ROAPE's Ray Bush introduces Volume 51 Issue 181 of the journal, a special 50th anniversary issue on imperialism and Africa. The role of imperialism in undermining African sovereignty and independence has been a recurrent theme in ROAPE since the journal's first issue editorial back in 1974. Here, Bush interrogates what imperialism is, how it may have changed over time, and with what consequences.

Dismantling Green Colonialism has received much critical acclaim since its publication with Pluto Press in October 2023. Here, while acknowledging the usefulness of such a volume in the current climate and highlighting several must-read chapters, Max Ajl sees a missed opportunity in how the book is framed by its co-editors, Hamza Hamouchene and Katie Sandwell. Shorn of a broader anti-imperialist politics, among other issues, Ajl argues that the edited collection loses its political edge and is unable to help address the problems it identifies.

There is an ongoing effort to archive the materials of Arghiri Emmanuel (1911-2001), a Greek-French theorist and author of the seminal 1972 critique of imperialism Unequal Exchange. In the process of creating this archive, the Arghiri Emmanuel Association discovered new information about Emmanuel’s time in the Belgian Congo (1937-1941 and 1946-1960). Here, in the second of this two-part instalment (the first post can be found here), Héritier Ilonga details Emmanuel's relationship with leader of the rebel socialist Free Republic of Congo, Antoine Gizenga, considers the complex nature of his relationship with Lumumba, and reveals Emmanuel's insistence that socialism - not capitalism - must come first in the Congo.

There is an ongoing effort to archive the materials of Arghiri Emmanuel (1911-2001), a Greek-French theorist and author of the seminal 1972 critique of imperialism Unequal Exchange. In the process of creating this archive, the Arghiri Emmanuel Association discovered new information about Emmanuel’s time in the Belgian Congo (1937-1941 and 1946-1960), particularly his relationship to Patrice Lumumba and the liberation movement. Here, by combining archival material with biographical information obtained in conversation with Emmanuel’s family and peers, it is revealed that much of Emmanuel's early political and intellectual development – including his theory of unequal exchange – was heavily influenced by lengthy periods of time in the Belgian Congo, including through personal relationships with prominent anti-colonial figures of the period. This is the first post of a two-part installment; the second post will follow next week.

Horman Chitonge and ROAPE's Peter Lawrence introduce Volume 51 Issue 180 of the journal, a special issue honouring the life and work of leading African scholar-activist and one of our contributing editors, Lungisile Ntsebeza. Ntsebeza’s work has prominently featured in debates on the land question, rural local government and social movements in South Africa and Africa more broadly. Yet Ntsebeza’s work has not only been academic. He has used his research on land and rural governance to inform and support the daily struggles of communities in different parts of South Africa and the continent.