Call for Articles: The Specter of Multipolarity and Imperialism Haunts Global Africa
Since the new millennium, the language of war has been central to the way policymakers, commentators, and politicians interact with Africa. This war-centric framework has radically reshaped the continent, even as the African Union was established with the intention of radical transformation. The War on Terror and reactions to liberal imperialism, often disguised as humanitarianism, have plagued the continent and Global Africans (African descendants across the globe) in various ways.
In recent years, NATO and AFRICOM have extended their footprints on different geographies with unprecedented repercussions that have undermined the sovereignty of African people globally. Despite this, a renewed consciousness is emerging in response to intensified imperialism, which on the one hand, might give leeway for African peoples to engage global politics in a different way and as a leverage against imperialist hegemony. On the other hand, this rising multipolar pole is yet to prove its capability in stifling the longue durée of an unabashed US-led western imperialism.
Given this specter of multipolarity that can serve as a revolutionary alternative to the imperialist hegemony of unipolarity, Global Africa stands at a crucial conjuncture that it must strategically engage with in order to escape dependency and burgeon liberation, sovereignty and emancipatory development.
We invite authors to engage with the following topics, but not limited to:
- Challenges and possibilities of a rising multipolar pole - what is the meaning of multipolarity? Does it serve Africa and if so, in what specific ways?
- NATO, AFRICOM, and militarisms
- Various manifestations of imperialism: from cultural imperialism and coercive diplomacy, to war and extractive economies; sanctions; ideological and media warfare
- Emerging consciousness and paths to Global African liberation
- With the expulsion of the French in several countries in Western Africa - has France really departed from Western Africa along with its military bases and the colonial CFA?
- To what extent is the recent Sept 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCA) in which China pledged $50 billion of investment - both economic and military in Africa in the next three years, evidence of China as a growing player in Africa?
- (Anti-)imperialism and (anti)-Zionism in Global Africa
Author guidelines:
Pambazuka invites submissions of 1200-3000 words that critically address the current dynamics within Global Africa, particularly anti-imperialist struggle, resistance, and imaginaries. Contributions should be original. Sources cited are to be included in endnote format with Arabic numerals and a short author(s) bio. We welcome specific context cases/analysis and broader theoretical implications of such specter.
Please send your articles to Tennyson ([email protected]), Ama ([email protected]), and Essam ([email protected]) by 20th December 2024 in Word document format. We will get back to you with comments on your submissions.
ABOUT PAMBAZUKA
Pambazuka News is an award-winning Pan-African engaging and mobilising Global Africa movements for social justice run by the charity Fahamu Trust Limited. At its peak, Pambazuka News was the foremost site for contemporary news on Global Africa, which stood at more than 800,000 readers in 2016-2017. After a hiatus, the press is being relaunched in early 2025.
We encourage authors to consult the ethos and values of Pambazuka: Pambazuka – Platforms for analysis and debate