This Week in Africa
November 3, 2023
Quote of the week
“Africa is entering a period of truly staggering change. The world is changing. And we need to start reimagining Africa’s place in it.” – Edward Paice, author of Youthquake
Springboks win Rugby World Cup
South Africans won a second consecutive Rugby World Cup, unifying a very divided country. At times, it feels like the team is what holds the country together. South Africa even declared a public holiday after the victory. The celebration is on.
The Crown in Kenya
King Charles and Queen Camilla are in Kenya on a four-day trip. They face pressure over colonial abuses in Kenya. The King acknowledged suffering during colonial rule, but did not apologize. You can read his speech here.
Elections in DR Congo
DR Congo is scheduled to hold decisive elections in December 2023. The election will take place in the context of 6 percent yearly economic growth. The country also faces record high internal displacement at nearly 7 million people. The Crisis Group offers these suggestions to mitigate the risk of violence during and after the polls.
War in Sudan
Sudan is now one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world as more than 5.6 million people are displaced. An estimated 19 million kids are out of school. These are possible developments in next 12 months in Sudan. Peace talks resume in Jeddah.
Governing Ghana
Yoku Shaw-Taylor discusses Africans, slavery, and reparations and why Nana Akufo-Addo’s claims are deeply flawed. How did Ghana’s president go from democratic darling to anti-protest overlord? Meanwhile, the NPP will elect a new flagbearer on Saturday to take on John Mahama in next year’s election.
Struggle for rights and freedom
70 people are missing after a boat capsized in northern Nigeria. Learn more about term limit evasions and coups in Africa. Mozambicans take to the street to protest what they see as fraudulent local election results. Madagascar holds what are gearing up to be tense elections on November 16. Nigerian President Tinubu’s budget is out, and includes a new yacht, SUVs, and remodeled villa for his family. Equatorial Guinea’s vice president insists the superyacht in Italian vacation hotspots is a military vessel. Branding all of Africa as corrupt is not just stupid, its racist.
Isaac Samuel provides this brief note on the origin of African civilizations.
The world is becoming more African
Declan Walsh outlines the demographic change that is happening in Africa, and how it is reshaping the world. The piece is complemented by beautiful photographs from Hannah Reyes Morales. The piece emphasizes Africa’s “youthquake,” disillusionment with politicians, importance of remittances, rise of film and music industries, job creation, migration, urbanization, and so much more.
Africa’s rapid urbanization
Unyime Eyo discusses the elusive promise of a human-centric Lagos. These are insights into decolonizing urban planning in the Afrocentric. Patrick Cobbinah discusses urban planning and climate resilient African cities. Grassroots solutions are needed to confront South Africa’s urban housing challenge. Addis Ababa faces growing climate change risks like heat, drought, and floods. Flooding in Mombasa. Jericho, Kenya. Luanda!
Make sure to read Stephen Marr and Patience Mususa’s DIY Urbanism in Africa: Politics and Practice. This article examines housing cooperatives, social movements, and the urban transformation question in Harare. This is an excellent new article about population density and Africa’s emerging urban demography (summary thread here). This report examines the critical role of nature-based solutions for enhancing climate resilience in informal areas. Danielle Resnick and Bhavna Sivasubramanian examine political trust and informal traders in Accra, Kumasi, and Tamale. Ezana Haddis Weldeghebrael explains the resistance strategies against inner-city development in Addis Ababa. Read these great essays in this IJURR special issue on urban futures.
This animation is awesome: The rise & fall of the largest cities in the world, from 3,000 BC to the 2020s.
Rethinking clientelism for development
Our new GLD Policy Brief reflects on how citizens understand patronage, which challenges longstanding assumptions about political clientelism. The brief draws on findings from a recent article by Prisca Jöst and Ellen Lust which finds that citizens in Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia assess “vote-buying” differently depending on whether people expect public services to be delivered in the future, as well as how closely connected they are to their neighbors in their local communities. We also highlight my recent article with Kathleen Klaus and Martha Wilfahrt, which finds that residents in coastal Kenya, urban Ghana, and rural Senegal interpret political clientelism as a way to demand social recognition and a pathway toward human dignity.
Research corner
Jeffrey Ahlman’s Ghana: A Political and Social History is out. These are Padraig Carmody’s three favorite reads from 2023 (which includes Erin Accampo Hern’s Explaining Successes in Africa: Things Don’t Always Fall Apart). Check out Ben Radley’s Disrupted Development in the Congo: The Fragile Foundations of the African Mining Consensus (summary thread here). Make sure to read Gino Vlavonou’s Belonging, Identity, and Conflict in the Central African Republic. Bill Ong Ing is right: it is time to humanize immigration. Relative Distance: Kinship, Migration, and Christianity between Kenya and the United Kingdom looks good. I can’t wait to read Emmanuel Akyeampong’s Independent Africa: The First Generation of Nation Builders. Check out my review of Everyday State and Democracy in Africa: Ethnographic Encounters, edited by Wale Adebanwi—and get the book!
Ueli Staeger takes on the war in Ukraine, the African Union, and African agency. This is how African regional interventions are perceived on the ground. Martha Wilfahrt and Natalie Letsa assess variation in chiefly duties and authorities in the Ghana-Togo borderlands. Nauja Kleist and Jesper Bjarnesen’s article is out: “Meditating mobility in West Africa: Improvisation, culture, and volatility in migration infrastructures.” Zachary Levenson and Marcel Paret edit this excellent special issue on the South African tradition of racial capitalism.
Apply to the Working Group on African Political Economy in March in Ghana!
The week in development
The US and EU plan for $1 billion-plus investment for an Africa railway link to transport key minerals. Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda lose their African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) preferential status. Toward an African digital single market. CDD-Ghana engages in outreach as it celebrates 25 years. African universities are off to a strong start in global rankings. Stay tuned for the African Transformation Index 2023. Howard French argues that Europe will face a coming reckoning on immigration. Ken Opalo argues that Ethiopia needs a reliable seaport and navy. The World Bank projects a mixed outlook for economic growth on the continent.
Africa and the environment
Aby Sène’s article looks fascinating: “Justice in nature conservation: limits and possibilities under global capitalism.” Under one-quarter of UK climate aid to Africa goes to Africa-based organizations. It is important to incorporate climate policies into municipal planning. Training on climate security is crucial for future peace operations. Climate change is a gateway to terrorism in East Africa and the Sahel (don’t forget the politics). Learn more about fire protection on the continent.
El Niños are predictable, and we should prepare for their consequences.
Daily life
Kenyans are the fastest in the world, but they are also chasing a doping crisis. A luxurious squash and lamb stew for the holidays. Read it: A Spell of Good Things. Johannesburg residents march for LGBTQ+ rights. Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui is the talk of London. Rockz Waakye in Accra! How to digitize Nigerian history?
All the best,
Jeff and Phil