This Week in Africa

April 28, 2023

Check out our new GLD Policy Brief “Bridging the Gap Between Citizen Expectations and Lawmakers’ Performance” with evidence from Malawi. Here is the week in Africa:

Quote of the week

“We are doing all we can to make things easy. We reject this war.” – Sudan resistance committee member Tamer Ibrahim

Fighting in Sudan

Sudan continues to be ripped apart for political ambition. Despite a ceasefire that holds in parts of the country, fighting continues in other parts. Foreign countries angle for advantage. Residents in parts of Khartoum face an uneasy coexistence with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Hospitals are unable to admit patients. This is an interesting account of how the NY Times is covering the conflict. The BBC overviews the state of the war, and this is a nice summary of current dynamics.

Mai Hassan explains the origins of the conflict, as well as the competing security arrangements. Nesrine Malik traces its roots to the rebellion in Darfur 20 years ago. Douglas Johnson goes back even further, explaining that regional disparities in the Blue Nile, Nuba Mountains, and eastern Sudan have long been unresolved. Roman Deckert draws attention to the Cold War. Nanjala Nyabola emphasizes the role of European foreign policy. The US is also to blame. Willow Berridge discusses how al-Bashir’s regime paved the way for violence, while Tsega Etefa explains how the government created the threat that it is now fighting against. Azza Ahmed Abdel Aziz explains how Sudan has long been prey to multiple forms of violence directed by the security forces against diverse groups. The Daily provides this summary.

Meanwhile, grassroots resistance committees are mobilizing to help civilians. They set up networks of medics, nurses, and engineers to respond to needs of residents. A civilian front wants to restore democracy. A cartoonist draws to bring hope. The US should help civilians escape Sudan’s violence, and not only “cut and run.” US diplomats and others evacuated this week, while other ex-patriates are in disaster mode. The case of Sudanese passports that are stuck in Western Embassies exposes the enormous inequities. This discussion focuses on the role of international law in protecting civilians. The Crisis Group provides these thoughts on how to end the conflict. Analysts worry of a protracted war. Could the country be headed toward Libya-style partition? Shifting alliances add to the violence. There is evidence that Russia’s Wagner Group and Libyan Commander Haftar are supporting Hemedti and the RSF. One curious question remains: Where is former dictator Omar al-Bashir?

Valent Projects is monitoring social media. Follow these handles for updates on the conflict, and here are some fundraisers to help on the ground. And join this online discussion on Wednesday with an excellent group of experts.

Struggle for rights and freedom

Learn more about the Africa #Agenda2063. Burkina Faso’s army is accused of killing at least 150 people in Yatenga Province. South Africa’s ANC mulls leaving the ICC. Here are four things the West gets wrong about Africa. The withdrawal of M23 rebels from DR Congo is a chance to explore atrocities. Uganda’s refugee program is hit by fresh fraud concerns.

Challenges of democratization

South Africans are fed up with their prospects and their democracy. Erin Hern explains how people understand democracy differently depending on whether they live in center or periphery regions due to their proximity to infrastructure. Rwanda needs to make amends. Tunisia arrests its most prominent opposition leader. Political exclusion is threatening Kenya, again. Uganda’s political battlefield is on Twitter.

The state of democracy 2022: defiance in the face of autocratization.

Africa’s rapid urbanization

This piece offers a new placemaking agenda for African cities. This podcast episode takes on street vending in Kenya. This is cool: The complete history of Kano, 999-1903. Nairobi Becoming looks great.

Research corner

Sara Berry examines land claims and judicial practices in 20^th century Ghana. This is a fascinating article about militarized conservation and armed mobilization in the eastern DR Congo. Learn more about racialized fluidity and voting decisions in South Africa’s metropolitan municipalities. Vishal Sharma discusses the need to engage with African experiences in the UN sanctioning process. This article examines protestant legacies of gender equality in Africa. This article examines African middle classness, politics, and protest.

Aili Tripp explains the expansion of women’s rights in Africa. This article examines electoral violence in Cote d’Ivoire. Learn more about customary land institutions in Nigeria and hustler populism in Kenya’s 2022 election. Sten Hagberg analyzes mobile phones, social media, and popular struggle in Burkina Faso. This article discusses the social contract in Tunisia. I look forward to reading Leigh Gardner’s new book Sovereignty without Power: Liberia in the Age of Empires, 1822-1980 (summary thread here). And one of my favorite issues of the year: Current History’s Africa Issue.

The week in development

Why is Botswana rethinking its deal with De Beers? Is the World Bank really going green? Can market integration enhance security in the DR Congo? Why are Western powers scrambling to court Africa?

Nelson Oppong explains mining and the quagmire of job creation on the continent. Economic development is doing okay. Hope is on the horizon for a malaria-free Africa. Zimbabwe’s maize markets are a hidden web of activity. The new African millionaires. Community health workers are important to vaccination efforts in Uganda. The importance of land rights for the poor. This article examines the macroeconomics of pandemics around the world, while this piece recalibrates US economic engagement with Africa. Ryan Briggs discusses making every dollar count. Ken Opalo explains the high cost of low state (fiscal) capacity.

The long, slow death of global development.

Africa and the environment

Meet the climate hackers of Malawi. Farmworkers feel the heat as South African wine industry eyes climate change. The risk of extreme wildfires around Cape Town has nearly doubled. Learn more about environmental security and climate in DR Congo. This piece traces the anatomy of a multi-million dollar colonial carbon project in Kenya. Guinea is at the forefront of a mineral rush. These are seven inspiring reads for Earth Day. These are the eight countries most affected by climate change.

Aby Sene and J.T. Roane discuss radical environmentalism.

Daily life

Imagining the presidential library as “a collection of huts” in Liberia. Egyptians complain over Netflix depiction of Cleopatra as black. Nipah Dennis, on photography. A Spanish football team endures on a toehold in Africa. This is cool: The hard-fought journey from Burundi to an award-winning Detroit restaurant. And a Uganda dance troupe storms the world.

All the best,

Jeff and Phil