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Africa

October 24, 2025

Re-electing Cameroon’s forever president

John Chin Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state and the second-longest ruling leader in Africa, ran for a record eighth term earlier this month. John Chin and Julien Derroitte assess Cameroon’s prospects for peace and democracy in Africa’s turbulent coup belt Read more
October 14, 2025

☢️ Why irreversible nuclear disarmament is a lonely pursuit for African states

Kudawashe Mapako The 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, gives African states an opportunity to turn lofty disarmament pledges into real action. Kudakwashe Mapako argues that reflecting on past efforts and taking advantage of unity, minerals, and norms allows these states to press for irreversible nuclear disarmament Read more
September 12, 2025

Free movement in the Global South: beyond the border line

Zoé Perko We tend to regard free movement as a legal and institutional achievement, but this view overlooks the lived realities in the Global South. Drawing on research in West Africa and South America, Zoé Perko shows how informal practices and historical networks redefine how ‘free movement’ really works Read more
August 19, 2025

🎭 What the West gets wrong about democracy 

Mebratu Kelecha Western democratic ideals have been imposed upon former colonies around the world. In Africa, this imposition reveals liberal democracy’s contradictions. Mebratu Kelecha invites a radical reimagining, through decolonial praxis and epistemic rupture Read more
May 29, 2025

🎭 Why Africa needs non-adversarial democracy 

Mebratu Kelecha Democracy in Africa is at a crossroads. While regimes do hold elections, many still fail to deliver on their democratic promises. Mebratu Kelecha argues for a non-adversarial form of democracy inspired by Africa's rich Indigenous Gada system, which emphasises inclusivity, consensus-building, and cooperation Read more
May 28, 2024

Could South Africa's elections finally see the ANC ousted from office?

Knowledge Mwonzora The ANC, party of former President Nelson Mandela, has held office in South Africa since 1994. Now, it is preparing itself for a watershed election. Knowledge Mwonzora outlines the prospects for the ANC's ousting from government as a result of the challenge from former President Jacob Zuma Read more
May 13, 2024

♟️ Russia’s mercenaries are bolstering autocratic regimes in the Sahel

Marcel Plichta The spate of coups in the Sahel has been advantageous for Russia. Marcel Plichta and Christopher Faulkner argue that Moscow's mercenaries in the Sahel aren't to blame for the democratic retrenchment, but their presence is insulating and emboldening military dictators on their path to autocratic consolidation. Read more
March 26, 2024

Cameroon braces for presidential elections

Collins Molua Ikome Collins Molua Ikome writes that the political and electoral landscape in Cameroon makes it impossible to defeat the ruling CPDM party in an election. Paul Biya's regime is exploiting the Anglophone conflict to consolidate power. A potential military coup in Cameroon is, however, unlikely Read more

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