Congo-Kinshasa: Children and the Coltan Wars in Eastern Congo

With at least 40,000 coerced into mining coltan, and several global tech brands directly implicated in funding conflict, pressure needs to bear on stopping the war as an imperative… Read more »

Rwanda: The Revolution Devours Its Children - the Fall of a Royal House in Republican Rwanda

The rise and scattering of an elite family, not on account of their ethnicity, but despite it, exemplifies the tragedy of authoritarianism in Rwanda. Read more »

Rwanda: Black-and-White Thinking About Rwanda

Spotting discrimination, polarisation and propaganda are important functions of the media. But to do that, journalists must be able to recognise them. Read more »

Congo-Kinshasa: 'Making a Mockery' - Ending Fortress Conservation in DR Congo and Beyond

The court ruling on the rights of the expelled Batwa people could pave the way for the paradigm shift we need. Read more »

Rwanda: Beneath the Facade of Consensus Democracy

25 years after the Inter-Rwandan Dialogue birthed 'consensus democracy', it is now time to revisit and renew the system. Read more »

Southern Africa: DR Congo Quagmire Poses an Existential Question to Southern Africa's Leaders

Engineering a permanent state of conflict in eastern Congo ensures the continued flow of minerals into the bloodstream of global capitalism. SADC must protect the lives of the… Read more »

Rwanda: Rwanda - the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Election

Kagame's latest electoral victory is testimony to the impressive work of the electoral commission in moulding the numbers to fit predetermined results. Read more »

Cameroon: 'All Is Lost'? - Cameroon's Controversial Logging in Biodiverse Ebo Forest

Why has the government awarded a logging concession in the mega biodiverse Ebo forest to a little-known company? Read more »

Congo-Kinshasa: How the International Financial System Exports Extinction to the DRC

Biodiversity loss from unequal mining deals is not a glitch. It's the logical end point of multiple transnational pressures. Read more »

Congo-Kinshasa: Lumumba Assassination - New Angle On the 20th Century's Longest Murder-Conspiracy

At 99, the memory of Patrice Lumumba only grows stronger, as a new book uncovers fresh details about his gruesome assassination 64 years ago. Read more »

Cameroon: Conflict, Land Dispossession, and the Struggle for Gender Equality in Cameroon

Debating Ideas reflects the values and editorial ethos of the African Arguments book series, publishing engaged, often radical, scholarship, original and activist writing from… Read more »

Congo-Kinshasa: 'All It Takes Is One Corrupt Official' - Huge Monkey Seizure Reveals DRC Trafficking Ring

One of the biggest ever illegal animals shipments in Africa involved senior conservation officials, suggest documents seen by African Arguments. Read more »

Congo-Kinshasa: What Are the South Africans Doing in Eastern DRC?

Unlike the SADC contingent that defeated the M23 back in 2013, the SAMIDRC force's tentative approach to the spreading conflict is raising questions about South Africa's real… Read more »

Burundi: Lake Tanganyika Reaches Record Levels, Submerging Parts of Burundi

Burundi is struggling to provide relief to hundreds of thousands and protect infrastructure as floods cause devastation. Read more »

Congo-Kinshasa: Colonialism Revamped in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Lord Leverhulme's 1911 concession in the Congo, is now held by an African-run New York-based private equity firm with strong links to global philanthropy. Read more »

Africa: Europe's Indifference to Rwanda's Atrocities Is Costing Congolese Lives

A decade ago, Europe responded to Rwanda's incursions into the DRC with sanctions. Today, it's turning a blind eye - with devastating consequences for the Congolese. Read more »

Africa: 'I'd Give Anything to Go Back' - Pygmy Communities Face Eviction in Virunga

Despite a 2022 law that protects indigenous land rights, displacements in the name of conservation continue in the DRC. Read more »

Congo-Kinshasa: Farmers 'Chased' From Virunga Accuse 'Ruthless' Rangers of Abuses

Fertile lands in the biodiverse National Park are a coveted resource for a growing population - but those who farm there risk violent consequences. Read more »

Chad: A Crisis Undeclared - 21 Years of Refuge in the Chad-Sudan Borderlands

Debating Ideas reflects the values and editorial ethos of the African Arguments book series, publishing engaged, often radical, scholarship, original and activist writing from… Read more »

Africa: The Congo Basin Got a Crucial Boost At COP28. Now We Must Build On It

Away from the headlines, announcements on deforestation and protecting the DRC's rainforests laid important groundwork for future action. Read more »

Central Africa: Central Africa's Dinosaur Regimes and the Art of Coup-Proofing

The putsch against Gabon's Bongo dynasty has shaken the region's fragile autocrats and tremulous gerontocrats into a desperation of self-protective measures. How much longer can… Read more »

Africa: The Loud Silence Around Africa's Complicity in the Slave Trade

When will we have an honest conversation about Africa's role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade? Read more »

Africa: Liberal Democracy Is in Crisis, Does It Need Rethinking?

Authoritarianism is on the rise, coups back in fashion, and elections reduced to a perfunctory ritual. How do we reverse the slide? Read more »

Congo-Kinshasa: Election 2023 - a Stable, Secure and Prosperous DRC Is Possible

Destabilised by the global scramble for its vast mineral riches, the forthcoming election could trigger the nation's transformation to prosperity - but only if it is conducted… Read more »

Gabon: Françafrique's Pet Project Remains Indispensable to Paris

Unlike the other coups in Francophone Africa, the August coup in Libreville appears to have been a change of guard rather than a revolt. Read more »