Africa
The Idea of Africa
One of the classic critiques of scholarship on Africa (and conceptualizations thereof more broadly) was penned by the Congolese scholar (and Duke professor) V. Y. Mudimbe in his “The Invention of Africa” (1988), which was followed by this book, “The Idea of Africa” (1994). This book revolves around the idea of “Africa” as an idea, […]
Tags: #Africa #History #Mudimbe #Otherness #The Idea of Africa
Empire, Global Coloniality and African Subjectivity
The book “Empire, Global Coloniality and African Subjectivity” is authored by one the leading scholars of ideas relating to decolonization and coloniality. In this 2013 book, Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni draws out the meaning and implications of coloniality, and sets the foundation for his widely cited 2018 book (Epistemic Freedom in Africa). There are chapters on South Africa […]
Tags: #Africa #Coloniality #Empire #Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni #Subjectivity
The Idea of Development in Africa
Taking its cue from another book, The Idea of Africa, this book presents the idea of the idea of development with a focus on Africa – its emergence, meanings, and connotations – and how its conceptualization is deeply rooted in colonialism. “The Idea of Development: A History” (2021) is written by Corrie Decker and Elisabeth McMahon, […]
Tags: #Africa #Colonialism #Development #History #The idea of development
The Art of Emergency
Originating at a 2016 conference, the edited book “The Art of Emergency: Aesthetics and Aid in African Crisis” edited by Ndaliko and Andreson (2020) is a unique contribution. Admittedly this is not an area I’ve followed closely. Published by Oxford University Press, the book has a companion artistic website and covers a wide range of […]
Democracy and Development in Africa
While a visiting scholar at Brookings, Claude Ake wrote “Democracy and Development in Africa” (1995), published by Brookings. As nearly three decades have passed, I focus less on the specifics (e.g., agricultural policy recommendations) and highlight the general arguments, a few notes: “Many factors have been offered to explain the apparent failure of the development […]
Tags: #Africa #Claude Ake #Democracy #Development #Ideology of development
The Concept of Human Rights in Africa
“Human rights talk constitutes one of the main elements in the ideological armoury of imperialism. Yet from the point of view of the African people, human rights struggles constitute the stuff of their daily lives. For these two interconnected reasons, human rights talk needs to be subjected to a closer historical and political scrutiny.” (p. […]
The Future of Africa
Looking for an introduction to the issues facing Africa today and into the future? Jakkie Cilliers’ Open Access book “The Future of Africa: Challenges and Opportunities” (2021) is a good option, and is available for download here. The author is a leader in strategic studies focusing on Africa, founding an independent institute (Institute for Security […]
Tags: #Africa #Challenges #Opportunities #Strategic Studies #Textbook
Elections and Development in Africa
What does democracy / democratization result in within African contexts? Robin Harding argues that due to the increase of elections, combined with a majority of many countries being rural, is an increase in rural interests as an outcome. The answer is summarized in his 2020 book “Rural Democracy: Elections and Development in Africa”, which is […]
Tags: #Africa #Democracy #elections #Robin Harding #Rural Bias
Epistemic Freedom in Africa
For students looking for an introduction to decolonization, or faculty looking to catch up on conversations they have been missing (or conversations they have avoided or actively sought not take part in), Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni has brought it together for you in Epistemic Freedom in Africa: Deprovincialization and Decolonization (2018). As the title implies, this book […]
Tags: #Africa #decolonization #Deprovincialization #Epistemic Freedom #Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni
Forests to the Foreigners: Large-Scale Land Acquisitions in Gabon
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/4/420 Abstract: For the past decade, the land rush discourse has analyzed foreign investment in land and agriculture around the world, with Africa being a continent of particular focus due to the scale of acquisitions that have taken place. Gabon, a largely forested state in Central Africa, has been neglected in the land rush conversations, […]
Tags: #Africa #Gabon #Land Grab #Land grabbing #Large-scale land acquisitions
About me
Logan Cochrane
Associate Professor at HBKU in the College of Public Policy. He is an Associate Fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences and an Adjunct Professor at Hawassa University (Institute for Policy and Development Research). Over the last fifteen years, he has worked in Afghanistan, Benin, Burundi, Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Logan acts as a consultant for governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations, seeking to create bridges between research and practice.
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