Five Trends that will Shape Urban Africa in 2026. Here is the week in Africa:
Quote of the week
“I think I’ve been living in a cave for a long time. I’ve become a cave man.” – Joseph Kabila
Impact of the Iran War
African countries are confronting the challenges from the war in the Middle East. It directly impacts Egypt. William Ruto explains how Kenya will cushion itself from the conflict. The fuel price shock is catching up with African nations. Jonathan Silver explains how it has turned into an infrastructure war. African farmers face a deepening crisis.
Violence in the DR Congo
Judi Revers examines Rwanda’s thirty-year assault on the DR Congo. Human Rights Watch investigates the M23’s occupation of Ulvira in the east. Meanwhile, M23 appears to be pulling back from North Kivu. Why is there no peace in the DRC?
Sudan’s civil war
Drone warfare intensifies in Sudan’s Kordofan. Chad risks greater instability from engagement in Sudan’s conflict. The Nuba Mountains alliance threatens to upend the war. The Nordic Africa Institute proposed three scenarios for Sudan. Gulf engagement in Sudan endures even as war escalates. Eglal Hamid examines civilian life, collaboration, and the law in Sudan. Who are Sudan’s Islamists?
Governing Somalia
Somalia’s government topples a regional leader, escalating an electoral dispute. Ethiopia risks losing a foothold in Somalia. Check out the Somali Archive.
Struggle for rights and freedom
A Palm Sunday attack in Nigeria kills at least 12 people. This is how to halt South Sudan’s slide back into war. Rama Salla Dieng explains how bodies are under surveillance in Senegal’s governance crisis. Joseph Kabila is now a hunted man. Financial cuts are affecting peacekeeping realities. Claire Adida discusses immigration and kindness in this talk. Kabiri Bule explains the future of labor migration governance in South Africa.
Challenges of democratization
Danielle Resnick and Landry Signé provide insights from five case studies to strengthen democracy. Marie-Eve Desrosiers and Nic Cheeseman explain the rise of authoritarian middle powers. Kristof Titeca argues that Bobi Wine’s decision to flee Uganda points to the shrinking of political space in the country. Jeffrey Smith provides some reflections from the frontlines.
African international relations
Phase:shift’s post on resources, power, and war is a must read. This is how “defending African values” masks a new colonization. Learn more about the UAE’s quiet empire. An external system manages the Horn of Africa, but it is changing. Benjamin Fogel examines mercenaries and warfare in a box. On Trump’s short-sighted Africa strategy.
The demise of conflict studies?
Africa’s rapid urbanization
Abiy’s vision of Addis.
China is helping build Africa’s cities but its approach sidelines local urban planners and residents (read alongside my article “How is China impacting African cities?”). Economic policy in South Africa neglects informal traders. This article examines Ghana in the age of cities. This is how Kigali became a city that works. An interesting new approach to mapping slums. Abhas Jha explains what thirty years in four cities taught him about master plans.
This is cool: “Claiming space: Whose say is it on Nairobi’s green public spaces.” Worlding informality. These are some practical actions to integrate informal waste workers into municipal waste management systems. 70 percent of downtown housing in Cape Town is for tourists, and residents are not happy about it. Kurtis Lockhart joins Oliver Haney’s Ideas in Development podcast for a series on Africa’s urban future. What is the Just City in Africa? Who is listening to the informal economy?
Research corner
Make sure to check out Martha Wilfahrt’s article on rethinking political centralization and its legacies. This is a really interesting forum on bridging the gap between policymakers and academics in Africa. Learn about an Acholi intellectual and the production of knowledge. Get your round-up of papers at the Centre for the Study of African Economies Conference. This article listens to children in trouble with the law in Zambia. Forced migrant arrivals can reduce political trust in African host communities. Tim Glawion and Marius Crépin Mouguia examine disconnected development in the Central African Republic.
The latest issue of the Journal of Eastern African Studies. The Routledge Handbook of Social Cohesion in Africa is out. Take a look at Fragile Aid: Development Cooperation in Weak States and Conflict Contexts and How States Respond to Crisis: Pandemic Governance across the Global South. Tara Annie Kurian’s Silent Cuts: The World Without USAID is out. Maria Repnikova’s Competing for Soft Power: China’s Image-Making in Africa is out soon. Check out the new book Urban Violence and Marginalised Communities.
The week in development
Africa is at the center of global supply chain realignment. A cocoa slump rattles Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. Ethiopia continues to explore joining the World Trade Organization. African banks’ revenues surpass $100 billion. Libya is in a fragile equilibrium between succession risk and energy stability. Ghana’s inflation slowed for the 15th straight month. The UK is cutting its aid budget to the lowest level in decades. Ethiopia’s dams present problems and opportunities. What is Africa’s comparative advantage? Why does cheaper cocoa bring relief to farmers?
Isaac Samuel on the gold trade and currency of medieval West Africa. Chris Ogunmodede lists the ten cliches in African governance discourse that need to die.
And move over Denmark: D.S. Battistoli calls for Africa to be Africa again.
Critical minerals
Issa Souare argues that Africa’s critical minerals boom needs democratic guardrails. Check out this multi-framework approach to critical minerals.
Africa and the environment
Ethiopia and Rwanda pull ahead of Kenya on electric vehicle race. Solar can power Africa’s e-motorbike future. Planetary and its uses. Check out “Worldmaking the Global Climate Order.” Climate change is disrupting Africa’s food systems.
Holding space for eco-anxiety.
Politics of infrastructure and the built environment
We are seeking submissions for an APSA pre-conference short course on comparative urban politics under the theme “Politics of Infrastructure and the Built Environment.” The workshop will be held on September 2nd, 2026 from 9:00am–4:00pm on MIT’s campus. We welcome papers across the following themes: Infrastructure as distributional politics; Built environment as political structure; Contestation, displacement, and claim-making, and; Implementation, maintenance, and urban governance. The full call for papers is here. If you are interested in participating, please apply here by May 15, 2026.
Daily life
Audu with the big belly and altering Nigerian history. Check out the film Legacy: Apartheid’s Shadow. The exemplary life of Biodun Jeyifo. Ballet in Nigeria.
Fare thee well, Ebo Taylor.
All the best,
Jeff and Phil