Botswana: African miracle or African mirage?
Botswana is usually held up as an exception on the African continent for good economic and political governance. Is this a fair assessment?
6450 Article(s) by:
Ladan Osman
Ladan Osman is the author of Exiles of Eden (2019) and The Kitchen-Dweller’s Testimony (2015). She lives in Brooklyn.
The point of no return in Ethiopia
Whatever we make of the Ethiopian government’s prevarication, the Irreechaa Massacre was a point of no return for the people.
Profits and bleeding hearts
We speak to an aid worker and trade unionist at the forefront of campaigns to halt the transnational corporate education reform movement.
The idea of a mass pullout of African states from the ICC
Why is South Africa withdrawing from the International Criminal Court? And why now? And what does it mean for African states’ participation in the court.
On the brink of peace
Colombia needs to be able to envision another country beyond the reincarnation of our memories of war.
Not standing on the sidelines anymore
A number of recently made, small budget films are doing the festival rounds. They give great insight into African women as actors, characters and filmmakers.
‘This is Lara Pawson reporting for the BBC …’
The first cigarette I smoked was a Marlboro. I was twenty-one. I didn't feel sick and
What Kenya means to Barack Obama
Throughout Barack Obama’s presidency, his personal links to Kenya have been weaponized by the U.S.’s Right’s as a slur. But there’s more to his relationship with his father’s country.
The paradoxes of soft dictatorship
The longevity of the Gabonese political system also lies in the many channels of redistribution that connect politicians (known colloquially as “les Grands”) to ordinary citizens.
Colonial Sahara
The constant struggle of the Sahrawi to assert their identity in the face of a permanent occupation by Morocco.
Uptown griots
Malians started arriving in New York City in the 1980s, numbering about 8,000 now. They also brought their music.
Enter the bulldozer
The legacy of Julius Nyerere’s state and state-run economy in Tanzania is a government (and ruling party) that values decree over debate, and control over entrepreneurship. John Magufuli is a model student of this system in its ideal form.
What Would Julius Nyerere Do?
Recent and current leaders in Tanzania like to be compared to Mwalimu Nyerere. Take current president, John Magufuli. He has been working hard to claim Nyerere’s mantle.
No Victims and No Culprits
Congo needs fewer metanarratives from the West and more of Radio Tele Manika.
Ousmane Sembene invented a new cinema for Africa
An interview with Samba Gadjigo, the late Ousmane Sembene’s longtime friend and official biographer about the resurgence of Sembene’s work.
Apparently, I love Africa. I’ve been told this by people who hardly know me.
In 2003, I was among the hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, who marched through London to
Shutdown — on the death of compromise in South Africa
We are in a new phase, one that is characterised by a rejection of compromise as a tactic for managing democratic intercourse.
My people them dey stay for poor surroundings
For Nigeria, the World Bank reported that as of 2015, 48% of the total population (estimated at more than 180 million) reside in urban centers.
Black African immigrants, race and police brutality in America
Most poor African immigrants to the US can’t pull the “get out of black”-card when confronted with racism, something middle class Africans can pull.
Congo blues
Until Joseph Kabila publicly recuses himself from running for a third term, many Congolese will be suspicious of any dialogue proposed by the government.