Salvador Ousmane paints a damning picture of the African military juntas that came to power in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea in recent years. He argues that they have failed to address security concerns and poverty in their countries while reneging on their promises to hold free elections and restore civilian rule. Instead, these juntas have launched sustained attacks on human rights, suppressing political protests, civil society organisations, and trade union activists. Yet, Ousmane sees hope in the resilience of trade union activism, which continues to persist despite these repressive cond ..read more

Africa’s health systems are deeply influenced by the structures of the global political economy. From international financial institutions (IFIs) to private health initiatives, the governance of health in Africa reflects stark inequalities. In this piece, Vivek N.D. explores how systemic issues within global health governance influence Africa’s health landscape, examine the environmental and economic factors […] The post Power Asymmetries in Global Health Governance: Challenges and Local Struggles in Africa appeared first on ROAPE ..read more

Presenting new research, Dylan Sullivan and Jason Hickel mount a devastating critique of the impact of structural adjustment in Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. Drawing on recent data on Africa’s material resource use, Sullivan and Hickel show how during this period structural adjustment programmes led to a significant increase in ‘unequal ecological exchange’, a […] The post Plundering Africa – Income deflation and unequal ecological exchange under structural adjustment programmes appeared first on ROAPE ..read more

Matthew Quest questions why C.L.R. James is not widely recognised as a founder of African Studies. He asks readers to consider why James’ contributions to the deep study of African history and culture are less known compared to his engagement with anti-colonial African party politics and political economy. Foreshadowing his forthcoming, thoroughly researched study, Quest begins to reveal how James challenged the imperial cultural apparatus as a teacher and learner of African Diaspora heritage who inspired continental African scholars. The post Amazing facts about CLR James’ African Studies app ..read more

In the spring of 1845, Karl Marx wrote the now well-known line "philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it". Here, Kenyan journalist and writer Mohamed Amin Abdishukri first interpets recent events in Kenya, arguing protests have been more reformist than revolutionary. He then details how, through the founding in 2017 of Kenya's first socialist library, Ukombozi Library, a group of progressive social justice activists are working to bring revolutionary consciousness directly to the masses and encouraging them to imagine alternative realities that go ..read more

In this interview, Pascal Bianchini speaks to filmmaker Billy Woodberry, regarding ‘Mario’, a film about Mário Coelho Pinto de Andrade, the Angolan liberation hero and founder of the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) (in English, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola), which has been the ruling party since Angola won independence […] The post Documenting the Life of Mário Coelho Pinto de Andrade, the selfless Angolan revolutionary and intellectual appeared first on ROAPE ..read more

In this groundbreaking piece, Malte Kanefendt and David Weiss uncover previously unknown details surrounding Walter Rodney’s visit to Hamburg in 1978. This blog provides valuable context to Leo Zeilig’s 2019 blog, Walter Rodney’s Journey to Hamburg. The authors explore the German students’ initiative to bring Rodney to Hamburg, his reasons for wanting to visit the city, his lectures, his unexpected return in 1980, and the memorial in his honour following his assassination. The post New details on Walter Rodney’s visit to Hamburg appeared first on ROAPE ..read more

By Pascal Bianchini In this interview, Mamadou Koné, curator at the Musée historique des forces armées du Sénégal, looks back at the long history of the Senegalese riflemen, the African troops employed by the French army during the colonial period. This military corps was founded in 1857 by the governor of the colony of Senegal, […] The post Interview with Mamadou Koné – A long, tragic history of the Senegalese Riflemen: A story of colonial racism and murder appeared first on ROAPE ..read more

ROAPE's Bettina Engels introduces Volume 51 Issue 182 of the journal, about labour organisation, working class struggles and popular protests. The entire issue can be accessed, downloaded and read for free. The post Workers, protests and trade unions in Africa appeared first on ROAPE ..read more

Founders of the militant podcast Guerrilla History, Henry Hakamaki and Adnan Husain, introduce their new series on African revolutions and decolonization.  Focusing on African struggles and revolutions, they invite listeners to encounter radical perspectives from the continent and beyond, challenge their assumptions about history, and learn about the struggles of those who dared to resist oppression in Africa. Hakamaki and Husain argue for a nuanced understanding of the revolutionary movements that define Africa's past and continue to shape its future. The post African Revolutions and Dec ..read more