Debates and articles from across the openDemocracy website that discuss or are relevant to Africa

North African diversities: Algerian tales, Maghrebi dreams

A career in journalism took Francis Ghilès to the heart of power in the post-independence states of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. He saw at first hand how the oil and natural-gas industries in Algeria fuelled state ambitions, political rivalries and dreams of open frontiers. In a rich personal reflection, he asks whether the legacy of these years - including current threats to security and livelihood, from terrorism to unemployment - can lead the Maghreb and its European neighbour at last to cooperate in their shared interest. 

‘We want peace. We’re tired of war’

Julienne Lusenge spoke to Jennifer Allsopp at the Nobel Women's Initiative conference in Belfast about her work as a women's human rights defender in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Women of Senegal: agents of peace

The physical and moral suffering undergone by the valiant people of Casamance is incalculable and, as usual, it is the women and children who pay the highest price. From their position as victims, women have decided to become committed agents of peace, says Ndeye Marie Thiam.

The global and local re-packaging and marketing of a “moderate” Islamist leader

In Tunisia, the resigning former Prime Minister and Ennahda leader, Hamadi Jebali, is being groomed for a presidential role by his party as well as international players, in a bid to market an “acceptable” Islamism.  

Zimbabwe: women debunking the myth of 'merit'

In preparation for Zimbabwe's forthcoming general election, the use of quotas to increase women’s occupation of political office remains one of the most effective tools for countering the patriarchal barrier to women of ‘merit’, says opposition MP Jessie Fungayi Majome.

The future is ‘smart’ but is it equal? African women’s digital agency

As mobile and smartphone use expands across Africa, Fatimah Kelleher asks what role African women play in digital futures, and how we build a more egalitarian digital present where African women can fully use and become more active in technological innovation.

Kenya 2013 elections: reflections on the Supreme Court ruling and the role of the judiciary in democratisation

The recent ruling by Kenya's Supreme Court of Kenyatta's presidential victory implies that democracy is taking root in the country. But were its actions simply to avoid more bloody conflict, rather than to promote judicial processes?

Power, politics and public monuments in Nairobi, Kenya

For the Kenyan novelist, playwright and essayist, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, power through cultural subjugation was the principal tool of colonialism. The monuments of Nairobi can be read as a history of cultural artefacts used by the coloniser to dominate and subjugate the colonised.

Somalia's displaced: the reform test

The harsh experience of Somalis driven to seek shelter in Mogadiushu 's unsafe camps should be an urgent priority for the country's new government and its foreign donors, say Jamie Vernaelde & Laetitia Bader.

The Mali effect

Many evolving disputes in north Africa and the Sahara fuse religious language and political impulse to powerful effect, says Stephen Ellis.

Ethiopia: the ‘war on terror’ and the trial of 28 community leaders

The lies that creep out of the state’s mouth are justified as the protection of order, even when they are against the law, but a citizen’s lawful attempt to counter their lies is terrorism. 

Togo: a country of strangers?

Making peace in Togo is not a numbers game. Nor is it about searching to find out who was wrong in the past. As the next election approaches it is time to recreate our country’s history and invest in unity and peace, says Mawusse Domefaa  Atimasso.

Togo : un pays d’étrangers?

Pour établir la paix au Togo, il ne faut pas faire de bilan ni chercher à savoir qui a eu tort dans le passé. A l’approche des élections il convient de réécrire l’histoire de notre pays et d’investir dans l’unité et dans la paix, dit Mawusse Domefaa Atimasso.

Mali, war after war

The combination of western advance and rebel retreat in northern Mali echoes the initial phase of the anti-Taliban campaign in Afghanistan. Britain's upgraded military commitment makes the parallel even more acute.

Political Islam in Sudan: pragmatism or principle?

The Sudanese Islamic Movement (SIM) has lost much legitimacy with the Sudanese people and its own party officials. How has this come to be and can an Islamic spiritual movement be both political and partisan?

Mali, and the al-Qaida trap

A decade ago, western leaders' excessive reaction and inflated rhetoric served to amplify rather than diminish the power of Islamist groups. The same danger now overhangs Mali, Algeria and beyond.

Algeria, Mali and beyond

The seizure of an international gas-plant in Algeria follows closely the escalation of conflict in Mali. The response of western states to both reinforces the worldview of their Islamist adversaries.

Mali, dynamic of war

The French-led military intervention in Mali both accelerates the war in the west African country and transforms its character. The prospect is of a long-term engagement that Islamist forces far beyond the region will see as an historic opportunity

“Kind sirs, stop beating your wives!”

Day-to-day, Chadian women are beaten, humiliated and crushed beneath the weight of traditions. However, women were not predestined to be their husbands’ punch-bags, says Kagbe Rachel. Chadian women must be treated with dignity and respect. 

Something rotten in the ANC state

The palaces of President Zuma and the massacre of miners symbolise how the gulf between rich and poor has widened in the eighteen years since the African National Congress came to power in South Africa. On the eve of the ANC conference, a report on growing disillusionment among former supporters.

This week's guest editors

openGlobalRights editors

Our guest editors James Ron, Leslie Vinjamuri, Sophie Arie and Archana Pandya introduce this week's theme of:

Emerging powers and human rights.

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