Many African elections are less than ideal. But is the rest of the world really that much better?
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Articles on African politics
Displaying 1 - 20 of 249 articles
Populism gets a bad rap for fuelling the rise of authoritarianism. But it can also be a shot in the arm for liberal democracy.
The death of Mozambican opposition leader Alfonso Dhlakama could affect the progress made to end hostilities in the country.
Zimbabwe has high hopes for a post-Mugabe era, but it has some serious growing pains to deal with first.
Claims about Cambridge Analytica's role in elections in Nigeria and Kenya have been overstated.
The way South Africa's new president Cyril Ramaphosa has constituted his cabinet reflects the distribution of power within the governing ANC.
Zuma's almost daily scandals and missteps provided his opponents with perfect electoral fodder. A competent president is the last thing they need.
Morgan Tsvangirai's unique power was that he made Zimbabweans excited about the idea of change.
The writing has been on the wall for Jacob Zuma for years. That it took so long to get rid of him speaks volumes about the ANC.
Zimbabwe's Emmerson Mnangagwa and South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa need to sharpen their thinking and get to work.
He's used to ruling on the soccer field, but how will George Weah tackle the job of Liberian president?
After doing nothing for a long time to bring the Gupta family to book in South Africa, the country's prosecuting authority has finally started to act.
In mid-2015 the German Foreign Office after decades of denial seemingly acceded, in a very informal way, to labelling what had happened in South West Africa as genocide, is now backtracking.
The Rwandan model can't be replicated easily given that it depends heavily on political dominance and tight, centralised control of patronage networks.
Free university education and land redistribution without compensation have far-reaching implications for South Africa's economy, and requires exceptional leadership.
South Africa's likely next president must face down entrenched corruption, a stagnant economy, and a restive middle class.
The transformation of the EU-Africa summit series into the EU-AU summit is more than just a change of name. It reflects the increasing recognition of the AU as an international actor.
The limited "consultative and advisory powers" of the Pan African Parliament hamper the African Union's ability to achieve a prosperous and peaceful Africa as envisioned in its Agenda 2063.
Contrary to popular sentiment that the coup in Zimbabwe would usher in a new era of democracy, the military intervention is much more about a succession crisis in the ruling Zanu-PF.
Are we witnessing the end of an era in which dictators stayed in power for decades? If so this must be good not only for Angola and Zimbabwe but for southern Africa as a whole.
Top contributors
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Professor of World Politics, SOAS, University of London
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Extraordinary Professor, Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria
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Political Scientist, University of the Western Cape
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Professor of Public Affairs, Tshwane University of Technology
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Professor in Political Science, University of South Africa
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Visiting Professor of International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor of Democracy, University of Birmingham
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Associate Professor and Head of Department of Political and Conflict Studies, Nelson Mandela University
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Professor in the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand
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Steinberg Postdoctoral Fellow in International Migration Law, Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, Faculty of Law, McGill University
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Professor, Department of Political Sciences, University of South Africa (UNISA), University of South Africa
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Associate Professor in Public Law, University of Cape Town
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Professor of Humanities and the Director of the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS), University of Johannesburg
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Professor Emeritus, Society, Work and Development Institute, University of the Witwatersrand
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Researcher and PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science, Michigan State University
