Every quarter roape.net posts extracts from the introductions to our print journal. In this quarters issue (Vol. 44, Issue 153) Hannah Cross writes about the widespread revolt against neo-liberalism in an issue that addresses the ‘attacks on gender relations and rights, workers and standards of...
In a scathing appraisal of Liberia’s president ahead of elections in October, Robtel Neajai Pailey and Korto Reeves Williams argue that the over-glorification of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as a feminist icon is deeply troubling. Sirleaf’s 12-year presidency has actually served the interests of a small,...
With results annulled in an historic decision by the country's Supreme Court, Kenyans return not just to the polls but to the campaigns. Geoffrey Lugano asks what can the opposition learn from the first round if it not only wants to avoid malpractice, but also...
In an analysis of the Kenyan elections, Nic Cheeseman, Gabrielle Lynch and Justin Willis argue that the results look much more credible than any since 2002. Yet the country is still deeply divided, and with an opposition weakened by electoral loss, and with diminished credibility....
Our latest blogpost on Rwanda’s development myths asks how can total GDP growth average between 6% and 8% annual growth, with incomes in the agricultural sector decreasing for a substantial proportion of farmers. Something is amiss in Rwanda’s GDP growth figures. How has the country...
Continuing the debate about Rwandan poverty statistics, Sam Desiere argues that with an inflation rate of 30% - which is more in line with ‘real’ inflation - poverty has increased in Rwanda. His findings raise concerns, not only for Rwanda’s (rural) policies (and poor), but...
In her final blog in the series Lee Wengraf celebrates the life and work of Walter Rodney, the scholar, working class militant and revolutionary from Guyana who was murdered 37 years ago. His book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa remains a classic that must be carefully...
John Pilger exposes how the West is both fighting Islamic jihadist terrorism and using it for its own foreign policy objectives. The Manchester bomb was the result. Pilger shows how the British and French-led 2011 Nato offensive in Libya has strengthened Islamic terrorism in the...
The Rwandan government has used its record on poverty reduction and economic growth to legitimize its authoritarian rule and to deflect criticism of its human rights record, just as the previous regime had done up until 1990. Yet as this blogpost shows despite official statistics...
Ndongo Samba Sylla argues that the CFA franc - officially created on 26 December 1945 by a decree of General de Gaulle - used across much of Africa today is a colonial relics. For those hoping to export competitive products, obtain affordable credit, work for...