This Week in Africa
June 16, 2023
Check out these 30 best Africa news podcasts. Here is the week in Africa:
Quote of the week
“We felt suffocated in our own home. We were too terrified to leave the house and we also felt a bit defeated.” – Reem Abbas on the cost of Sudan’s war
Sudan’s civil war
Fighting continued in Khartoum 24 hours after the truce expired, as the two sides are far from a political settlement. Cities in Sudan’s west are under fire as war spreads. The killing of a Governor in Darfur intensifies the fighting. Learn about the bridge to Ethiopia that is carrying Sudanese refugees to safety. The refugee camps in South Sudan are snake-infested and inhumane. The conflict is an existential crisis for refugee protection. Small startups are helping people find money, food and to flee during war. The war is not only threatening its future, but destroying Sudan’s past. Reem Abbas outlines the personal costs of war.
Politics in Senegal
Protesters and security agents clashed in Senegal’s capital this week, with at least 16 people killed. One man was shot in the back by a live round. Supporters of Ousmane Sonko demand his release and worry of president Macky Sall’s move towards running for a third term. Most Senegalese are not in favor of the term extension. Senegal’s democracy is under threat as the government shut down the Internet. The struggle for a democratic future is on. Senegal has long stayed free of large-scale Jihadi violence, but political challenges bring up new questions of whether the country can weather the storm. This is a powerful feminist reaction to the contention.
LGBTQ+ rights
Where is the accountability for queer rights violations in Africa? This is the role TikTok plays in spreading anti-gay hate.
Africa’s upcoming elections
Sierra Leone faces election credibility crossroads ahead of June 2023 polls. Here is what you need to know about forthcoming elections in Zimbabwe. Zambia’s president has a desperate plan to stay in power. Martin Fayulu claims that DR Congo is heading toward another sham election.
African international relations
This piece analyzes the the postcoloniality of Europe’s internal security industry in Africa. Kevin Okoth reviews books about the Cold War in Africa. M23 rebels wreak havoc in the DR Congo. McKinsey charged over role in South Africa’s “state capture” scandal. Belgium’s Africa museum rethinks its role with the DR Congo. Listen to Senior Director for African Affairs at the US National Security Council discuss US foreign policy toward Africa.
This is cool: archiving pan-Africanism.
Struggle for rights and freedom
Is Christian nationalism a threat to democracy in Africa? Guinea and donors should find way to resume stadium massacre trial. This piece discusses the situation facing Oromos in Ethiopia. eSwatini’s King Mswati is no longer delivering stability. Members of a cult in Kenya face charges for attempted suicide. At least 103 people are killed in a boating accident in Nigeria. Nigeria threatened to shut down Twitter. 130 migrants evacuated from Libya arrive in Rwanda. How is this normalized?
Africa’s rapid urbanization
This article examines urban way of life as survival. The world’s slum population is set to surge as housing crisis continues. This article outlines the prospects for user-owned urban water utilities in Kenya. This review essay provides an overview of the transport-translocality nexus. Nigeria’s happy city is on the verge of being swallowed by the sea. A Nairobi exodus. New possibilities!
Make sure to check out Jessica Kritz’ 2nd edition of Redefining Development: Resolving Complex Challenges in a Global Context. Henrik Maihack’s Contested Urban Citizenship in Kenya is out. Check out this new book on informal settlements in the Global South.
Research corner
Check out the excellent new GLD Working Paper by Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay and Elliott Green “Explaining Ethno-Regional Favouritism in Sub-Saharan Africa” (summary thread here). Drawing on evidence from Sudan, Mai Hassan explains why social movements must innovate. Learn more about the South African tradition of racial capitalism. This article historicizes sexual violence in the Congo. Andreas Schedler rethinks political polarization.
This article finds that obesity is a reliable signal of wealth in Kampala, Uganda, and obese individuals gain higher access to credit. Justine Davis and Martha Wilfahrt analyze enumerator experiences in violent research environments. Annekatrin Deglow and Hanna Fjelde assess violent elections and citizens’ support for democratic constraints, with evidence from Nigeria. Why do Africans migrate? Does regionalism increase industrial policy space?
The week in development
This is a cool piece on artisanal mining and youth employment in Zimbabwe. Demand for chocolate is a leading cause of illegal deforestation in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. Ethiopian Airlines eyes significant fleet expansion. African countries seek an end to the Ukraine conflict to lower food prices. Read this review of William Ruto’s first budget. This new report centers human capital as central to economic development in the Gambia. Nigeria’s new president is thrilling investors. Economists love immigration but why do so many Americans hate it? How do countries like Ghana get into currency crises? What do we know about Africa’s middle class?
Africa and the environment
How should we teach climate change in schools? Small farmers are bringing back trees. Meet the eco-warriors of Africa. Learn more about groundwater’s critical role in a changing climate. AI, Africa, and the climate crisis at the Art Basel fair. Climate change might spark new demand for the chikungunya vaccine. Battle lines harden over Big Oil’s role at climate talks in Dubai. This conservation tactic threatens rhinos’ social networks. A clinic for South African penguins!
And this is how Kenya could take the lead in carbon removal.
Daily life
Kenyan runner and record holder Faith Kipyegon will buy her dad a car. Peace Medie’s Nightbloom tells the story of two divergent childhoods in Ghana, united by the same debt. Read an excerpt of the book here. Three days with Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. Nigerian photographers at MoMa: A landscape of organized chaos. Fulani cuisine in Berlin!
All the best,
Jeff and Phil