It is increasingly becoming evident that the COVID-19 pandemic will not subside anytime soon. Its impact across the world, especially Africa, with its own array of existing development and financial challenges, is multifaceted, daunting and yet to be fully realised. While entertaining optimism about taking control and subverting the threat that the virus poses, we…
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Already, tonnes of writings have surfaced on the geopolitical implications of the coronavirus. Most analysts rightly concur that the world changed in those hard to pinpoint moments when the outbreak went globally viral. It is now virtually cliché to refer to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes the Coronavirus Disease 2019…
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Calibrated to mark the centennial birthday of the global icon, the 2018 International Mandela Day on July 18 will be the most defining compared to past editions. That former US president Barack Obama will deliver the much-anticipated 16th annual Nelson Mandela Lecture on July 17 gives the commemoration an international stature. The selection of Obama…
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Calibrated to mark the centennial birthday of the global icon, the 2018 International Mandela Day on July 18 will be the most defining compared to past editions. That former US president Barack Obama will deliver the much-anticipated 16th annual Nelson Mandela Lecture on July 17 gives the commemoration an international stature.The selection of Obama as…
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US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit to Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal in November 2021 was a rare event for an administration’s first year, cautiously signalling the US’s aim to reconnect with Africa and to recover confidence in the former’s commitment to democracy. With various promising moves in the pipeline, such as the appointment of…
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In August 2020, the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS) based at the University of the Witwatersrand launched a weekly webinar series on the meaning of the 2020 US elections for Africa. Speakers were encouraged to condense some of their thoughts into the articles published in this series. The initial objective…
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Since American agricultural commodities’ demand for slave labour brought the United States and Africa together four centuries ago, the US-Africa relationship has been mainly defined by economics and the shifting strategic value of the continent to America. As President Joe Biden takes office, it is time to consider how to elevate US-Africa relations through policies…
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When Ronald Reagan began his US presidency in 1981, Nigeria’s GDP per capita was $2,180, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s $463, Côte d’Ivoire’s $1,189, and Senegal’s $751. Have African countries’ relationships with the US helped to improve living standards on the continent? This is perhaps a naive question. A maxim in international relations is…
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The famous African Americans who shaped history’s course include Barack Obama, Martin Luther King, Muhammed Ali, abolitionist Harriet Tubman and brilliant mathematician Benjamin Banneker. In Black History Month, celebrated each February, the global community is encouraged to honour those in the “historical and contemporary African diaspora” who meaningfully contribute to their communities. If there are…
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America and Africa have a 500 year plus long history of engagement. The U.S. Library of Congress notes that as early as the 1500s, Africans were involved in the Age of Exploration and travelled widely around the world. Africans traversed Ecuador, Mexico and Peru, joined the Coronado when he conquered Mexico and sailed with Ferdinand…
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