An Africanist Perspective

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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…
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Ken Opalo
20
(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
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Ken Opalo
21

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…
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Ken Opalo
5
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
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Ken Opalo
6
Academic research and policy research are two different things
The case for investing in context-specific policy research and implementation strategies
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Ken Opalo
10

February 2024

The case for keeping Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger within ECOWAS
On why the ECOWAS leadership should avoid playing into the hands of junta leaders in the Sahelian states
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Ken Opalo
8
What next for Equatorial Guinea after oil?
Lessons in natural resource exploitation in African states
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Ken Opalo
8
Is there an "Africa penalty" in sovereign ratings by credit agencies?
On the information problems associated with risk analysis in Africa
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Ken Opalo
13

January 2024

Civil War in Sudan
On the failures of state-building and the daunting challenges ahead for a beleaguered country and its peoples
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Ken Opalo
6
Recognizing Somaliland
Ethiopia is on course to break a taboo on African territorial sovereignty; and what it means for the geopolitics of the Horn and wider Red Sea region
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Ken Opalo
17
Africa in 2024
This year will bring more debt distress, respectable growth — especially in Eastern Africa, a number of pivotal elections, and sticky of conflicts and…
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Ken Opalo
10

December 2023

Africa’s 2023 Year in Review
Recapping the important developments in 2023 that are likely to shape African states' economic and political futures.
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Ken Opalo
3
© 2024 Ken Opalo
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