QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Would you want a photographer there, clicking away, on the worst day of your life?”
–Teju Cole on documenting suffering
Greetings,
Ready for the Monkey Cage’s African Politics reading spectacular? Here is the week in Africa:
Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis
Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis is deepening. Dozens of people were killed in the Anglophone region after seven activists were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Many of the people killed were youth. The conflict is also fueling a migration crisis.
Ethiopia’s new dawn?
A leading opposition figure, along with 575 other activists, were pardoned in Ethiopia. This is a good analysis of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali’s first two months in office.
Rwanda’s sponsorship of Arsenal
Rwanda has sponsored the English football club Arsenal. Filip Reyntjens provides his take on the deal. The country still receives significant foreign aid from the United Kingdom. Rwanda has defended its decision. The sponsorship brings up a lot of important questions about North-South relations.
Political stalemates across the continent
This is a good explainer on Madagascar’s latest political crisis. Reconciliation in Togo is elusive. Politics and oil are the unseen drivers of the violence in Congo’s Ituri province. South Africa could help resolve the political deadlock in Burundi. This is an interesting study on political practice and democratic culture in Burkina Faso. At least ten people are beheaded in a terror attack in Mozambique. Is there an extremist threat in the country? Could sanctions work in South Sudan?
Struggle for rights and freedom
Making decisions the right way in Northern Uganda legitimizes public authority. 49 people died after a boat capsized on the Congo River. Check out this important piece about the challenges of governance and development in Central African Republic. West African migrants arrive in Brazil after weeks adrift at sea. Burkina Faso has cut ties with Taiwan because “we have to reconsider our position due to socio-economic challenges.” America is still fighting a war on marijuana—in the Congo. Kenya has a long dark and white side of conservation. The US has rejected calls for UN support of Sahel force. A landslide kills 23 people in Ethiopia.
And Tanzania keeps cracking down.
Ebola outbreak in the Congo
Congo’s Ebola outbreak can probably be contained. The country has received the first batch of the Ebola vaccine. Yet the challenges facing the country are many, and the response sows confusion. The vaccine might not be the game changer that we expect. One more person has died from the disease.
Research corner
Make sure to get your copy of the new book African Foreign Policies in International Institutions. Check out the latest human capital research. Read this new article on the geography of development. What is the latest systems research on the quality of governance? I look forward to reading the book Little Mogadishu. Get your copy of Human Rights in Africa by Bonny Ibhawoh (and join the Democracy in Africa book club!) Willa Friedman’s study examines the impact of corruption on AIDS deaths in Kenya. Read this new paper on urban informality and vulnerability in Kampala. Check out this new book on secessionism in Africa. Get your copy of Transforming Sudan now.
This is an important article about the human right of water in Accra and Cape Town. Gender quotas in community management committees do not empower women in rural DR Congo (Alice Evans is not surprised). The gender of traditional leaders does matter in influencing gender policy in Malawi. Can new institutions improve judicial decisions in Senegal? Check out Joeva Rock’s new article that engages with biotechnology debates in Ghana.
The week in development
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s new book Fighting Corruption is Dangerous looks like a must read. She has a lot to say about constructing budgets and managing the economy. Taxation often exacerbates poverty in poor countries. Tax evasion in Africa is a major problem. Uber’s biggest competitor in Africa is a billion-dollar unicorn. Africa’s hotel market is booming, but only in a small number of markets. Netflix is getting serious about Africa.
Dwindling farmland sparks a deadly conflict in Northern Nigeria. How did Fulani herdsmen become such bogeymen in the country? Uganda has a liberal but unfair economy. Listen to this interesting interview with Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Policymakers have a lot to learn from slum dwellers.
The OECD has released over 400 maps of the Sahel and West Africa.
Daily life
I want one of these Nigerian football jerseys. Senegal’s biennial art exhibition looks awesome. Ever wonder where the top five prayer camps in Ghana are? Ghana’s anti-trash rappers are pretty cool. Read about the problems of pre-school in Ghana. Can the “African narrative” be changed through social media platforms? I look forward to watching the film “This is Congo.”
All the best,
Jeff and Phil
|
