This Week in Africa
January 24, 2025
Quote of the week
“Today, Mogadishu is one of the fastest-growing urban centres in Africa, yet this growth comes at a significant cost. The lack of urban planning has resulted in an architectural landscape that often disregards the city’s history and climate. Traditional homes, once defined by shaded courtyards, wide balconies, and natural ventilation, have been replaced by high-rise buildings that are poorly adapted to the coastal environment.” – Omar Degan
Sudan’s civil war
This is how other countries are trying to gain from Sudan’s descent into war. The Crisis Group outlines pathways to peace.
Struggle for rights and freedom
M23 rebels strengthen their presence around Goma. These are five lessons to strengthen democratic resilience. This is how to hold peaceful elections in South Sudan. Two young Nigerians rebuild their lives after military detention. Ghana’s new president faces tough regional security challenges. A Nigerian gas tanker explosion kills dozens in Nigeria. What do Ghanaians say about military rule?
African international relations
Monde Muyangwa provides a way forward for USAID and Africa. Tinashe Sithole outlines an Africa without borders. The UN seeks $190 million in humanitarian assistance for the crisis in Nigeria’s northeast.
Africa’s rapid urbanization
I’ve been saying it for years: The growth of Africa’s small cities and towns is transforming the continent (PDF here). The world’s urban age has begun. Every major economy is running out of young workers – except Africa. Tatu City, a charter city outside Nairobi, offers a model for a new urban form. This article examines the new city boom in Nigeria. A deadly landslide of garbage exposes Kampala’s urban development challenges. How do urban Ghanaians share the cost of utilities?
I love hearing Omar Degan’s thoughts: “Mogadishu is losing its aesthetic identity.”
Research corner
Check out Lina Benabdallah’s chapter “Emotions and Solidarity in the Global South.” This article assesses public trust in Ghana’s courts. Lisa Mueller and Moumouni Goungoubane examine broker rhetoric and persuasion in clientelist systems. This article examines legalized resistance to autocratization in Common Law Africa. This experiment tests the effects of policy debates in Liberia. Sarah Balakrishnan has a great new article on the Taviefe Massacre of 1888 in colonial Gold Coast (check out her other work, too, which is awesome).
The week in development
Michael Albertus explains how societies reconcile with past land grabs. This article estimates the impact of crude oil spills on the mangrove ecosystem in the Niger Delta. Oliver Kim’s analysis is excellent: No, South Korea was not poorer than Kenya in 1960. DR Congo seeks Saudi investment to counter China’s mining influence.
Africa and the environment
Carbon offsets are endangering Kenyans.
Daily life
RIP Steven Erasmus, the jazz star who was the son of Table Mountain. Google’s new Nairobi office is pretty cool. Social satirist Alain Mabanckou is back with a new book. Ghanaian highlife pioneer Ebo Taylor finds a new voice. African publishing is having a renaissance. A star baseball player is born on the banks of Uganda’s Nile River basin.
All the best,
Jeff and Phil