Mohammed Amin Abdishukri offers a compelling account of recent coordinated transnational repression targeting cross-border activism by East African activists in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. He discusses the arrest and ill-treatment of human rights advocates who travelled to Tanzania to observe court proceedings involving Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who faces treason charges. These acts of injustice remind Abdishukri of the infamous Operation Condor—the campaign of state repression that shaped South American politics during the 1970s and 1980s. He argues that this cross-border crackdown on dissent demands new forms of resistance that transcend conventional activism and target the vulnerabilities of authoritarian regimes in East Africa.

Writing on recent developments between Israel and Eswatini, Ruehl Muller argues that Israel is using Eswatini as a stage for its self-destructive psychopolitical theatre. According to Muller, Israel's growing presence in Southern African poses a direct threat to regional stability and the region's ongoing democratic project.

Julie Hearn offers a heartfelt tribute to the legendary Gĩkũyũ storyteller and revolutionary Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, who passed away on Wednesday, 28 May 2025, at the age of 87.

In this piece, Pedro Mzileni reclaims International Workers’ Day from Eurocentric origins by calling for recognition of African contributions to global worker history. He does this by celebrating the life and politics of South African Communist leader Chris Hani, who was tragically assassinated in 1993. Mzileni presents Hani as a revolutionary thinker committed to the idea that only international workers’ struggles against capitalism could end Black oppression in South Africa.

How was the discipline of geography caught up with apartheid in South Africa? Applied research and urban and regional planning was central to some of the most visible and hated structures of apartheid – such as the development of the ‘Bantustans’ - and the discipline more broadly at best ignored, and at worse diverted attention from, the violence wrought by apartheid on the landscape of the country. Yet through research, teaching, activism and community work scholars worked to dismantle apartheid through geography. This excerpt from Decolonising Geography: Disciplinary histories and the end of the British empire in Africa, 1948-1998 Wiley-Blackwell RGS-IBG Series) explores some of the anti-apartheid activism of geography staff and students on and off campus, through interviews with those involved.

Many observers wonder why numerous countries that gained independence long after most African nations now enjoy significantly stronger economies and development indicators. Looking beyond...

Brandon Marc Finn and Patrick Brandful Cobbinah argue that in the DR Congo, industrial mining companies and political elites operate under the banner of decarbonization while perpetuating historic injustices.

Wim Naudé warns that South Africa’s oligarchy offers a case study in how elite control can subvert democracy and entrench inequality. Since the end of Apartheid, the country has embraced neoliberal economic policies that favour mining, finance, and agri-business elites, pointing to a strong collusion between oligarchs and the ANC. While corporate profits and market capitalisation have soared, most South Africans face poverty, high unemployment, and poor public services. Naudé argues that South Africa’s stagnant, exclusionary economy can only be transformed through dramatic reforms.

By Heike Becker Ten years after one student’s bold action a month earlier inspired protests which led to the removal of Cecil John Rhodes’ statue...

In this piece, Gumani Tshimomola draws attention to the reality of unemployment which continues to place South Africa’s black population between precarity and exclusion,...

Rehad Desai writes in the aftermath of last year’s elections in Mozambique, how the country has seen a massive social uprising in the urban areas. Dozens have been killed, beaten and imprisoned as the state has attempted to restore order. The revolt has taken place in the context of disputed elections, economic stagnation and crisis, which has seen the ruling Frelimo party hold onto power with increasing repression.

Siayabulela Mama attributes South Africa’s water crisis to government failure, financial mismanagement, and a lack of accountability. He argues that the financialisation, inefficiency, and corruption of government-appointed Water Boards have deepened inequalities in water access. Intended to ensure supply, these corrupt institutions have instead become emblematic of systemic failure. Mama urges a shift towards prioritising people over profit in water management.

Salvador Ousmane paints a damning picture of the African military juntas that came to power in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea in recent years. He argues that they have failed to address security concerns and poverty in their countries while reneging on their promises to hold free elections and restore civilian rule. Instead, these juntas have launched sustained attacks on human rights, suppressing political protests, civil society organisations, and trade union activists. Yet, Ousmane sees hope in the resilience of trade union activism, which continues to persist despite these repressive conditions.

Africa's health systems are deeply influenced by the structures of the global political economy. From international financial institutions (IFIs) to private health initiatives, the...

Presenting new research, Dylan Sullivan and Jason Hickel mount a devastating critique of the impact of structural adjustment in Africa in the 1980s and...