Even during the years when economies across Africa expanded, many people were driven to migrate—either within Africa or to Europe and even South America—because of humanitarian catastrophes or because economic opportunities were not coming fast enough for everyone. Those who remained behind at times succeeded in disrupting the status quo. Civilian-led reform movements toppled regimes in Algeria and Sudan in 2019, and recent examples of independent courts overturning fraudulent elections—as well as other signs of democratic institutions taking hold in previously corrupt or authoritarian states—offered hope for the health of democracy in Africa. Yet, a rash of recent elections marred by fraud and violence, including several involving incumbents seeking constitutionally dubious third terms, confirms that the phenomenon of long-ruling authoritarian leaders—known as “presidents for life”—remains a problem.
From a geopolitical perspective, European nations and the United States are looking to shore up bilateral trade across the continent. These moves are driven both by an interest in spurring individual economies to help stem migration flows, but also to counter China’s growing presence in Africa. On the back of its Belt and Road Initiative, China has been leveraging infrastructure financing deals for access to resources and increasing influence.
Some African leaders say these activities smack of neocolonialism, as they seek to promote greater continental autonomy. They have taken steps to bolster internal trade opportunities and ease freedom of movement. They are positioning the African Union to play a more prominent role in resolving continental disputes, but also to contribute to fields like disease surveillance. And they are increasingly outspoken in criticizing international institutions that appear to punish Africa, to the benefit of others.
WPR covers Africa in detail, including a weekly Africa Watch newsletter highlighting the latest developments on the continent. And WPR will continue to offer insights into some of the key questions surrounding Africa’s future: Will popular protest movements, and a younger generation of opposition leaders, succeed in toppling long-ruling authoritarian leaders? As China’s footprint on the continent grows, how will leaders in Africa and other parts of the world respond? And will the coronavirus pandemic spell the end of the African economic boom that has swept up countries including Ethiopia, Rwanda and Ghana?
Children in Rwanda finally started heading back to school last fall, after months of learning from home. It was a bit of bright news for the country, given that schools had been closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. But now, many students are facing a brand-new challenge: Having to learn in an unfamiliar language, as the government is implementing a controversial directive requiring primary schools to use English, rather than Kinyarwanda.
Governance and Politics
One of the through lines on the continent has been the persistence of presidents for life and the havoc they wreak on their respective countries. Even as long-standing regimes in Algeria and Sudan were finally toppled, leaders in countries from Rwanda to Uganda to Cameroon are shoring up their power. Meanwhile, corruption remains a scourge across Africa.
What challenges await Niger after its first transition of power from one elected leader to another since independence, in A Democratic Breakthrough for Niger?
How Facebook is helping to turn Cameroon’s political fault lines into ethnic violence, in Cameroon’s Ethno-Political Tensions and Facebook Are a Deadly Mix
Why winning reelection was the easy part for Burkina Faso’s Kabore, in Can Kabore, Newly Reelected, Heal a Divided and War-Torn Burkina Faso?
How Ghana’s Akufo-Addo brushed off a corruption scandal on the way to his recent reelection, in Why a Major Corruption Scandal Probably Won’t Upend Ghana’s Election
Security
Resolving persistent conflicts continues to be a top priority for African security, whether in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere. But over the past decade, countering Islamist terrorism has begun to dominate Africa’s security agenda, from established networks like al-Shabab in the Horn of Africa and Boko Haram in West Africa, to new threats, like the emergence of the Islamic State in the DRC and Mozambique. Meanwhile, long-standing violence between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers in West Africa and the Sahel continues to be largely overlooked, despite taking a huge toll in lives lost.
How the threat from Boko Haram is evolving—and expanding—in Nigeria, in With the Expansion of Boko Haram, Nigeria Faces an Increasingly Transnational Threat
Why outside powers are being drawn into the Central African Republic’s resurgent conflict, in Amid Electoral Violence in the Central African Republic, Russia and Rwanda Move In
Why Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning president launched a war against his former political allies, in How Abiy’s Effort to Redefine Ethiopia Led to War in Tigray
How political paralysis is playing into the hands of Somalia’s Islamist insurgency, in Fears of Al-Shabab Attacks Rise Ahead of Somalia’s Delayed Elections
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Migrant Crisis
The flow of migrants from Africa is nothing new. But since the height of Europe’s refugee crisis in 2015, African migration has fueled the rise of populist parties in Europe and sparked greater engagement between the two continents in efforts to stem out-migration. Displacement is also a regional problem, as sub-Saharan Africa hosts more than a quarter of global refugees. Meanwhile, African migrants are increasingly turning to new destinations as Europe closes its doors.
How tougher immigration policies in Italy and Greece are pushing African migrants to brave a more dangerous route to Europe, in A Migrant Crisis in the Canary Islands Tests Spain’s Leftist Government
How Ethiopia’s civil war in Tigray is already spilling over its borders as a refugee crisis, in Ethiopia’s Tigray Conflict Triggers a New Refugee Crisis
Why Burundian refugees in Rwanda are skeptical of their new president’s promises of a safe return, in Burundian Refugees Return Home From Rwanda to an Uncertain Future
How the European migrant crisis left a lasting impact on international norms on refugees, in Has the World Learned the Lessons of the 2015 Refugee Crisis?
The U.S.-China Competition for Influence
International observers warn that China, in its upfront financing of major infrastructural projects, is overburdening African countries with debts they will struggle to repay. And with U.S.-China relations becoming increasingly acrimonious, Africa has become a new arena for their strategic rivalry. Meanwhile, other countries are looking to expand their influence in Africa as well, notably Russia.
Why America’s recent democratic stumbles shouldn’t keep it from defending democracy in Africa, in The U.S. Can Still Promote Democracy in Africa
What Russia hopes to achieve with a new naval base deal in Sudan, in Russia’s Naval Base in Sudan Opens a Long-Sought Gateway to the Red Sea
What the U.S. is getting wrong about competing for influence in Africa, in When It Comes to Soft Power, China Is Already Outpacing the U.S.
Why the U.S. shouldn’t use trade talks to shape Kenya’s domestic policy on plastics, in The U.S. Shouldn’t Use Trade Talks to Get Kenya to Scrap Its Plastics Ban
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