Sean Jacobs is associate professor of international affairs at the New School and founder-editor of Africa is a Country.
In the years after its violent formation, Israel tried to position itself as a member of the rising anti-colonial world. And today, despite its obvious role as an occupier, Israel is trying the same thing: establishing ties to African countries to shield Israel from criticisms that it’s an apartheid state.
The #EndSARS movement has convulsed Nigeria for weeks, demanding an end to police brutality. But the protesters have something else in their crosshairs: the unequal, austerity-ridden status quo and the political class that defends it.
Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah was a postcolonial icon who tried to fight the forces of imperialism and capitalism to build a nation, continent, and world based on equality and self-government. That’s why, despite his faults, young people in Ghana today are resurrecting Nkrumah’s vision as a radical alternative to neoliberalism.
South Africa’s apartheid government murdered Steve Biko 43 years ago this month. But they couldn’t snuff out his political influence — the Black Consciousness leader remains a symbol of defiance against injustice and racial oppression.
South African politics urgently needs an injection of electoral energy from the Left, that speaks in a language that resonates with voters, rejects chauvinism, and embraces democracy.
We should resist constructing self-serving myths about political figures — even someone as heroic as Winnie Mandela.
Jacob Zuma won’t be remembered as a liberation hero, but as a corrupt leader who broke the South African left.
From Donald Trump to Jacob Zuma, we can’t reduce politics to “getting rid of the bad guys” and expect to win.
58 years ago today, Congolese prime minister and anticolonial leader Patrice Lumumba was assassinated.
Recent local elections show the bleak future of South African politics: two centrist parties and no left alternative.
Muhammad Ali’s political life was as frustrating and contradictory as it was principled and selfless.