African political economy, foreign affairs, and general commentary.
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So far the rainbow nation has been a sterling example of reconciliation and peaceful decolonization. Now the hard work of doing normal bare-knuckle pro-growth politics must begin.
On developmentalist state-building and its impacts on business-state relations.
Thinking through the economics and politics of connectivity over a vast continent
On models of state-building and their applicability to the African context
African states will continue to struggle against non-state armed actors unless the region’s militaries undertake significant organizational and technological reforms.
On the past and future of African growth and development
It’s a good thing that World Bank is finally OK with industrial policy, but policymakers shouldn’t let themselves be constrained by the coming prescriptive “best practices.”
Policymakers should prepare for the fact that the coming shocks to have long lags; and that the cadence of global crises will likely pick up.
Ideas matter. And it's high time key players in the Horn (politicians, academics, journalists, analysts, and military strategists) chose to escape the pro-war shackles of geography and history.
Projections point to elevated commodity prices in important sectors. Here's how African policymakers can avoid mistakes of the past.
