Nonna Mayer
Academic freedom is not only at risk in authoritarian regimes. The recent governmental crusade against 'islamo-leftism' in French universities shows it can happen in democracies, too. Nonna Mayer goes back to the origins of the campaign. Here, she analyses the political instrumentalisation of a term intended to intimidate social scientists Read more
Jeffrey Haynes
Jeffrey Haynes argues that one of Africa’s most controversial leaders, the late Jerry John Rawlings of Ghana, began his political career as a fiery revolutionary and ended it as a popularly elected president via a liberal democratic political system. What explains this volte face? Was it ideological conversion or expediency? Read more
Dawud Ansari
De-orientalising the scholarship on the Arab Gulf states is crucial, argues Dawud Ansari. Commentaries and datasets generalise them as ‘monarchies’, erasing vital differences between these countries. New terms are a starting point for transforming research on the wider region – an urgent objective given new crises and freshened global interest Read more
Anna Khakee
As long as the EU continues to silence European colonial crimes when promoting democracy and human rights in the Global South, it cannot live up to its moral promise. Instead, warns Anna Khakee, it risks perpetuating – inadvertently or otherwise – colonial-era hierarchies between civilisations and a sense of European moral superiority Read more
Oliver P. Richmond
Global ideological struggle and counter-peace processes have had grave consequences for the international peace architecture. Oliver P. Richmond and Sandra Pogodda highlight the need for a knowledge-based, emancipatory renewal Read more
Hannah Muzee
The new democratically oriented regimes that emerged in Rwanda and Uganda after the 1980s aspired to overcome postcolonial sectarianism. Those aspirations now appear largely to have receded, argue Hannah Muzee and Femi Mimiko, as both regimes have drifted into personalised politics and illiberal practices Read more
Sebastian Steingass
According to the European Union, the time of aid donors and recipients is over. But the transition towards policies and equal partnerships conducive to global development remains elusive. Sebastian Steingass argues that it is doubtful whether such transition is sufficient to overcome the EU's post-colonial legacies Read more
Dennis Penu
How do federal states die? Dennis Penu looks at the case of Ghana, explaining that a federal state can die gradually rather than suddenly. In crisis situations such as the current pandemic, political forces can easily exploit such gradual change Read more
The Loop
Cutting-edge analysis showcasing the work of the political science discipline at its best.
