This Week in Africa

July 26, 2024

Quote of the week

“Every single one of the 60 plus people who has been killed during these protests in Kenya has been killed by the police.” – Nanjala Nyabola

Protests in Kenya

All the people who have died during the protests, were killed by police. Police brutality is real, as officers teargas and shoot at demonstrators. Daniel Arap Moi’s tactics won’t work today. Dannie Verity explains how Ruto united the youth – against him. This is why the IMF and the US are imposing austerity measures on the country. XN Iraki analyzes Ruto’s new cabinet. Samar Al-Bulushi outlines the global stakes of Kenya’s protests.

Democracy in Ghana

How is democracy faring in Ghana? These Afrobarometer democracy scorecards are cool. Ghana’s Supreme Court upholds a 1960 law criminalizing sodomy. Learn more about John Mahama’s running mate Naana Opoku-Agyemang.

Combatting extremism

Daniel Eizenga and Amandine Gnanguênon recalibrate coastal West Africa’s response to violent extremism. Burkina Faso struggles to preserve its culture in its fight against Islamic extremism. This piece breaks down Niger’s Koutoukalé prison break and growing levels of insecurity in post-coup Niger and IS’s longstanding interaction with prisons. The US plays a role in stabilizing the Horn of Africa. Check out Samar Al-Bulushi’s forthcoming book War-Making as Worldmaking: Kenya, the United States, and the War on Terror.

Rwanda’s “election”

Rwanda’s miracle of an election. Is the world finally growing weary of Kagame’s excesses? African elections show democracy should not be taken for granted.

Violence in DR Congo

Thousands of people have been killed and displaced close to Kinshasa in a communal conflict that is largely ignored. Rwandan soldiers might outnumber M23 rebels in DR Congo. Is anyone paying attention?

Struggle for rights and freedom

Marisa Lourenço explains the legal hurdles underlying Namibia’s forthcoming elections. Alex Thurston explains what political space exists in junta-led Bamako. Police arrest scores of anti-corruption protesters in Kampala. New evidence shows UAE’s involvement in Sudan’s civil war. Macky Sall’s last move gave amnesty to political rivals – and immunity to himself. This piece outlines the geopolitical history of Sudan. Did police in Kenya catch a serial killer or coerce a confession?

Africa’s rapid urbanization

The walkability of Accra. Flooding and slum demolitions preceded Kenya’s mass protests. This is a cool article about the different morphological types of cities across the globe. Urban greening will help build climate resilience in Africa. This piece explains David Adjaye and the afterlives of Accra. Learn more about housing in African cities. How do people tell stories of themselves in Goma, DR Congo?

The expansion of railways across southern Africa. From urban bonds to continental ties. Africa is amidst a surprising new age of rail.

Research corner

Miles Tendi’s The Overthrow of Robert Mugabe: Gender, Coups, and Diplomats is out soon. This looks cool: Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin. Check out Kathleen Sheldon’s memoir The Mackerel Years: A Memoir of War, Hunger, and Women’s History in 1980s Mozambique. Zanzibar Was a Country: Exile and Citizenship between East Africa and the Gulf looks great. This book explores land tenure reform in sub-Saharan Africa. Genocide in Namibia is examined here.

This article examines musical activity, show business and post-colonial politics in socialist Maputo. Learn more about competitive authoritarianism, incumbent defeat, and electoral trust in Zambia’s 2021 election. This working paper presents results from a campaign against vote buying experiment in Uganda. This article examines weak party system institutionalization and autocratization in Tunisia.

Traditional authority, democracy and protected areas are examined here. Christoph Vogel and Josaphat Musamba explain how information warfare expands through social media in the DR Congo (summary thread here). This article examines vulnerability to climate change and communal conflict in Asia and Africa. What happens when voters emigrate, and others die? What can college dorms in Uganda teach us about culture? George Ofosu asks (and answers): What do voters want from their legislators in Ghana?

China and Africa

This special issue blog presents counter-hegemonic perspectives on the relationship between China and Africa. Elizabeth Schmidt corrects the record on China’s relationship to the continent. China’s direct investment in Kenya drops sharply.

The week in development

Check out the key findings from the 2024 UN World population prospects. Free trade expands across 14 countries in east, central and southern Africa. Nigerians are bringing their DIY creativity to confront the food crisis. Dangote’s standoff with Nigeria threatens investments. Botswana is opening mining stakes to citizens. Discussions continue over Dan Gertler’s mining royalties. Ethiopians are struggling to keep up with the new “EV or nothing” policy. Nigeria ramps up food imports and cuts tariffs to calm inflation.

Did Warren Buffett just make a massive mistake? How will leaving ECOWAS affect Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso’s economies? Are customary institutions important?

Africa and the environment

Two landslides kill 229 people in Ethiopia. It is the hottest time on earth. Climate change imperils drought-stricken Morocco’s cereal farmers and its food supply. South Africa passes its first sweeping climate change law. A land dispute threatens to derail Namibia's energy hub plans. Zimbabwe joins UN water convention. Africa’s demand for cooling is expanding. Liberia contemplates moving capital after disastrous flooding. Climate change threatens age-old Mauritania date harvest.

Urban Politics in the Global South

We are pleased to announce a call for papers for the 2024 Urban Politics in the Global South conference on November 14-15, 2024. The conference will be fully virtual. This third annual conference brings together the growing community of social scientists conducting research on urban politics in low- and middle-income countries in different world regions. We seek to facilitate exchange among scholars within political science, related disciplines, and practitioners. Submit here.

Daily life

Remembering Nicolas van de Walle. Kora player and composer Toumani Diabaté died this week. A funeral for justice. Tankers of death. Euro 2024 was a metaphor for Europe’s dysfunctional relationship with Africa. São Tomé and Príncipe is surging the tourism industry with new easy 15 days visa-free travel policy. The Danfo’s last bus stop. Eritrean bicyclist Biniam Girmay!

RIP James Scott. He wrote a lot of great books. Read his intellectual diary here, and watch his oral history here.

All the best,

Jeff and Phil