African elites

The Ukraine-Russia conflict has garnered global attention due to its geopolitical implications. It is perceived to be the superpower rivalry that has a spillover effect on Africa with some African countries gradually going back to the old doctrine of non-alignment that was observed by most African States during the Cold War. This paper aims to address this gap by assessing the policy of African States towards the Ukraine-Russia war. Utilizing a qualitative and exploratory design, this study analyses official statements, speeches, and media coverage from African States on the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The study is carried out within the ambit of the Constructivism. It is a theoretical approach in international relations that emphasizes the role of social norms, beliefs, and ideas in shaping state behavior. In the context of the Russia-Ukraine war, a constructivist analysis of African states' positions would consider the ways in which their beliefs about sovereignty, international law, and regional stability influenced their responses to the conflict. The study found out that the majority of African States adopted a neutral stance towards the conflict, with a few countries expressing support for either Russia or Ukraine this is because Africa wants to take its responsibility and not always work under the influence of the West to make a particular decision. Moreover, African states' policy towards the Ukraine-Russia conflict is primarily driven by economic interests, regional alliances, and ideological principles.

Hunger, poverty, malnutrition, and unstable food systems are among the societal challenges facing the African continent. These difficulties result from Africa’s inability to address external shocks such as poor economic growth and widespread conflict. Furthermore, the continent is still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, which devastated its developmental prospects. Increased dependence on Russia and Ukraine for vital supplies such as wheat and sunflower oil has exacerbated Africa’s food insecurity crisis. This paper examines how the Russia-Ukraine conflict has affected Africa’s food supply and how, in the future, the continent can secure food supply in times of uncertainty. The authors submit that Africa must improve its agricultural production systems to reduce reliance on other countries and promote long-term food supply.

Hunger, poverty, malnutrition, and unstable food systems are among the societal challenges facing the African continent. These difficulties result from Africa’s inability to address external shocks such as poor economic growth and widespread conflict. Furthermore, the continent is still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, which devastated its developmental prospects. Increased dependence on Russia and Ukraine for vital supplies such as wheat and sunflower oil has exacerbated Africa’s food insecurity crisis. This paper examines how the Russia-Ukraine conflict has affected Africa’s food supply and how, in the future, the continent can secure food supply in times of uncertainty. The authors submit that Africa must improve its agricultural production systems to reduce reliance on other countries and promote long-term food supply.

The study examines the pattern of food inflation in Africa, the extent to which Russia-Ukraine war impacted food inflation in Africa and find out whether the war going on between Russia and Ukraine is likely to instigate social unrest in Africa. The study was a longitudinal panel design. Three research questions guided the study. The population comprised 39 time series data points which spanned January 2019 to March 2022 on food inflation for the 54 African countries. A sample size of four countries comprising of Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Morocco were purposively selected. Data were sourced from Trading Economics database and analyzed using descriptive analysis trend analysis, mean, and percentage. Results showed that Nigeria recorded the highest food inflation rate relative to the other sampled countries. Morocco recorded the least food inflation rate. However, Morocco and Kenya were struck the most by food prices as a result of the war. The study also found out that the con...

O conjunto de artigos intitulado “Voz de Angola clamando no deserto” é uma coletânea anônima escrita em Maio de 1901 como resposta a um artigo publicado na Gazeta de Luanda alguns meses antes. O tom ofensivo do artigo jornalístico provoca uma reação articulada, que pode ser analisada no plano discursivo sob dois aspectos: como resposta ao discurso estereotipado de cunho ofensivo e racista, e como linguagem da razão, por oposição à linguagem do insulto. Emerge daí uma economia da palavra, da qual os autores se apropriam, problematizando os atributos da chamada civilização à qual são submetidos. Se a civilização comporta também o insulto, a palavra torna-se instrumento de contestação ao colonialismo.

Leadership exists in its most natural form among equals. It is not the same as domination or the exercise of power. True leaders respect the integrity of others.-John Adair When I say "politics," ... it [is] not a question of the art of governing the State for the public welfare in the general framework of laws and regulations. It is [a] question of politician politics: the struggles of clansnot even [ideological] tendencies-to place well oneself, one's relatives, and one's clients in the cursus honorum, that is, the race for preferments.

What makes the politics of resentment flourish in sub-Sahara Africa? The politics of resentment in sub-Sahara Africa can be defined as resentment and anger towards a system of governance widely viewed as bias, exploitative and repressive. In a politics of resentment, anger manifests as a result of perceived state oppression and injustice. Instead of blaming corrupt elites and colonial powers, sub-Sahara Africans misplace blame on each other for the misery they experience.

A politics of resentment is located between different communities of people. These communities of difference come about due to state oppression that is part and parcel of postcolonial experiences. There is a “re-channeling of resentment.” Africans, instead of directing their dissatisfaction with their oppressive regimes and morally depraved rulers as well as against residues of colonialism that prevent the flourishing of life, turn their anger at each other. 

This paper explores the sources of resentment that sub-Sahara African citizens have towards each other in historical and contemporary contexts. I argue that resentments in sub-Sahara Africa are layered, entangled, and nourish one another. The politics of resentment in sub-Sahara Africa is animated by three resentments between groups based on geographic, economic, and ethnic considerations.

These resentments intertwine with one another and shape how sub-Sahara Africans make sense of the world around them. I will explore the multiple ways in which resentment is actively produced to wield state power during the colonial and postcolonial period. The ways that resentment has wielded state power is much more transparent in the colonial period – while in the postcolonial period, the methods are a lot more discreet.

The three resentments assume form because of European conquest and domination. These resentments are not a resistance of hegemonic colonialism and modern development practices but are instead instances of misplaced resentment. Conflicts of ideology, and especially the balance of power between different interest groups, manifest in these three categories of resentment. These conflicts are amplified by colonial histories and logics.

Feelings of resentment are not aimed at building viable societies. They justify one’s social and cultural system by negating the world of the other.  These feelings are shaped by colonial domination and continuing colonial logics and structures. Africans have been trapped in resentment.  Resentment at the fact they have been oppressed, abused, belittled, cheated, turned against each other and then blamed for their “savagery” against each other. This resentment has not allowed Africans to reflect on what these realities have meant for their psyches, both historical and current.

Resentment is a powerful human emotion that has both private and social dimensions where it manifests in a variety of ways. Remnants of colonialism and African elites often exacerbate tensions between citizens and create new power asymmetries that yield anger and discontent. Fellow sub-Sahara Africans direct this discontent at each other. Resentment refers to a feeling of displeasure induced by being insulted, offended or deprived. It is typically a reaction to slights or affronts, to assaults, wither mild or severe, upon ones self.

The reactive feeling of resentment is based on the actor’s definition of the insult, slight, sense of deprivation, or other felt injury as unwarranted or unjust – the result of wrongful conduct or unfair insitutions. Colonial violence and modern neoliberal development practice reproduce violence and resentment between fellow citizens. These nauseating phenomena erode common humanity and pan-African solidarity.

I propose replacing the politics of resentment with a politics of consensus. A politics of consenus was often the order of the day in African deliberations, and on principle. African culture encourages a politics of consensus. The African belief that persons are related to other persons and non-persons such as the divine, animals and plants and to the physical and social universe is rooted in consensus.

A politics of consensus in a modern context would involve celebrating multiple modalities of development and ways of knowing. A healthy pan African coexistence should exist between the farmer and the entrepreneur, the indigenous and the urban and the artist and the doctor. In a Pan-African coexistence and consensus, each person should be able to celebrate their own modality – without colonial logics and modern austerity measures corrupting unity.

Technology, science and innovation should be celebrated alongside tradition and indigenous ways of knowing. Strong and just states should take care of African citizens, and tribal and ethnic divisions of the colonial past should be abandoned. Africans should determine their own fate without interference. A politics of consenus will restore the hope and optimism that Africans had at the beginning of the post colonial period. It will free Africa from neocolonial shackles that have prevented the continent from maximizing its full potential.

ABSTRACT & RÉSUMÉ & ZUSAMMENFASSUNG : Putin attaches great importance to rebuilding Russia as a world power, including relations with Africa. But while the Soviet Union used to advocate socialist modernization in Africa, Moscow no longer offers socialist ideologies. Instead, it focuses on access to African elites, particularly authoritarian leaders. It also seeks to sway elections in its favour, particularly in fragile but resource-rich states. The Kremlin says it wants to avoid competing directly with other powers active in Africa. Instead, it wants to focus on countries where neither the West nor China dominates. There it expects to be able to work more effectively. But Russia, like China, is challenging Western norms, undermining US and EU sanctions. In addition, both strategic partners support non-interference in the internal affairs of states. In addition, Russia's relations with Africa have been motivated significantly by its interest in African resources and security markets. Russia's resurgence in Africa benefits not least from Islamist terrorism, for example, in the Sahel and Mozambique. It uses fragile states and ongoing conflicts to secure lucrative arms deals and mining concessions. Moscow signed military cooperation agreements with 21 African governments, including negotiations on establishing military bases. It uses paramilitary contractors to manipulate the course of local conflicts in its favour. Since 2015, Russian-African trade has doubled to around USD 20 billion per year. Russia exported $14 billion worth of goods and services and imported about $5 billion worth of African products. In return, Moscow can count on the support of African leaders in foreign policy. Thus, Eritrea voted against a UN General Assembly resolution strongly condemning Russia's war in Ukraine. 18 other African countries abstained, including Mali, Mozambique, Angola and South Africa. ________________________________________________________________________________________ RÉSUMÉ : Poutine attache une grande importance à la reconstruction de la Russie en tant que puissance mondiale, y compris les relations avec l'Afrique. Mais alors que l'Union soviétique prônait la modernisation socialiste en Afrique, Moscou ne propose plus d'idéologies socialistes. Au lieu de cela, il se concentre sur l'accès aux élites africaines, en particulier les dirigeants autoritaires. Il cherche également à influencer les élections en sa faveur, en particulier dans les États fragiles mais riches en ressources. Le Kremlin dit vouloir éviter de concurrencer directement les autres puissances actives en Afrique. Au contraire, il veut se concentrer sur les pays où ni l'Occident ni la Chine ne dominent. Là, il s'attend à pouvoir travailler plus efficacement. Mais la Russie, comme la Chine, défie les normes occidentales, sapant les sanctions américaines et européennes. En outre, les deux partenaires stratégiques soutiennent la non-ingérence dans les affaires intérieures des États. En plus, les relations de la Russie avec l'Afrique sont fortement influencées par son intérêt pour les ressources africaines et les marchés de la sécurité. La résurgence de la Russie en Afrique profite notamment du terrorisme islamiste, par exemple au Sahel et au Mozambique. Il utilise les États fragiles et les conflits en cours pour obtenir des contrats d'armement lucratifs et des concessions minières. Moscou a signé des accords de coopération militaire avec 21 gouvernements africains, y compris des négociations sur l'établissement de bases militaires. Il utilise des sous-traitants paramilitaires pour manipuler le cours des conflits locaux en sa faveur. En retour, Moscou peut compter sur le soutien des dirigeants africains en matière de politique étrangère. Ainsi, l'Érythrée a voté contre une résolution de l'Assemblée générale des Nations unies condamnant fermement la guerre de la Russie en Ukraine. 18 autres pays africains se sont abstenus, dont le Mali, le Mozambique, l'Angola et l'Afrique du Sud. ___________________________________________________________________________________ ZUSAMMENFASSUNG : Putin misst dem Wiederaufbau Russlands als Weltmacht große Bedeutung bei, einschließlich der Beziehungen zu Afrika. Doch während die Sowjetunion früher die sozialistische Modernisierung in Afrika propagierte, bietet Moskau keine sozialistischen Ideologien mehr an. Stattdessen konzentriert es sich auf den Zugang zu afrikanischen Eliten, insbesondere zu autoritären Führern. Außerdem versucht es, Wahlen zu seinen Gunsten zu beeinflussen, insbesondere in fragilen, aber rohstoffreichen Staaten. Damit will der Kreml nach eigenen Angaben vermeiden, direkt mit anderen in Afrika aktiven Mächten zu konkurrieren. Vielmehr will er sich auf Länder konzentrieren, in denen weder der Westen noch China dominieren. Dort erwartet er, effektiver arbeiten zu können. Doch Russland stellt ebenso wie China westliche Normen in Frage und untergräbt damit die US- und EU-Sanktionen. Darüber hinaus unterstützen beide strategischen Partner die Politik der Nichteinmischung in innere Angelegenheiten der Staaten. Zudem werden Russlands Beziehungen zu Afrika maßgeblich durch sein Interesse an afrikanischen Ressourcen und Sicherheitsmärkten beeinflusst. Russlands Wiedererstarken in Afrika profitiert nicht zuletzt vom islamistischen Terrorismus, etwa in der Sahelzone und in Mosambik. Dabei nutzt es fragile Staaten und andauernde Konflikte, um sich lukrative Waffengeschäfte und Bergbaukonzessionen zu sichern. Moskau unterzeichnete militärische Kooperationsabkommen mit 21 afrikanischen Regierungen, einschließlich Verhandlungen über die Errichtung von Militärstützpunkten. Es nutzt paramilitärische Auftragnehmer, um den Verlauf lokaler Konflikte zu seinen Gunsten zu manipulieren. Im Gegenzug kann Moskau auf die Unterstützung afrikanischer Führer in der Außenpolitik zählen. So stimmte Eritrea gegen eine Resolution der UN General Versammlung, in welcher Russlands Krieg in der Ukraine scharf verurteilt wurde. 18 weitere afrikanische Länder enthielten sich der Stimme, darunter Mali, Mosambik, Angola und Südafrika.

Colonialism and its after-effects of neo-colonialism and postcolonialism pervade the male-dominated literary tradition produced on the African continent. Within the complexities of these realities, the African woman may be said to be “doubly colonized” and her burdens multiple. Imprisoned then, by the authoritative phalluses which define her daily experiences and which seek to negate the authentic image of the African woman, as writer, she is compelled to negotiate new sites in which she articulates more viable and acceptable self-images. Our study here is, specifically, on one such response: that of the Nigerian novelist, Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, in her important work, The Last of the Strong Ones (TLSO , 1996). This novel is important in that it directs us to a new historicism and cultural critique. Articulated in three parts, the paper, in its introduction, attempts a definition of the indices of identity that circumscribe the lives of African women especially within the present-da...

Leadership exists in its most natural form among equals. It is not the same as domination or the exercise of power. True leaders respect the integrity of others.-John Adair When I say "politics," ... it [is] not a question of the art of governing the State for the public welfare in the general framework of laws and regulations. It is [a] question of politician politics: the struggles of clansnot even [ideological] tendencies-to place well oneself, one's relatives, and one's clients in the cursus honorum, that is, the race for preferments.

The reality of globalization in the world today, and the apparent benefits it has recorded in the sphere of international economics, politics, social, educational liberalization and principally, science and technology are without doubt, overwhelming. But globalization is by no means a full proof error free ideology. Its negative impacts on the economic, political, educational and national cultures and values of most developing nations, particular Africa are of immense proportion. The concern of this paper is to philosophically examine the impact of globalization on African value system. The paper argues that globalization is not a problem but a challenge to Africa. African countries need not cry foul over globalization but need to stand up to the challenges it poses. The paper contends that African countries need to develop policies that are rooted in their cultural heritages, which can also be adopted by other cultures and societies of the world in order to have an encompassing as well as integrative value system in 21 st century Africa.

RESUMO
Este estudo tem como objetivo analisar Voz d´Angola clamando no deserto offerecida aos amigos da verdade pelos naturaes (1901), obra coletiva e anônima composta por onze artigos e publicada por filhos do país que viviam em Luanda e no interior próximo. Grupo de fronteira, produto dos encontros entre os Mbundu e os portugueses, os filhos do país atuaram como traficantes de escravos desde o século XVII, de quando datam os primeiro registros de sua presença na colônia. Após a proibição do tráfico, conseguiram colocações em postos intermediários e baixos da administração colonial por serem letrados, mas principalmente porque o governo português carecia de funcionários. A partir da década de 1880, pressionado pelas disputas territoriais na África com outros países europeus, Portugal passou a incentivar a ida de imigrantes portugueses para Angola, tendo como uma das consequências o gradual alijamento dos filhos do país dos cargos no governo. Nesta mesma época, surgiram os primeiros órgãos de imprensa dirigidos por filhos do país em Luanda, cujas páginas traziam protestos contra a sua situação, críticas ao governo e embates com os colonos portugueses. Em meio a este cenário de confronto, é publicada Voz d´Angola clamando no deserto, tida como expressão máxima dessa geração de filhos do país. Amparado em diversas fontes documentais e através da interpretação dos artigos que compõe a obra, este trabalho procura demonstrar como é feita uma dura crítica às situações de opressão a que os africanos eram submetidos devido à presença colonial portuguesa, trazendo avanços quando comparada a outras publicações dos filhos do país, mas também limitações de sua época.

ABSTRACT
This study´s purpose is to analyze Voz d´Angola clamando no deserto offerecida aos amigos da verdade pelos naturaes (1901), a collective and anonymous work composed of eleven articles published by the filhos do país who lived in Luanda and surrounding countryside. A frontier group, product of the encounter between the Mbundu and the Portuguese, the filhos do país had operated as slave traders since the seventeenth century, when we find the first registers of their presence in the colony. After the slave trafficking prohibition, they were able to find intermediate and low positions in colonial administration due to their literate education, but only because the Portuguese government was short on employees. Since the 1880´s, pressed by territorial disputes with other European countries in Africa, Portugal started to encourage Portuguese people to immigrate to Angola, and as a consequence, the filhos do país were gradually dismissed from positions in the government. By that same time, the first written press organs were established and directed by filhos do país in Luanda, and in their pages they wrote about protests against the situation, criticism toward the government and confrontations with Portuguese settlers. Amid this confrontation scenario the Voz d´Angola clamando no deserto is published, and is recognized as the strongest expression of the filhos do país generation. Supported by various document sources and through interpretation of the work´s articles, this study seeks to demonstrate how they exert harsh criticism to oppressive situations the Africans were submitted due to the Portuguese colonization, bringing up advances when compared to other publications of the filhos do país, but also bringing up the limitations of its time.

The global fi nancial crisis of 2007-09 has been characterized as the most severe economic calamity since the global great depression of the early 1930s. In this paper we argue that its magnitude in terms of global GDP declines and losses in jobs cannot be explained by a single cause. We organize the contributing causes in groups of microeconom-ic and, macroeconomic effects and conclude that no individual group alone was suffi cient to cause the crisis but that both generated the great global recession. We then focus on the spillover effects on the crisis on the different regions of the world.

This paper deals with the negotiations concerning the EEC association with overseas territories during the Treaty of  Rome meeting in 1957. It insists on the fact that at a time when French overseas terrirories in Tropical Africa were granted more and more autonomy, their leaders were kept outside these negotiations. Hence the subsequent necessity for the EEC and the European Commission (DG development) to convince these leaders to stay associated with the EEC when independence became impending in 1960 and the association had to be renewed to become the Yaoundé convention (the basis of EEC development policy). We analyse here the strategies used by the European Commission and its services (DG8) to convince the African elite to remain associated with the EEC. The strategy was copied on colonial methods and was to target a specific elite, trying, through, this elite to reach the 'population'. This however did not work out, as the elite of the African states, played the role of censor.

L’entrepreneuriat comme institution économique est largement façonné
par les relations sociales et les pratiques politiques. Nous essayons de montrer dans quelle mesure le système politique en Afrique subsaharienne postcoloniale, présent dans la vie des affaires comme «courtier», «intermédiaire» et «protecteur» des entreprises d’accueil dans les années 1980, continue à fonctionner de la sorte dans l’environnement néolibéral des années 1990 et même jusqu’à nos jours.
En Afrique Noire la politique coloniale a renforcé les élites commerciales
étrangères afin de gérer et compléter sa propre faiblesse administrative. Les politiques postcoloniales ont, quant à elles, valorisé les structures économiques coloniales tout en s’efforçant de créer de nouvelles élites dans les affaires, dans le cadre du besoin de la création d’une bourgeoisie politico-économique. Les administrations coloniales cédèrent leur place à des États Africains indépendants qui étaient basés à des structures politiques qui voulaient absolument répondre
aux besoins d’autodétermination, mais qui, n’ayant pas de fortes bases
économiques, étaient obligés de suivre des politiques de gestion économiques développementalistes soutenues par des logiques de soutien des intérêts des pays ex-colonisateurs.
Les indépendances en Afrique Noire se sont basées sur des régimes politiques de parti unique. Ces gouvernements fonctionnaient selon la volonté, la culture politique et les visions du chef de l’Etat. Les chefs du gouvernement avaient – pour leur majorité - la vision de créer une élite de « type bourgeoisie économique » qui prendrait sur elle le décollage économique de leur pays. Actuellement la démocratie gagne du terrain et le multipartisme devient une réalité dans plusieurs pays africains. Les cercles d’affaires ont, pour eux, plusieurs interlocuteurs pour négocier.
Les régimes postcoloniaux furent fortement clientélistes, la situation
économique étant toujours le baromètre qui démontrerait à chaque fois ceux qui seraient les boucs émissaires sur lesquels serait projeté l’anathème pour les difficultés.
Dans le cadre de notre propos nous nous sommes penchés sur les cas du Niger et du Cameroun post-indépendants. Les politiciens africains ce trouvent aujourd’hui entre deux mondes, deux cultures d’action politique. L’un monde est encore attaché dans la dite tradition de l’appartenance ethnique, issu de la culture coloniale et d’un mélange avec la
culture africaine liée à la famille, le clan et le village, et l’autre est un monde qui aborde la politique dans la perspective des conflits de classe. Alors les hommes d’affaires cherchent à défendre leurs intérêts indépendamment de leur origine ethnique, leur appartenance religieuse, leur clan ou leur village, obligeant par conséquent les politiciens d’ajuster leurs politiques aux nouvelles données.

This conference paper revises the theories discussing the recurrent conflictuality in sub-Saharan Africa marked by ongoing military coups, regime changes and dramatic social turmoil. The paper argues that a long-term research on the formation of political and economic elites is able to shed some light on post-colonial empowerment processes and social elitist competition.

While the rest of humanity marches on towards a sustained and comprehensive process of economic and social progress, as well as human development, Africa persists to slide backwards in the foregoing critical areas. Why is this untenable situation in Africa ramifying itself unabated? The answer that this essay proffers is: politics matters and with politics comes leadership. Arguably, Africa remains a backwater in the twenty-first century because the politics at play is retrogressive and cannot liberate the mass of the people from chronic hunger, squalor, destitution and penury. This is because Africa suffers from predatory and ethnic-based politics, among others, which has derailed the continent's development prospects for decades. This appraisal is not oblivious to inter alia, the debilitating antecedents of slavery, colonial subjugation, imperialism, neo-colonialism and unequal terms of trade. In positing African solutions for African problems, this paper argues for the right politics to unfold in Africa. However, the former can only be realised once there is a nucleus of visionary and high quality leaders who will actually rise to the occasion and lead their people to better states of existence. This is what some of Africa's nationalists did when they fought against colonial rule and demanded immediate independence from imperial Europe. The paper elucidates what visionary and quality leadership means and argues that only this type of leadership can champion African solutions for African problems. For development to accrue to Africans, the paper concludes, African politics will require an extensive overhaul, with political leaders being re-awakened to their roles and responsibilities in meeting the needs of the people. The discussion also calls for people power in Africa and dwells on the modalities for realising and reclaiming the foregoing, and how this can be used to spur inclusive development on the African continent.

When I say "politics," ... it [is] not a question of the art of governing the State for the public welfare in the general framework of laws and regulations. It is [a] question of politician politics: the struggles of clansnot even [ideological] tendencies-to place well oneself, one's relatives, and one's clients in the cursus honorum, that is, the race for preferments.