This Week in Africa
Quote of the week
“To the young people of Mogadishu, live! And to young Somalis wherever they are across the globe, live.” – Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
Politics of Senegal
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye breaks with Ousmane Sonko to launch a new political party. Alex Thurston breaks down the new state of Senegalese politics.
Xenophobic violence in South Africa
Jean Pierre Misago explains the hidden violence behind South Africa’s “peaceful” anti-migrant protests. Hundreds of migrants lose their livelihoods after Joburg demolitions in Marble Towers. Ghana resumes citizen evacuations from South Africa amid xenophobic unrest. Luke Sinwell argues that anti-migrant rhetoric does not end at the protest.
Struggle for rights and freedom
Oh, boy: A US government map of Africa presented in Brazil mislabels every country .
Adversity has united the Zambian opposition three months before the election. Kjetil Tronvoll explains how Eritrea has taken the wrong turn at every juncture. Martin Plaut offers a new look at Ethiopia’s student revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Alex Thurston explains why Boko Haram is boring and deadly. Kamau Wairuri reflects on the financialization of politics in Africa. Isaac Samuel examines the African origins of abolition. The Continent goes inside Togo’s system of torture. Nigeria’s biggest military expansion is its biggest in years. D.S. Battistoli outlines the first steps on the road to African unity, with a view toward Brazzaville and Casablanca.
Searching for Sudan’s looted treasures. Pan-African dreams, post-colonial realities.
Africa’s rapid urbanization
Delivery platforms contribute to the surging number of traffic crashes in Lagos. Municipalities are the game changer for revenue generation. This post reports on cooling cities from the ground up in Kenya. Get ready for Ethiopia’s glitzy new airport. Atitso Akpalu explains why Accra still floods. Accra begins demolishing illegal structures along water ways. Check out this critical review of gentrification in African cities. Faisal Ali explains how Mogadishu is a city rising from the ashes. Binyam Reja rides Nairobi’s commuter railway with an eye toward opportunities. Abhas Jha poses an intriguing question: How much is urban land actually worth?
Hakeem Bishi asks: Is Lagos modernizing or erasing urban heritage?
Research corner
Jared C. Bly examines Losurdo, Sankara, and the idealism of practice. This is a cool article about the role of leadership in gender-inclusive surfing in Busua, Ghana. Luke Melchiorre and Moses Khisa examine the politics of presidential succession in Uganda. Make sure to read Prisca Jöst and Ellen Lust’s new article on encompassing authority in Zambia.
Mining and extraction
Africa can survive the global aid squeeze. Jonathan Silver maps the corridor geographies of the Belt and Road Initiative. Scholars worry that the AI boom will lead to private power islands inside public systems. Whose maps of Congo’s mineral deposits is right? What will the AI boom leave behind?
The week in development
Erick Mwale and Shevonne Henry argue that the informal sector is the new revolutionary class. Kush is devastating Sierra Leone and Liberia. Rachel Glennerster and Dean Karlan call for radical simplification in international development. The pathway to prosperity is getting harder for developing countries. Dangote has huge ambitions. This report outlines power, pipelines, and the African race for influence. A quarter of young Africans believe that the USAID cuts could be positive.
Tobi Lawson is right: poverty reduction will require something bigger than small grants. Evan Lieberman makes the case for rooibos tea and interdependence. This is how African countries can leverage sports for development and diplomacy. Ken Opalo reviews Pritish Behuria’s The Political Economy of Rwanda’s Rise. Behuria discusses his book in this podcast.
Can renewables industrialize Africa? Will the US-DR Congo strategic partnership agreement endanger US interests? Who pays when electricity fails in Chad?
Africa and the environment
This is how USAID cuts contributed to flooding in Kenya. Climate change is redrawing the malaria map in Africa. Africa’s energy problem is the scale, not the mix.
Why are Africa’s wildfires disappearing?
Daily life
Collecting the Ghana Asafo flag. Ifrah Ahmed celebrates Somali cuisine. Somalia races to save Radio Mogadishu’s fading archive. Omon Abule Sowo designs beautiful houses. This is how to explore Ghana in its entirety. This is how two stadium projects offer an entry point into Bantustan politics.
Zinedine Zidane, the new French football coach.
All the best,
Jeff and Phil