The Mercenary Playbook
Why do Western media outlets still fantasize that Apartheid’s foot soldiers will be the ones to stop Boko Haram?
22 Articles by:
Megan Eardley
Megan Eardley is a Ph.D. candidate in the Princeton School of Architecture.
Nigerians in Space
In Deji Olukotun’s novel, a Nigerian NASA scientist — on behalf of all colonized people — wants to return moon rocks that Neil Armstrong brought back to earth.
Prince Blackwater of China
This is big: Blackwater has set up a new Africa-focused military contractor, partnering with one of China’s largest state-owned conglomerates.
The New Yorker and the Mercenaries
An open letter to the New Yorker over its approving coverage of mercenary-activity-for-humanitarian-intervention, despite its record of failure in Central Africa.
Democracy is the Best Form of Democracy
Conceiving of the relationship between public space and positions of power as a hall of mirrors.
Everyone has their own Paul Biya
What would happen if the president goes missing? The people wouldn’t care. They’ve learned to live without him.
Angola’s Biennale
It is hard to find critics asking what Angolan artist Edson Chagas’s work does, the context through which it was produced, or the social conditions it draws attention to.
Kenyan Neorealism
Nairobi Half Life is a smart, take-no-prisoners action movie that makes us to wrestle with the neoliberal city.
Hip as Nationalist Project
Kuduru as an effort by politically connected Angolan elites to to package a fun and edgy dance born in Angola as soft power.
Law and Order
The United States’ star mercenary, Erik Prince of Blackwater, protects Chinese investment around the African continent.
The political fight is wherever people gather
Can young Angolan activists inspired by Angola’s underground rap scene take on a political elite that has ruled for decades?
Steven Soderbergh in Nollywood
Director Andrew Okoko’s “The Assassin’s Practice” tampers with the tempo of melodrama. It’s also Nollywood’s response to Soderbergh’s “Bubble.”
The politics of translation
The film, “Veejays,” comes across as an earnest attempt to learn about the ways people are remixing dominant culture industries to make their own.
The world’s media and Angola’s elections
The oppression/resistance model of politics explains some things, but it does not explain everything, and less and less these days on the continent.
Wet Hot African Summer
We’ve scoured the web to bring you the best and worst romance, adventure, intrigue, and kinky fantasies Africa has to offer.
The Reincarnation of Rockland Palace
A part of Harlem’s ballroom scene gets a makeover and a much needed funding injection and international exposure.