urban and rural populations were stratified using a measure of wealth, the differences in prevalence of stunting and underweight in urban and rural areas of Angola ST, Central African Republic and Senegal disappeared. Poor children in these urban areas were just as likely to be stunted or underweight as poor children living in rural areas. The odds ratio of stunting in the poorest compared with the richest quintile was 3.4, 3.2 and 1.5 in Angola ST, Senegal and Central African Republic, respectively., Conclusions: This paper demonstrates that simple urban/rural comparisons mask wide disparities in subgroups according to wealth. There is a strong relationship between poverty and chronic undernutrition in both urban and rural areas; this relationship does not change simply by living in an urban environment. However, urban and rural living conditions and lifestyles differ, and it is important to consider these differences when designing programmes and policies to address undernutrition.

This paper examines determinants of one aspect of sexual behaviour--coital frequency--among 2,188 married women in the Central African Republic using a secondary analysis of data from the Demographic and Health Survey of 1994-95. Female genital cutting (or circumcision) is practised in the Central African Republic and self-reported circumcision status was included in the questionnaire enabling it to be examined as a possible determinant of coital frequency. Multiple logistic regression was used to find a subset of factors independently associated with coital frequency. Decreased coital frequency was found in those who had longer duration of marriage, those who were not the most recent wife in a polygamous marriage and those who had more surviving children. Coital frequency was higher in more educated women and those not contracepting because they wanted to get pregnant. After adjusting for confounders no association between female genital cutting and coital frequency was found. The extent to which women can control coital frequency in this culture is not known and fertility desires may override any negative effects of circumcision on sexual pleasure. It was therefore not possible to draw conclusions about how female genital cutting affects a woman's desire for sexual intercourse and consequently there is a need to develop research methods further to investigate this question.