On May 29, South Africans will vote in the seventh election since the end of political apartheid in the early 1990s. This is the first election in which the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is polling below 50 percent, which could force them into a coalition with one or more other parties to Read More…
Tag: Elections
Ep. 165: A conversation with fellow Kamogelo Tinyiko Theledi, Solly Moeng, and Sthembiso Sithole about social media and elections
Social media has an undeniable influence on politics and elections across the globe. Today, fellow Kamogelo Tinyiko Theledi speaks with expert guests Solly Moeng and Sthembiso Sithole about the use of social media by politicians and its effects on voters and elections. Solly Moeng is a brand reputation management expert and Sthembiso Sithole is a Read More…
Ep. 162: A conversation with Idayat Hassan about the upcoming Nigerian elections
Idayat Hassan is the director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), an Abuja-based policy advocacy and research organization focusing on deepening democracy and development in West Africa. She talks to Rachel this week about the upcoming Nigerian elections and all there is to be hopeful about – the possibility for change, engagement from Read More…
Ep. 106: Repatriation of Museum Objects, Part 2
This week’s episode features Cécile Fromont, an associate professor of art history at Yale University, who was a panelist for “Repatriation of Museum Objects,” an event held by Cornell University’s Institute for European Studies. She shares her perspective through four stories, drawing on her work as a historian of African and visual material culture in the early modern period. Listen to part 1 of this episode for more context about the event.
Ep. 104: Looking back on 2020 and forward to 2021
Happy New Year! We are back with our first episode of 2021, and a conversation between our co-hosts Kim and Rachel. On our minds from 2020: the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa, many of the elections held in the past year, and as always, we share what we are reading and the scholars and perspectives we’re watching.
Ep. 103: A conversation with Cyril Obi of the African Peacebuilding Network
Joining us in conversation this week is Cyril Obi, program director of the African Peacebuilding Network, to talk with Rachel about the geopolitics of oil in Africa, his work with the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Program, and the great work of the African Peacebuilding Network.
And if you’re still looking for gifts for your African studies friends, check out this week’s news wrap where Kim and Rachel share the books we should be reading. In other news, we talk Ghanian elections, all of the happenings in the Sahel, and Malawi being selected as the country of the year.
Ep. 102: A conversation with Noah Nathan about the Ghanaian election
Nana Akufo-Addo has just won the presidency in this week’s Ghanaian election with about 51 percent of the vote. We interview Noah Nathan, who has just published a new book on electoral politics in Ghana. He also tells us about his upcoming work on political brokers and party and state bureaucracy.
Rachel and Kim tell us what’s going on in African news this week, including in Western Sahara, the Ugandan election, and more about presidential term limits.
Ep. 99: Wole Soyinka in conversation with Chris Abani
We are delighted to share this conversation between Nobel Prize winner Program of African Studies (PAS) and professor of English. Thank you to PAS for sharing this interview with us, which they hosted on October 2, 2020. Soyinka shares his thoughts on the American presidential election, the African diaspora, reclaiming African art, and more.
Before the interview, Kim and Rachel share some news highlights, including election controversies in Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire.
Ep. 98: A conversation between Patrick Mbullo Owuor and Denielle Elliott
In the news this week: #EndSARS, elections in Tanzania, and more. Kim and Rachel put these events into context and share what you need to know.
This week’s interview features guest host Patrick Mbullo Owuor in conversation with Denielle Elliott about KEMRI, Elliott’s new research, and more!
Ep. 97: A conversation with Lina Benabdallah on the link between China and Africa
Presidential elections are happening in multiple African countries, where we’re seeing constitutional changes that allow presidents to seek third terms. Kim and Rachel also talk about the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Nigeria, the politics of education access, and a new report on migration in Africa.
This week’s interview features Lina Benabdallah—an expert on China-Africa relations—and the links between China and Africa (plus, her new book!).
Bonus: Hear a review of two new books on what Africa’s urbanization means for politics
In this bonus recording, hear Ufahamu Africa host Kim Dionne (@dadakim) read her review of two recent books with insights on how increasing urbanization in Africa changes (or doesn’t change) politics and power: Noah L. Nathan’s (@noahlnathan) “Electoral Politics and Africa’s Urban Transition: Class and Ethnicity in Ghana,” and Jeffrey W. Paller’s (@JWPaller) “Democracy in Ghana: Everyday Politics in Urban Africa.”
The review was published in this past Friday’s installment of the African Politics Summer Reading Spectacular (#APSRS20), and this recording is being shared as part of a collaboration with The Monkey Cage (@monkeycageblog), a blog on politics and political science at The Washington Post.
Ep. 92: A conversation with entrepreneurs on the continent about innovation, COVID, and more
The news wrap for this week’s episode offers insights into legislative elections in Mali, COVID and politics in Malawi, and more. This week, we highlight a panel conversation with entrepreneurs from the Africa Summit at Princeton University on the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The conversation was hosted by Bayo Read More…