This Week in Africa
Discover more from This Week in Africa
Join us at next year’s GLD Conference (it really is the best). Here is the week in Africa:
Quote of the week
“No man can serve two masters.” - Prof H.K Prempeh on conflicts of interest.
Kenya’s electoral petition
Was Kenya’s presidential election free and fair? Nic Cheeseman explains the court petition. Courts play an important role in Kenya’s electoral politics. The court upheld the results of the election, paving the way for William Ruto to take over the presidency. His supporters are happy, as Raila failed again. Meet the new power brokers at the State House. The country shows its democratic resilience, but reforms are needed. There is still a long way to go. Will the legislature protect reproductive rights? Will women’s rights be secure? What comes next?
Return to war in Tigray
New fighting spark fears of a return to war in Tigray, Ethiopia. Tension in Mekelle is high. This is why there is renewed fighting in the region. Asmelash Yohannes Teklu explains what happened when he exposed the Axum massacre. There is also violence in Gambella Region.
Zambia and the IMF
Zambia has struck a deal with the IMF, and Grieve Chelwa cries for his beloved country. It could signal what is next to come in other African countries. This is a good post of what restructuring could look like in Ghana.
Struggle for rights and freedom
Bobi Wine is a global superstar. Mark Wentling takes a “clear-eyed look at Africa.” These are the big problems the MPLA needs to address as it begins a new term in Angola. The opposition called for an annulment of the polls. Macron is trying to repair the colonial past while maintaining a firm grip. Somalia’s new president sours relations with Ethiopia. The Tanzanian census process is problematic. Colonialism, reloaded in Namibia. Howard French responds to the “James Sweet essay.” Mozambique struggles to contain violence in its northern regions. Will Colombia’s new government build stronger ties with Africa? Why #RedMonday? #WeBeCitizens.
Challenges of democratization
The world has become less democratic. This is how to enhance inclusive political development and representation in Africa. Nigeria needs a labor party (don’t we all). Larry Diamond claims: All democracy is global. Michelle Obama preaches: “It’s not about blood or pedigree or wealth, it’s a place where everyone should have a fair shot.
Africa’s rapid urbanization
Check out the new report “Accelerating Urban Inclusion for a Just Recovery.” I’m looking forward to Marco Di Nunzio’s future book. South Africa’s towns struggle to collect the debts they are owed. This is cool: the family photo studio in Jamestown, Accra that tells the story of Ghana’s transition from colonial rule to independence. I can’t wait to read Enclaves of Exception: Special Economic Zones and Extractive Practices in Nigeria. This sounds fascinating: “When the legal pathways for sound financial management and spatial justice collide: The case of South African cities.” Learn more about mobility in Africa’s urban growth.
This is when resettlement works—and when it doesn’t. Kampalans lose 52 days to traffic jams every year. These are some interesting findings on flood risks and poverty in Dar and Accra. Heavy rain brings gridlock and poverty to West Africa. Riding Dakar’s train for the first time. Toilets! Nairobi trash! Algiers!
Check out E+U’s book notes, and the Urban Living Lab Center.
Research corner
This looks interesting: White Saviorism and Popular Culture: Imagined Africa as a Space for American Salvation. Check out The Politics of Immigration Beyond Liberal States: Morocco and Tunisia in Comparative Perspective. Shobana Shankar’s An Uneasy Embrace: Africa, India and the Spectre of Race is out soon. Kwame Edwin Otu’s Amphibious Subjects: Sasso and the Contested Politics of Queer Self-Making in Neoliberal Ghana looks excellent. Check out René and Postcolonial Seychelles: An African Chameleon in the Indian Ocean. Read these three books on Kenya. This will be good: Elliott Green’s Industrialization and Assimilation: Understanding Ethnic Change in the Modern World. A thread on critical junctures.
The all-star team of Kristen Kao, Ellen Lust, and Lise Rakner have a cool new article: “Vote-buying, anti-corruption campaigns, and identity in African elections.” This article examines petroleum governance in Ghana. Learn more about the failed south-south investment in Guinea. On the political economy of populism.
APCG Online Colloquium
Today’s APCG Online Colloquium features Tracey Muradzikwa, whose study draws on the landmark succession of Chief Sinqobile Mabhena of Nswazi in Umzingwane district, Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. It provides an exploration of female public leadership and ways of negotiating patriarchy from an African context. Join us!
APSA annual meeting
Please join us next week in Montreal on Wednesday, September 14 from 9am-4 pm for our APSA short course “Political Mobilization in 21st Century Cities: Resistance, Reform, Renewal.” The course is sponsored by the Comparative Urban Politics Related Group and the Urban and Local Politics section. We feature a combination of research talks, lightning talks, and book talks. Check out the line-up here.
And of course the APCG Social on Friday, 9/16, 7PM at Les Soeurs Grises (32 McGill Street), and the APCG Business Meeting on Saturday, 9/17, from 12-1:30 PM.
The week in development
Africa’s path out of poverty proves elusive. The future of the Internet is in Nigeria. Google funds startups in Africa. Listen to this podcast on the rise of China in the Global South. Russia has made inroads to Africa. Zambia’s Kwacha is the best performing world currency against the dollar. Check out this interesting thread on challenges to economic transformation. This podcast explores three stories from women who made it in male-dominated industries. In the Gold Mines. ID Insight has done a lot in ten years. The World Bank must protect human rights in its digital ID systems. We need to bridge science and policy. Oxford’s malaria jab provides sustained protection in children.
Does aid create more problems than it solves? Will China’s debt cancellation make a difference? Do Kenya’s shiny new health machines matter?
This is cool: The Open Infrastructure Map. And so is this: A snapshot of Africa’s billionaires, mapped.
Africa and the environment
Famine is at Somalia’s door. Landslides kill at least 15 people in Uganda. Climate change is forcing Zimbabwe to move thousands of animals in the wild. Rich countries pledge more funds as Africa’s climate warms.
Daily life
Check out this British-Ghanaian gaming collective. This is how West African cuisines developed over centuries. The NBA is in Africa, but developing talent will take a while. Let them eat bugs. Gyakie is a global star. The deities, belief systems, and legends of Africa. Electric cars + load shedding in South Africa. Recaption Congo.
Queen Elizabeth dies
RIP Queen Elizabeth, an enduring emblem of the waning British Empire. What is her legacy in Africa? She had a “longstanding relationship” with the continent.
All the best,
Jeff and Phil