Politics – Views & Research

A woman in a crowd holding up a cardboard placard written 'Coloured Lives Matter'

Gauteng’s ‘Coloured’ community feels unsafe: who they are and why they’re discouraged

Rashid Seedat, Gauteng City-Region Observatory

Ethiopia has struggled to build national unity: can its big new dam deliver it?

Namhla Thando Matshanda, University of Pretoria

A line of smiling women and men dressed in white and holding small flags with green, yellow and red stripes

South Africans who blow the whistle face retaliation and murder: their stories over five decades

Ugljesa Radulovic, University of Johannesburg and Tina Uys, University of Johannesburg

Tanzania’s Samia Hassan has ushered in a new era of authoritarianism: here’s how

Dan Paget, University of Sussex

A woman speaking into a microphone placed on a podium written Embassy of the United States of America

Boko Haram on the rise again in Nigeria: how it’s survived and how to weaken it

Saheed Babajide Owonikoko, Modibbo Adama University of Technology

Soldiers in camouflage uniform standing around a burnt vehicle

A densely populated area of tin one roomed shacks built very close together

South Africans are going off the service grid: what happens when citizens replace the state?

Christina Culwick Fatti, University of the Western Cape; Charlotte Lemanski, University of Cambridge; Fiona Anciano, University of the Western Cape, and Margot Rubin, Cardiff University

Edson Sithole: new book uncovers the work of a thinker, lawyer and Zimbabwean freedom fighter who ‘disappeared’

Brooks Marmon, University of Pretoria

Tanzania’s ruling party has crushed the opposition – the elections are a mere formality

Nicodemus Minde, United States International University

An election official arranges ballot boxes as a queue of voters forms behind her.

Helen Zille: will competence, courage and a dose of arrogance be enough to get her elected as Johannesburg’s mayor?

Roger Southall, University of the Witwatersrand

Nigeria at 65: a long road to economic freedom

Wale Fatade, The Conversation

One in two Nigerians live in poverty: why relief programmes have failed

Moyosoluwa Dele-Dada, Covenant University

A group of people sitting at a roadside with piles of tomatoes on plates

A seated man with his hands out as another in army fatigues leans over him to unbutton his jacket

South Sudan is unstable: how a weak state benefits the ruling elite

Steven C. Roach, University of South Florida

Tanzania’s social media clampdown and the elections – what’s at risk

Leah Mwainyekule, University of Westminster

Two women carrying a sack of food between them while walking towards a larger group of women doing the same thing in a dry, arid area

Economic sanctions need a rethink: evidence shows they raise food prices and hurt the poor most

Sylvanus Kwaku Afesorgbor, University of Guelph

South African men may now take their wife’s surname – why traditional leaders are upset

Anthony Diala, University of the Western Cape

A colourful image of men and women in traditional attire.

Ethiopia’s two bids at democracy have failed: what it will take to succeed

Terefe Gebreyesus, Griffith University

A group of people standing in front of a building, hands raised and waving flags with green, yellow and red stripes

Malawi can end hunger after the 2025 elections if bold steps are taken to transform food systems

Joachim De Weerdt, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ; Gowokani Chijere Chirwa, University of Malawi; Jan Duchoslav, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ; Joseph Nagoli, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) , and Lara Cockx, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

A graphic showing the flag of Malawi with four square wooden blocks underneath spelling out 2025

A group of people standing in front of a table with empty plates of food.

Uganda has signed a deal with the US to take asylum seekers – what’s behind it and what’s at stake

Franzisca Zanker, Arnold Bergstraesser Institute and Ronald Kalyango Sebba, Kyambogo University

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In the news

A man places a piece of paper in a plastic container

2027 Nigerian poll could trigger unrest unless electoral commission is fixed

Dr Onyedikachi Madueke, University of Aberdeen

Kenya has moved people out of the country illegally: what the law says about extraordinary rendition

Oscar Gakuo Mwangi, University of Rwanda

A smiling man holds up two fingers in a wave while surrounded by military men in red caps and military fatigues

Joseph Kabila is on trial for treason in the DRC. What the case against the former president is all about

Jonathan Beloff, King's College London

A man speaking while seated in an armchair, with lush greenery behind him.

Succès Masra: how Chad’s opposition firebrand came to be sentenced to 20 years in prison

Bourdjolbo Tchoudiba, Université Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne (UPEC)

The international order is shifting: African countries have an opportunity to reshape global power relations

Carlos Lopes, University of Cape Town

A purple and blue hand holding the globe with Africa highlighted and lit up

Peace + Security

Ansaru terror leaders’ arrest is a strategic change for Nigeria: what could happen next

Saheed Babajide Owonikoko, Modibbo Adama University of Technology

Men in military fatigue seating on the back of gun trucks

Nigeria’s use of soldiers for civilian tasks comes with serious costs – how to prevent this

Sallek Yaks Musa, University of Northampton

A man in army uniform pointing an infrared thermometer at another man

DRC’s latest peace deal is breaking down and it isn’t the first – what’s being done wrong

Kristof Titeca, University of Antwerp

Three armed men in army fatigues standing in the foreground on a field with green turf, with a group of people seated on raised platform seats behind them

Turkey is stepping up its influence in west Africa – what’s behind its bid for soft power

Issouf Binaté, Université Alassane Ouattara de Bouaké

A group of men and women in a meeting room

Paul Biya at 92: will defections weaken his grip on absolute power in Cameroon?

David E Kiwuwa, University of Nottingham

Should African countries lower the voting age to 16? Views from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria

Amanuel Tesfaye, University of Helsinki; Clement Sefa-Nyarko, King's College London; John Mukum Mbaku, Weber State University, and Olawale Bestoyin Kareem, University of Lagos

Young people in white T-shirts standing and holding up black, white, red and green flags

Cameroon’s election risks instability, no matter who wins

Manu Lekunze, University of Aberdeen

A man wearing grey suits casting his vote

Mozambique after 50 years of independence: what’s there to celebrate?

Luca Bussotti, Universidade Técnica de Moçambique (UDM)

A man holds a banner that says "povo no poder"

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Human rights

A boy carrying a large bag in one hand and a packed backpack walking into the doorway of a train with a white exterior.

Refugee protection in Egypt: what’s behind the return train to Sudan

Dina Wahba, University of Freiburg and Franzisca Zanker, Arnold Bergstraesser Institute

Nigeria’s Maroko eviction remembered: a brutal legacy lives on

Taibat Lawanson, University of Liverpool

A yellow bulldozer demolishes homes, with wood and iron lying all over the ground and people trying to salvage belongings

Peace in Sudan depends on justice for the Darfur genocide

Mukesh Kapila, University of Manchester

Two men stand on a platform waving canes to a crowd

Rich countries are paying poorer ones to manage their refugee crises: 3 reasons this is dangerous

Ali Bhagat, Simon Fraser University and Genevieve LeBaron, Simon Fraser University

Violence against women is staggeringly high in South Africa – a different way of thinking about it is needed

Amanda Gouws, Stellenbosch University

Women raise their arms and shout slogans at a GBV summit.