Rethinking Francophone Africa

This guest post by CARI Fellow Dr. Afa’anwi Ma’abo CHE, from Kampala International University, is the first of our series “Notes from the Field.” Over the coming weeks and months, we will publish a selection of posts from our current group of research fellows, with a focus on reflections, research notes and preliminary findings. For his CARI-funded research project, Dr. CHE traveled to Cameroon, which prompted the below thoughts.

Following China’s resolve to ‘go global’ at the end of the 20th century, Africa has witnessed a surge in Chinese trade, finance, and investments. China has risen and surpassed the US to become Africa’s leading economic partner. Cooperation, relative to competition, between the superpowers has a greater potential to induce optimal positive-sum gains for the superpowers and for Africa. But the scholarly and policy worlds are shrouded in pessimism about chances of the US cooperating with China in Africa. Three major reasons are often averred for the pessimism:

Sent by Edouard Bustin

The West African nation of Guinea is again generating headlines for all of the wrong reasons. For those who do not follow the region closely, the concerning developments may seem like a bit of a shock given the democratic advancements transpiring elsewhere in West Africa; however, the warning signs in Guinea were long apparent and troubling for anyone paying attention.

The latest reports from the ground indicate that at least four people were killed this week, and dozens more injured, after police fired tear gas and live ammunition in an attempt to disperse thousands of protesters who are rightly outraged at President Alpha Condé’s bid to extend his time in office. Unrest in the country has been building towards a tipping point for several months now, with demonstrations growing increasingly restive in light of a potential revision to the country’s constitution that would allow President Condé to run in next year’s election.

Critical perspectives

US-China Cooperation in Africa? Perhaps not in French Africa

ALPHA CONDÉ’S AUTHORITARIAN AMBITIONS IN GUINEA PRESENT A MAJOR TEST FOR REGIONAL LEADERS