Publications

While President Paul Kagame’s leadership of Rwanda has been championed as “visionary”, President Isaias Afwerki is accused of transforming Eritrea into a rogue, pariah state. Popular perceptions of these comparable countries have been simplistic – and polarised.

Michael Holden argues that by depicting resourcefulness and the precarious nature of everyday urban life, the BBC series “Welcome to Lagos” underscored the commonality of human experience.

Martha Byanyima chronicles the history and development of agricultural standards in Africa and argues that they provide an opportunity to increase the continent’s presence in global trade.

The history of Zimbabwe has been revised in the service of the governing ZANU-PF party. A ‘patriotic’ version of history, disseminated by public intellectuals and state media, has distorted legitimate grievances. Critics of patriotic history, including opposition politicians,...

Self-sufficiency in food production is the new mantra of donors and policymakers in Africa. But farmers, large and small, can be much more ambitious. Agriculture is the continent’s most neglected – and important – potential competitive advantage. It is Africa’s best answe...

In this highly personal and keenly argued commentary, James Gikunju Muuru makes the first detailed response by an African smallholder to the controversy over ‘food miles’. His account describes the serial feats of coordination, discipline, productivity and manual...

Multilateral systems to support peace and democracy have evolved faster in Africa than in other regions. In the past decade, diplomatic and military intervention in Africa has become more frequent and more assertive than in Latin America, Asia or the Middle East. Africa’s...

Coalition government in the UK is an opportunity to revise policy on Africa. More aid to Africa is touted as proof of politicians’ compassion and conscience. But an emerging cross-party consensus has ignored significant policy failures. Democracy, trade, technology and regional...

In the heyday of African nationalism, the continent’s founding fathers plotted their vision of pan-African unity. The twin paths of closer political and economic integration appeared to them as the only means to achieve dignity prosperity and security. Today, closer...

Predictions of a Green Revolution in Africa are overstated. Investment in African agriculture has been neglected by governments and donors. The proportion of aid allocated to agriculture fell from 17% in 1980 to 3% in 2005.1 Population growth and declining productivity among...