Quote of the week
“We’re trusting in God that a miracle will happen, and we will reach Portland.” – Angolan migrant Paulo Kando
South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel
South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ is a stress test for the multilateral system. Molly Quell breaks down the case. Sohela Surajpal and Justin Winchester provide this helpful explainer.
Sudan’s civil war
Sudan’s war faces a dangerous new phase as fighting spreads to the east. This podcast breaks down Sudan’s forgotten war. Learn more about UAE’s role in the war.
Ethiopia’s port deal
Somalia is furious about Ethiopia’s recent port deal with Somaliland. Somalia’s president warns that he will “use all necessary measures” to stop the plan. Somaliland’s Defense Minister resigns in protest over deal. Ken Opalo provides the best explainer on the situation. Learn more about the Horn’s crisis of sovereignty.
Migration and displacement
These are the African migration trends to watch in 2024. The EU needs a million migrants yearly to maintain a vibrant economy. Despite this, the EU shifts the problem to Africa, and more and more African migrants flee to the US. Claire Adida and Amanda Lea Robinson have this cool new article on why some African immigrants resist assimilation.
Freedom of the press in Ghana
Attacks on Ghana’s press escalate ahead of the 2024 polls. Journalist and activist Sulemana Braimah writes this open letter to Akufo-Addo on Ghana’s democracy.
Threats to democracy
This is why African youth are unable to disrupt authoritarian states. Government Internet shutdowns cost over $9 billion in 2023. West Africa in 2024 is a region of uncertainty. Listen to this year-end review of global democracy. Women face an uphill battle in Zimbabwe politics. Have we entered a new era of African politics and international relations?
Make sure to read this special issue on democratic backsliding (summary thread here).
Struggle for rights and freedom
The world faces a global femicide epidemic. Meet the young people who worked as Meta’s content moderators and are now fighting for their rights. The legacy of abusive Nigerian pastor TB Joshua lives on. This BBC Investigation goes even deeper.
Here are ten things to know about Johnnie Carson, Biden’s point person on African affairs. Mahmood Mamdani explains the violence behind state-building. Check out Zimbabweland’s end-of-the-year wrap up 2023. Liberia’s ex-chief justice sentenced to life for murder. Isaac Samuel provides this brief note on ancient herders and foragers of South Africa. Can Kenya’s police mission break the stranglehold that Haiti’s gangs have over the country? Why did peace talks in Ethiopia fail with the Oromo Liberation Front?
Africa’s rapid urbanization
Amhara cities return to daily routines after conflict. UN-HABITAT has covered a lot of ground over the past six years. A massive housing shortage in Johannesburg has squatters risking their lives in “hijacked buildings.” This article explores the crossroads of urbanization, agriculture, and trans-Saharan connections.
I can’t wait to read Davison Muchadenyika’s forthcoming The Making of an African City: How Harare Grew Over Centuries. Gideon Abagna Azunre examines elite housing informality. And this looks good: Gender-informed mobility planning, governance and policy in African cities: status, barriers, and ways forward.
Research corner
Patrick William Otim’s Acholi Intellectuals: Knowledge, Power, and the Making of Colonial Northern Uganda, 1850-1960 is a must read. Check this out: Voices for African Liberation.
This article examines how local officials shaped authoritarianism in Rwanda and Sudan. Paul Nugent historicizes collective action problems in the South African wine industry. This article assesses the effects of crime on South African voting behavior. Learn more about communal peace in the shadow of civil war in Cote d’Ivoire.
The week in development
Why are some of Africa’s most-important currencies tanking? This is a great Planet Money episode on the universal basic income experiment in Kenya. Café Javas pay their staff very low wages. Naaborle Sackeyfio explains Ghana’s electricity crisis. Uganda will destroy $7 million dollars’ worth of expired COVID vaccines. The African psychedelic plant Ibogaine is shown to treat traumatic brain injury in vets. Nigerian startup “rock star” Bosun Tijani’s transition to government has been controversial. Guinea’s Simandou mine, the world’s biggest mining project, will start after 27 years of setbacks and scandals. Nigeria needs more electricity.
This is terrifying: An excellent new study of Nestlé’s marketing behaviour shows that Nestlé’s entry into low- and middle-income formula markets caused about 212,000 infant deaths per year among mothers without clean water access at the peak of the Nestlé controversy in 1981.
Stefan Dercon explains how economic researchers should give policy advice.
Africa and the environment
2023 was the hottest year on record. Drought now touches a quarter of humanity. The World Bank provides this report on deforestation. Rice cultivation contributes to methane emissions. Jon Kraus provides these five maddening facts about climate finance. COP28 put food systems on the climate agenda. Egypt’s chief negotiator dissects COP28. And a new study finds that Africa’s birds of prey are in decline.
Daily life
Ghana’s first skate park faces closure. Ghanaian chef Failatu Abdul-Razak tries to break world cook-a-thon record with jollof rice and banku. This is how Nigerian chef Ayo Balogun spends his Sundays. Read about how Lerato Mogoatlhe became a travel writer. K’naan wins Recording Academy Social Change Award for “Refugee.” A Tribe Called Judah becomes highest-earning Nigerian film. Chef Marcus Samuelsson opens his first restaurant in Ethiopia. What drives the Toronto Raptors’ Masai Ujuri?
RIP Bruce Berman.
All the best,
Jeff and Phil