Essays

My initial attraction to the study of China’s activities in Africa stemmed from an intellectual imbalance I noticed while writing two separate MA theses. Many of the best-known scholars, including...

Perhaps the most defining issue of the election was the debate about decolonization, a first in the history of postcolonial Senegal.

Next Gen fellow Sisanda Mguzulwa (2016-2018) is passionate about her research on youth violence in South Africa. Here’s a sneak peek at a conversation we had with her about her...

Tanzania’s post-independence foreign policy was modeled on “liberation diplomacy.” As a result, the country and its leadership have played a critical role in regional and continental affairs.

Authorities should adopt a participatory and transparent approach in demarcating the boundary between Oromia and Addis Ababa, and in renegotiating relations between the regions and the political center within the...

Despite the ethical challenges that conflict settings pose, conducting fieldwork in such places provides great opportunities to generate data essential for designing post-conflict peacebuilding activities.

He was a thorn in the flesh of Africa’s political class, especially the Nigerian political elite. Everyone who knew him was struck by his decency, humor, intellect, and capacity to...

One Saturday afternoon in 2013, I was at home in Kigali, Rwanda watching television when I randomly came across a documentary by filmmaker Ingeborg Beugel on Al Jazeera English. The...

Not only has it recently become more difficult for Zimbabweans to meet their basic needs, but the government has also prevented them from exercising their human rights.

The postponement of Nigeria’s elections, just hours before the commencement of voting on Saturday last week, sent shockwaves across the country and beyond. Many people were concerned not just about...

Why did INEC not anticipate the challenges facing the long-scheduled elections in advance and respond proactively to avoid a last-minute postponement? Its failure to do so suggests an avoidable lapse...

This article explores the implications—for democracy, peace, and security—of the postponement of Nigeria’s 2019 elections, initially set for February 16 (presidential and national assembly) and March 2 (governor and state...