Kissinger’s secret war in Angola
Henry Kissinger was convinced that Africans were incapable of responsible government—so he fought against the national liberation movements fighting for independence.
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Miguna Miguna
Miguna Miguna is a Kenyan activist and lawyer.
Poetry, nationalism, and al-Shabaab
In Somalia, poets are considered organic public intellectuals.
Colonialism is not over
A new book shows how Europe is using the energy transition to exploit and under-develop the Arab world.
Whose land is it anyway?
What contestations over land in urban Senegal tell us about political economy in the post-colony.
Understanding the African sports economy
Sports on the continent are being commercialized at a rapid rate. What’s driving it?
Henry Kissinger’s Angola
In 1975, seeing how a communist victory in Angola’s civil war would boost the morale of Vietnamese freedom fighters, Henry Kissinger wanted to plan a covert operation against the MPLA.
Henry Kissinger’s Western Sahara
Morocco is one of the United States’ oldest allies, so when it occupied Western Sahara in 1975, the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people mattered little.
Henry Kissinger’s South Africa
In the 1970s, Kissinger believed that the liberation of southern Africa from white-minority rule represented a Cold War setback.
Reading List: Daniel Hammett, Laura S. Martin and Izuu Nwankwọ
What is the relationship between humor and politics in Africa?
The politics of hosting AFCON
Africa’s biggest spectacle is happening soon. What does it take to host the African Cup of Nations?
Nairobi’s third places
In Nairobi, skateboarding provides an alternative space where consumption is not a prerequisite for entry.
Weeping for Palestine
In 1987, a band led by a group of South African Jewish brothers released a song against apartheid repression. Today, its lyrics speak to conditions in Palestine as well.
Matchday 1: Mobutu Sese Seko
The African Five-a side podcast continues to explore the stories of five African heads of state and their influence on football. This week, we introduce our striker.
Bayard Rustin’s Zimbabwe
A new film about American civil rights icon Bayard Rustin overlooks his later conservative turn, evident in his attitudes to anticolonial resistance in Africa.
Israel’s Sharpeville moment
It is often imagined that world opinion was always united in its opposition to apartheid in South Africa—it wasn’t. Today, global indifference to Palestine is changing too.
The false equivalence of the colonized and colonizer
Choosing to focus on denouncing Palestinian violence is akin to asking them to passively accept their fate—to die quietly and not resist.