Archive - An Africanist Perspective

Kenyan Protests, Part Three: Thoughts on potential pathways forward

The case for why Ruto should stop scheming and instead focus on a narrow set of achievable goals to restore the fiscal pact, improve service delivery…

Jul 19 •

Kenyan Protests, Part Two: How not to clean up a fiscal mess

Generalized erosion of fiscal pact and trust in government raise the specter of widespread tax evasion, proliferation of informality, and unmanageable…

Jul 12 •

Kenyan Protests, Part One: The political education of President William Ruto

Lessons on the difficulties of governing during turbulent economic times after campaigning as an anti-establishment populist.

Jul 2 •

June 2024

Why exactly are major international firms leaving the Nigerian market?

Nigeria's myriad problems have decades-old origins, but the Tinubu administration bears responsibility for poor rollout of reforms

Jun 19 •

The potent powerlessness of Leftist politics in African states

A tale of people who want structural change but eschew the messy realities of economics and organized politics

Jun 12 •

May 2024

Two unsolicited ideas on how to invest some of Melinda French Gates’ $12.5 billion

The case for bold risk taking to boost women-owned businesses and intensify learning on how to improve subnational service provision that targets women

May 31 •

Making lasting peace in the Sahel

There is certainly no silver bullet, but long-term thinking and fidelity to reality-based policies could put Sahelian states on the path to stability.

May 11 •

April 2024

On the ongoing cocoa boom and what it tells us about the current state (and future) of African agriculture

Long relegated to the back burner, African agriculture — a sector that is critical for poverty reduction — is experiencing steady productivity decline…

Apr 18 •

(Energy) poverty is very bad for humans and the environment

It’s time to stop pretending that the planet will be saved by maintaining energy poverty in low-income states

Apr 9 •

March 2024

Gulf Cash & Influence in African States

There is enormous potential for Africa-Gulf relations to propel economic prosperity on both sides of the Red Sea; but only if both sets of leaders can…

Mar 29 •

Policymaking for economic transformation in African states: what ought to be done

A simple case for embracing sound principles of economics and politics to improve policy design, implementation, and sustainability in the region

Mar 22 •

Academic research and policy research are two different things

The case for investing in context-specific policy research and implementation strategies

Mar 3 •

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