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December 27th, 2017

Reading List: Most popular @AfricaAtLSE blog posts of 2017

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Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Blog Editor

December 27th, 2017

Reading List: Most popular @AfricaAtLSE blog posts of 2017

0 comments

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

It is that time of the year when we stop to take stock of the last 12 months and we are happy to present the best-read @AfricaAtLSE blog posts of 2016, as voted by you with your clicks. If you missed any of these, here is your opportunity to catch up!

  1. Film Review: NGO – Nothing Going On -LSE alumna Simone Datzberger (@SimoneDatzberge) interviews Arnold Aganze whose latest film serves as a stern critique of how NGOs operate in African countries.
  2. After his comments about African mothers, Are we finally realising that Macron isn’t that liberal after all? – ‘Seven or eight children per woman,’ were Macron’s exact words, as he rehearsed a canard that is particularly popular among nostalgic colonialists who still speak of the Dark Continent. LSE alumna Nabila Ramdani (@NabilaRamdani) examines what these comments tell us about the new French leader.
  3. Why Zambia’s Mall Mania poses Serious Problems for the Country’s Development – Zambia is experiencing mall mania, with millions of dollars in foreign capital pouring into retail property developments. What might this hyperconsumerism mean for the country’s long term development trajectory? LSE PfAL Scholar Muna Ngenda (@mngenda) discusses how unfiltered inflows of foreign investment can underdevelop emerging economies.
  4. The CFA Franc  – French Monetary Imperialism in Africa – Ndongo Samba Sylla (@nssylla) argues that the CFA franc – officially created on 26 December 1945 by a decree of General de Gaulle – used across much of Africa today is a colonial relic. For those hoping to export competitive products, obtain affordable credit, work for the integration of continental trade, or fight for an Africa free from imperialist control, the CFA franc is an anachronism demanding orderly and methodical elimination.
  5. The Pastor as a Sexual Object – As Pentecostal pastors in a number of African countries increasingly occupy the spotlight as authorities on economic, political, and cultural matters, LSE alumnus  Ebenezer Obadare explores how these individuals are also becoming the center of an erotic economy.
  6. Ten things that happened during Mugabe’s 37-year rule – As Robert Mugabe’s long rule over Zimbabwe came to an abrupt end, LSE’s Yovanka Paquete-Perdigao (@yova_nka) reminds us just how long the former freedom fighter controlled the southern African nation.
  7. There is No Case for Colonialism – Yannick Dupraz and Valeria Rueda (@valiguaran ‏) discuss why colonialism is not a development policy to be judged on the basis of a careful cost-benefit analysis.
  8. Former Botswana President Quett Masire deserves to be remembered as one of the great post-colonial leaders in Africa – LSE’s Elliott Green examines the life and legacy of Botswana’s second President Quett Ketumile Joni Masire.
  9. Thirty six years of Mugabe and Why He Remains – When we published this piece by LSE alumna Zoe Samudzi (@ztsamudzi), little did we know that the year would end with a different leader in Zimbabwe. Definitely still worth a read as she discusses how Mugabe managed to stay in power all these years.
  10. Desperately Poor Countries Host Refugees While the Affluent World Abandons Them – Yohannes Woldemariam argues that European leaders could learn from Uganda’s compassionate policy towards refugees.

The views expressed in this post are those of the author and in no way reflect those of the Africa at LSE blog, the Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa or the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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