Action required
Held in Nairobi this month, the inaugural Africa Climate Summit is an important step for the continent’s response to climate change. Still, the disasters in Libya and Morocco underscore that rhetoric and declarations are not enough.
Blog
The strange non-death of Bantustans
That South African political parties across the spectrum were quick to venerate the politician and Zulu prince Mangosutho Buthelezi, who died last week, demonstrates that the country is still attached to Bantustan ideology.
A revolution in pain
A conversation with members of Sudan’s resistance committees and Magdi elGizouli.
The “Caribbeanization” of Afrobeat in Colombia
In Colombia, doing straightforward political music carries many risks, including confronting state repression, political armed rebellions, and organized crime.
The rise and fall of an African novelist
By questioning black masculinity in post-apartheid South Africa, Thando Mgqolozana became one of the most impactful writers of his time. But then he got accused of the same thing he opposed.
Enduring grief in Enugu
Chika Unigwe’s novel, 'The Middle Daughter,' reimagines a Greek myth within a contemporary Nigerian context and develops it into a gripping family saga.
Follow the money
The city of Gqeberha in South Africa is an example of how water is increasingly becoming a commodified resource, benefiting the powerful and depriving everyone else.
Shifting the guilt
Even though Israeli novelist Agur Schiff’s latest book is meant to be a satirical reflection on the legacy of slavery and stereotypes about Africa, it ends up reinforcing them.
Banana Republics
Western leftists are arguing among themselves about whether there will be bananas under socialism. In Africa, however, bananas do not necessarily represent the vagaries of capitalism.
The next episode
We announce some major changes at Africa Is a Country. A director of operations and a new editor.
On safari
On our annual publishing break, we’ll be pondering what the responsibility of the African intellectual is today.
Who is hustling who?
In Kenya, political elites across the spectrum are trying to sell off the country for themselves—capitulation is inevitable.