This Week in Africa
Discover more from This Week in Africa
Join us for the virtual “Urban Politics in the Global South” conference later this month. Here is the week in Africa:
Quote of the week
“This is a movement, not a political party.” – Nigerian candidate Peter Obi
Nigeria’s presidential election
Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s candidacy is inevitable, but his challenge will be to convince voters to move beyond his past. Who is Peter Obi, the politician making Nigeria’s establishment so nervous? The man who carries his own luggage.
Ethiopia’s civil war
Ethiopia’s civil war is deepening as US talks fail to stop the fighting. Tigray forces blame Eritrea for the escalation of violence. The African Union did not have a serious plans for peace talks. Alex de Waal argues that the tactics of war cause famine.
Russia and Africa
The Wagner Group is using “Africa wealth” to fund the Ukraine war. Here is some good analysis of Russia’s role in the coup in Burkina Faso. Europe turns to Africa in bid to replace Russia’s natural gas.
Floods in Nigeria
People are trying to flee massive flooding in northern Nigeria. The desperation led to a boat accident that killed at least 76 people. Hundreds have been killed and more than 1.4 million are displaced.
Struggle for rights and freedom
Lesotho elects new parliament amidst an unresolved political crisis. The populist party won, but did not a majority. Learn more about the Igbo women leaders of Africa. Aminata Toure has the Senegalese presidency in her sites. Democracy continues to backslide in Francophone West Africa. State abductions continue in Uganda. Is Museveni’s apology to Kenya genuine?
Security and instability
Daisy Muibu explains what drives Al-Shabaab in Somalia. Security forces struggle to keep up with an upsurge of Jihadi violence in the Sahel. Kristof Titeca discusses the fuel smugglers on Uganda’s border region of West Nile. The US wants to be a critical partner in Africa. It’s the 30th anniversary of the Mozambique Peace Accords. How does expanding access to justice matter for security?
Migration and immigration
This is an interesting look into Rwanda’s asylum policy to serve as a way station for refugees awaiting asylum or resettlement elsewhere. Refugees in Malawi are in a bitter fight against relocation. A migrant from Cote d’Ivoire is now a Parliamentarian in Italy. Opportuna Kweka discusses the legal categorization of refugees in Tanzania.
Border areas should be used and not feared in pandemic responses. Here are some insights into South Africa’s migration challenge. Mahmood Mamdani writes about the expulsion of Asians from Uganda. This piece tracks climate, migration and the far-right from Africa to Europe. And pick up Vanya Gastrow’s Citizen and Pariah: Somali Traders and the Regulation of Difference in South Africa.
Africa’s rapid urbanization
I am very excited to read Tom Goodfellow’s Politics and the Urban Frontier: Transformation and Divergence in Late Urbanizing East Africa. Cristina Udelsmann Rodrigues explains hesitant migration to Angola’s emerging cities. Illegal tax collection in Lagos stifles business. This article examines subaltern urbanism as a way of life in Bulawayo. Johannesburg’s informal traders face abuse. Egypt has ambitious megaproject dreams for a new capital, but can the country pull it off?
This is cool: Pathways to urban and territorial equality.
Research corner
This article examines the EU border externalization process within the regional history and social dynamics of the Senegal River Valley. Tanja Hendricks explains the feelings, affect, and emotions behind Malawi’s disaster relief. This is a cool article on the “Hustlers versus Dynasties” narrative in Kenya. Learn more about pastoralists’ access to land in Kenya. This is why some communities resist armed groups non-violently while others take up arms to do so in Colombia and Mozambique. Leonardo Arriola, Donghyun Danny Choi, and Matthew Gichohi’s article “Increasing Intergroup Trust: Endorsements and Voting in Divided Societies” is out. This is an interesting article about indigenous farming in Italian-occupied Ethiopia.
Get your copy of Nicoli Nattrass and Jeremy Seekings’ Inclusive Dualism: Labour-intensive Development, Decent Work, and Surplus Labour in Southern Africa. This looks good: The Kenyan Cut Flower Industry & Global Market Dynamics. Get this: Democratic Backsliding in Africa? Autocratization, Resilience, and Contention.
Lots of great papers in this political violence and electoral politics conference. And an agenda for addressing bias in conflict data.
The week in development
How will US-China tech decoupling affect Africa’s mobile phone market? Ghana has deep structural issues leading to poor labor conditions in the transport sector. Festival Godwin Boateng argues that now is the time to address Africa’s dependency on used vehicles. Theophilus Acheampong explains how debt restructuring must go hand-in-hand with managing finances better in Ghana.
The Hewlett Foundation is refreshing its evidence-informed policymaking. Africa is still a looted continent. The start of oil and gas production will make Senegal the fastest growing economy in Africa south of the Sahara next year. This is how oil-rich Nigeria failed to profit from an oil boom. Cholera cases triple in Malawi. Eight countries are set to trade under the Guided Trade Initiative.
This is cool: Measuring “felt respect” for dignity in service interactions.
Africa and the environment
This is what African governments must fight for at COP27. Africa fears backsliding on climate action amid global crises. These are the five biggest threats to West Africa’s oceans. The response to the climate crisis doesn’t match the magnitude of the challenge. Researchers report a staggering decline in wildlife. Jeff Bezos is funding a push for land restoration. This is what climate change means for Africa’s food crisis.
Daily life
Meet the Afro-punk band taking on “whitewashed history.” The Uganda at 60 exhibit looks awesome. This is why Hasan Minhaj loves Giannis Antetokounmpo. Broadcast journalist and president of SOAS university Zeinab Badawi will write An African History of Africa. Meet the baker who is reinventing bread in Senegal. The Bushman Café: yum. #FakugesiFestival.
All the best,
Jeff and Phil