This Week in Africa
Discover more from This Week in Africa
Here is the week in Africa:
Quote of the week
“We hope this move will lead to a sustainable and inclusive peace before more lives and livelihoods are needlessly lost.” – Oxfam Ethiopia Director Gezahegn Gebrehana
Ethiopia’s civil war
The war in Ethiopia is far from over. The world’s deadliest war isn’t in Ukraine, but Ethiopia. Tigrayans might be the most “at risk” people in the world. They are desperately waiting for aid. The Ethiopian government declared a truce to allow aid into the region.
Crackdown in Sudan
The U.S. places sanctions on Sudan’s Central Reserve Police over protest crackdown. Sudan’s military is brutally suppressing dissent. Concrete action is needed to suppress oppression.
Escalation of violence
Violence rages on in Darfur, two decades on, and escalates in northern Mozambique.
Struggle for rights and freedom
Howard French on Slavery, Empire, Memory. Elif Kalaycioglu, Lina Benabdallah and Oumar Ba argue that “the concept of Europe as the home of peaceful nations and societies requires willful amnesia about its imperial history. Learn about how Africa is misrepresented in UK schools and how to fix it.
Lydia Namubiru explains how some local journalists are driving Ghana’s anti-queer agenda. Andrea Ngombet says it’s time to shine a light on Congo’s Sassou-Nguesso and his abuses. Learn more about Zimbabwe’s by-elections. Not much has changed. Sishuwa Sishuwa argues that Zambia’s democracy is still under attack. Udo Jude Ile interrogates democracy’s decline in West Africa. This is a good panel on autocratization in Uganda. Listen to Mai Hassan on Ufahamu!
Africa’s rapid urbanization
RISE Africa 2022 looks pretty cool. Kampala marks fifty years since it was marked a “Black Man’s City.” I look forward to reading Biruk Terrefe’s “Infrastructures of Renaissance: tangible discourses in the EPRDF’s Ethiopia.” Check out photos of the new Nairobi Expressway. The rising tide of urbanization blots priceless values. Make sure to read Patience Mususa and Stephen Marr’s “Comparing Climate Politics and Adaptation Strategies in African Cities.”
This is why Kisii Town is turning into one big dump site. Dar es Salaam electrifies some of its transport. South African court halts Amazon HQ project in Cape Town. Check out this conversation on African cities and urban sustainability. Uganda’s SafeBoda wants to be a super app, but some riders are abandoning it. Heatwaves are a new threat to urban populations.
Research corner
Get your copy of The Politics of the Dead in Zimbabwe 2000-2020: Bones, Rumors & Spirits. Check out The Politics of Historical Memory and Commemoration in Africa. Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò’s Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (And Everything Else) looks awesome. Migration in Africa is out soon. So is Contesting Race and Citizenship: Youth Politics in the Black Mediterranean. Check out Jonathan Derrick’s Biafra in the News: The Nigerian Civil War Seen from a London News Desk. The Oxford Handbook for the Economy of Cameroon is out soon.
Fiona Shen-Bayh, Andy Harris, and Danny Choi ask: Does ethnic bias affects judicial decision-making in African courts? This article examines the authority of the African Union on the ground. Yang-Yang Zhou, Guy Grossman, and Shuning Ge find that inclusive refugee-hosting in Uganda improves local development and prevents public backlash.
And check out GLD’s 2021 Annual Report.
The week in development
A big study finds that the Gates Foundations’ 15 year project to expand capital-intensive agriculture across Africa has failed. African Development Bank secures $32.8 billion for projects. IFC sells its stake in Bridge Academies. The US sanctioned notorious gold trader Alain Goetz and Uganda’s African Gold Refinery. Martin Plaut explains that the Nile Dam was Meles’ endeavor, not Haile Selassie’s.
Fatai Aremu analyzes donor action for empowerment and accountability in Nigeria. Kenya is dealing with a yellow fever outbreak. This is an interesting report on women traders in Puntland, Somalia. Ghana imposes record interest rate hike to slow inflation. Mohammed Awal discusses the use of evidence in policymaking. The Ukraine crisis is expected to deepen the Horn of Africa’s challenges with drought. What can Africa’s low COVID death rate teach the rest of the world?
China and Africa
Africa must learn to compete with Chinese firms. This is why China is delivering more than 30 percent of Africa’s big construction projects.
Africa and the environment
This piece explores the forest wonders of Africa and the threats they face. Nations should conserve fuel as global energy crisis looms. Continued use of fossil fuels could lead to “catastrophe.” Cyclone Gombe death toll raises to 53. Europe’s phase out of Russian energy could be an opportunity for African countries.
APSA pre-conference workshops
The American Political Science Association meeting is in Montreal in September 2022. Here are the calls of three pre-conference short courses that are relevant for Africanists:
APSA-APCG Research Development Group for early career scholars from African institutions on “Political Trust in Africa’s Age of Coronavirus and Coups.” Due April 10.
Emerging Scholars Workshop and Graduate Student Workshop for early-career scholars working on Democracy and Autocracy. Due March 30.
Comparative Urban Politics workshop on “Political Mobilization in 21st Century Cities: Resistance, Reform, Renewal.” Apply here by April 15.
Daily life
A tribute to Sumy Sadurni. Burkina Faso’s Diébédo Francis Kéré, who won the Pritzker Prize, is committed to building peaceful cities. The beauty of Mogadishu. A spotlight on Africa’s creative industry.
And meet the Ghanaian “Skate gal!”
All the best,
Jeff and Phil