News & Events

Ethiopia held its parliamentary and regional state council elections on 21 June 2021 under tense conditions of the armed conflict in Tigray Region, threats of instability and insurgent attacks in western parts of the country, and the ongoing health threats due to COVID-19. Despite the current unrest, the electoral process was appreciated by a large majority of the voters and proceeded relatively well, Jon Abbink writes in the ASCL Africanist Blog.

This seminar on 17 September is organised in the framework of 'Africa 2020' and coincides with Bert van Pinxteren's PhD Defence (16 September). In his dissertation, Van Pinxteren shows that maintaining former colonial languages as sole medium of instruction in higher education will become impossible to sustain. Over the next decade, more and more African countries will have to move towards increased use of African languages. Discussion with Maarten Mous, Kwesi Kwaa Prah, Azeb Amha, Mandipa Ndlovu, Akinyinka Akinyoade, and many others.

For the Stephen Ellis Chair for the Governance of Finance and Integrity in Africa, Professor Chibuike Uche, the ASCL is looking for a student assistant (four hours a week, 9-10 months). The duties will include online research and data gathering, questionnaire distribution and collation, library search, data analysis, and taking minutes during meetings. The ideal candidate should be a second or third-year Honours student with excellent academic grades and a genuine interest in Africa. Application deadline: 26 July.

Do socio-economic cleavages shape electoral dynamics in African countries? Individual-level and party systems research since the 1990s has suggested that the answer is "no." Focusing on a number of countries in East and West Africa, this online seminar on 28 October by Prof. Catherine Boone (London School of Economics) will offer a spatial analysis of geographic patterns in constituency-level voting over three decades.