In the last few years, militaries have carried out coups in numerous African countries, including Gabon, Niger, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Guinea, Chad, and Mali. Does this signify the beginning of a much broader continent-wide “coup epidemic?” Or are these coups mostly affecting especially weak states that face specific challenges? Where is democratic resilience strong and where is there a risk of continued democratic backsliding?

Today's episode is borrowed from Good Authority and their new podcast! The episode features Good Authority’s Africa experts Ken Opalo and Kim Yi Dionne who discuss these issues. Opalo is an associate professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and the author of the substack An Africanist Perspective. Dionne is an associate professor at UC Riverside and Ufahamu Africa cohost.

Find the books, links, and articles we mentioned in this episode on our website, ufahamuafrica.com.

Fellow Gopolang Botlhokwane speaks to journalist and editor Njabulo Ngidi about the recent AFCON in Ivory Coast and the politics of football (or soccer, for our American listeners!) in Southern Africa.

Njabulo Ngidi is a senior soccer journalist, he formerly led Newframe South Africa's sports desk. Ngidi's latest investigative piece ("2010 World Cup $10-million ‘bribe’: SA left out even as $201-million returned to Fifa") at AmaBhungane Center for Journalism, won the Vodacom Journalist of the Year (sports category) in 2023 investigates possible corruption and governance is issues at South Africa Football Association (SAFA).

Find the books, links, and articles we mentioned in this episode on our website, ufahamuafrica.com.

It’s never too late to pay attention to what is happening in Sudan. The international community should be supporting everyday people’s needs as they navigate this humanitarian disaster and should also be supporting a way forward out of the war.

We're re-upping our conversation with Nisrin Elamin about the conflict in Sudan. Elamin is an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Toronto. Her work investigates the connections between land, race, belonging, and empire-making in Sudan and the broader Sahel region.

We also bring updates on the news we're paying attention to this week, including an announcement about a new Center for Global Democracy at Cornell University, which will be led by our cohost Rachel Beatty Riedl as inaugural director!

Find the books, links, and articles we mentioned in this episode on our website, ufahamuafrica.com.