This Week in Africa
September 13, 2024
I had a great time participating in this webinar on DIY urbanism. Stay tuned for the recording, and check out the open-access book! Here is the week in Africa:
Quote of the week
“Every generation has a stylist who becomes a catalyst and sets a new tone for fashion image-making. Like Virgil, he is a natural delegator and connector, someone who radiates positive energy.” -- Jefferson Hack on Ibrahim Kamara, who took over Off-White after Virgil Abloh’s unexpected death
Floods in Maiduguri
Dozens of people are dead and missing in floods in Maiduguri, Nigeria. This article explains what it is like living through the collapse of the dam that caused the flooding. More than one million people are affected.
War in Sudan
The RSF is leaving no war crime untried in Sudan. This is an important report investigating where the RSF and Sudanese security forces get their weapons. More than 20 people are killed in an attack at a crowded market in Sudan.
China and Africa
What is the next phase of China-Africa relations? Lina Benabdallah outlines China’s role in the critical minerals landscape. Young Africans continue to see China as an important international player in their countries.
Struggle for rights and freedom
Attacks against civil society members and journalists are on the rise in the lead up to Mozambican elections in October. Dozens die in a shipwreck off of Senegal. Learn more about humanitarian aid delivery in South Sudan. Bad governments – not bad economies – put people off democracy. Alex Thurston provides these brief thoughts on Algeria’s recent election.
I love MIASA’s new website!
Africa’s rapid urbanization
Michele Lancione and AbdouMaliq Simone published “Dispossessed exposures. Housing and regimes of the visible.” This article examines emergent infrastructures of value creation in African cities. Learn more about urbanization, rentier capitalism, and the politics of inequality in Kenya. This article explores how municipalities can be drivers of trust in Ghana.
We all need to be reading Noah Nathan’s new research on the architecture of urban space in Africa. Begin with his article “Do grids demobilize? How street networks, social networks, and political networks intersect,” with evidence from Ghana.
Research corner
This symposium discusses the life and legacy of Kenneth Kaunda. Check out this neat article in American Economic Review: “The Real State: Inside the Congo’s Traffic Police Agency.” Make sure to read Shelley Liu’s great article about coercive political control in Zimbabwe. Alex Dyzenhaus explains the conditions under which lands transfer under land redistribution. Learn more about communication, coordination, and surveillance in the shadow of repression.
This is going to be good: James Yékú’s Algorithmic Age of Personality: African Literature and Cancel Culture. Katharina Natter’s The Politics of Immigration beyond Liberal States: Morocco and Tunisia in Comparative Perspective looks great.
The week in development
Could AI be an opportunity for Africa? How good are Nigerian finance companies at gender diversity? What role does Toyota play in Africa’s postcolonial development?
This new dataset maps 30,000 road crashes in Nairobi using crowdsourced data. The extortion market costs South Africa billions of dollars. Public spending would outdo austerity in South Africa. This is why illegal mining persists in Ghana.
Africa and the environment
Climate change costs Africa up to 5% of GDP. A drought forces Kenya’s Maasai and other cattle herders to consider fish and camels. Mount Kilimanjaro’s ice cap shrinks to record low. Floods hit millions in west and central Africa. Zambia abandons planned electricity tariff increase after public outcry.
African Politics Conference Group
I am thrilled to see the new website of the African Politics Conference Group. And congrats to this year’s award winners!
Daily life
The fashion legacy of Virgil Abloh.
All the best,
Jeff and Phil