War and peace in Côte d’Ivoire
By the end of 2004, Côte d’Ivoire’s civil war had cooled to a simmer, but the
History
The future of Françafrique
Is it France's interests to reform its unequal, exploitative relationship with Africans?
An Ode to Oshodi Market
Old Oshodi highlighted the complexity of the city, showcasing the ingenuity of the people of Lagos in their use of the informal market in making a living.
No room for ambiguity
Kenyan activists raise their voices, placards and fists over US$500 million allocated but not yet spent for anti-retroviral medications. That’s a lot of money, drugs, and lost lives.
Tintin’s Day in a Belgian Court
Tintin is full of offensive, racist, stereotypes. Should Africans take the publishers to court? No, argues the author; it is counterproductive.
David Cameron’s Libya Doctrine
Britain's secret service, MI5, passed on sensitive information to their Libyan colleagues to torture dissidents.
An unusual sensitivity
One of the striking facts of Nabil Ayouch's film is that Israelis love the land and the Palestinians love it too.
The Other African election: France’s First Round
Both of the front-runners, incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist François Hollande, have run against FrançAfrique. Easier said than done.
Why is so much coverage of the Mali crisis so bad?
We mean the kind of bad that comes from being caught in a Beckettian loop of either saying nothing at all or having nothing to say.
The civilizing mission of the white man
The recent controversy around Günter Grass’s criticisms of Germany's arms trade with Israel is an interesting post-script to the Namibian genocide controversy.
The Racial Politics of Tuareg Nationalism
Historian Greg Mann is not a big fan of Tuareg group, Tinariwen. The music is alright, he agrees, but the politics is rancid.
The shareholders of Jesus Inc.
God is the fastest-growing business in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. It may be time we agitate for our governments to raise taxes on these corporations.
Tinariwen speaks on the coup in Mali
Tuareg musicians Tinariwen, on tour in Europe these days, spent some time in Belgium this weekend.
Cheikh Amadou Bamba Day
For over two decades, West African Muslims from the Murid Sufi Brotherhood come together at the
The Hissène Habré “political and legal soap opera”
In recent weeks media coverage of African criminals and their victims have been dominated by capture
French Tropicalism
When it comes to engaging with French language opinions and writings in English, it’s a desert out there.
Okonjo-Wahala
Nigeria's very unpopular finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, whose last name in local slang is made to sound like trouble, wants to be World Bank President. She's the "African Renaissance" candidate. What do Nigerians make of it all?
The Invisible Christians
A big part of the story that is being missed about Invisible Children is that they're firmly rooted in Evangelical Christianity.
A miserable fraud
The power to choose on social media who is to be the next target of America’s moral manhunt, all with the benediction of a panel of biddable celebrities.