This Week in Africa

March 15, 2024

Join us next Friday in Uppsala or on Zoom for my talk “Claiming the city: Governance and political connections in African neighborhoods.” Here is the week in Africa:

Quote of the week

“Veteran aid workers are privately and officially warning that several regions in Ethiopia and Sudan will soon be plunged into full-fledged famine unless aid is urgently provided.” – Alex de Waal

Kidnappings in northern Nigeria

Masked men on motorbikes kidnapped dozens of kids in northern Nigeria. More than 300 people are thought to be missing. Bola Tinubu rules out paying ransoms. The kidnappings are breaking up families and keeping kids out of school.

Sudan’s civil war

Sudan’s army retakes state broadcaster’s headquarters from the RSF in a strategic victory. Keep eyes on Sudan.

Struggle for rights and freedom

Kenya pauses its police deployment to Haiti after the Prime Minister resigns. Senegal’s opposition leader Ousmane Sonko is released from prison. Christoph Vogel sheds light on DR Congo’s intractable crisis. Doctors in Kenya start a seven-day strike. Alex de Waal writes on mass starvation in Gaza, Sudan, and Tigray. He admits he was wrong: the era of famines is not over. Afolabi Adekaiyaoja discusses Senegal, a model democracy in crisis. Carolyn Logan explains Afrobarometer’s innovative approach to data analysis.

Dan Banik discusses democracy in Africa with Boniface Dulani on his podcast. Tune into this panel to learn more about foreign interventions and instability in West Africa. Democracy is winning and losing at the ballot. How should Denmark engage with Africa?

Africa’s rapid urbanization

Check out Dakar’s Bus Rapid Transit. Tom Goodfellow explains how policy meets politics on the frontiers of world urbanization. Davison Muchadenyika discusses keeping pace with Africa’s urbanization. Apply for this cool workshop on urban informality research. An explosion caused a big fire in a central Mogadishu market. Check out Idris Elba’s smart city in Sierra Leone.

I can’t wait to read Jennifer Hart’s Making an African City. The ACRC published this piece on driving systemic change in Africa’s informal settlements. This is a neat article about the spread of auto repair businesses in Dagoretti, Kenya: “Survivalist Organizing in Urban Poverty Contexts.” This is cool: A global estimate of the size and location of informal settlements.

In honor of the radical geographer, Mike Davis.

Research corner

Who supports gender quotas in Morocco and Tunisia? African parties are more ideological than you think. The Program on African Social Research outlines “Religion and Politics in Africa.” This article examines pastoralist elites’ role in large-scale land acquisition in Kenya. This article analyzes Mozambique’s neglected nationalists in exile. This article examines economic performance, gender and social networks in West African food systems. A new article estimates that an estimated 62% of Africa's borders were determined by pre-colonial borders or frontiers between African kingdoms. Check out all that GLD did last year in its Annual Report 2023.

Scott Straus and Aili Tripp edit this excellent volume in honor of Crawford Young: The State, Ethnicity, and Gender in Africa. Check it out: Aiding Empowerment: Democracy Promotion and Gender Equality in Politics. This looks good: Sharad Chari’s Apartheid Remains. Sidney Tarrow and Whitney Taylor’s Elements is out: Law, Mobilization, and Social Movements. Corruption Proofing in Africa looks good. I look forward to reading Benjamin Bradlow’s Urban Power: Democracy and Inequality in São Paulo and Johannesburg. Out of Place: Fieldwork and Positionality in Law and Society is open access. Charles Thomas’ Ujamaa’s Army: The Creation and Evolution of the Tanzania People’s Defense Force, 1964-1979 looks good.

The week in development

An economic crisis contributes to the rise of food looting in Nigeria. Beer prices keep rising in Nigeria. Africans fill the need for care workers in the UK. This is why African startups do not always need to expand across the continent. Learn more about cancer innovation that is shaped by Africa but for the world. Cote d’Ivoire has a solid credit profile. Damage to an undersea cable is causing Internet outages across the continent. This report examines the relationship between roadblocks and artisanal mining in DR Congo. Gulf countries are major players in Africa. Saudi Arabia bets on African minerals.

Ken Opalo is right: Academic research and policy research are two different things. He also breaks down the Bridge Academies scandal. His Substack is a must read.

Africa and the environment

East Africa prepares for more rainfall during the short rainy season. Young Cameroonians are mobilizing for climate change action. Floods in Libya show that disaster recovery must extend beyond immediate relief. This is what climate change means for South Africa and its people. This article estimates the cost of African drought. Drought-hit Morocco is closing its famous baths 3 days each week. A new film warns of the dangers of microplastics.

Daily life

Congrats to 2024 Holberg Prize Winner Achille Mbembe. A Burundian basketball team withdrew from the Basketball Africa League after refusing to ear jerseys with the “Visit Rwanda” logo. Bobi Wine brings the glamor to the Oscars.

Will Africans see themselves in the future?

All the best,

Jeff and Phil