Ken Opalo
@kopalo.bsky.social
Associate Professor at Georgetown University. Washington, DC. More here: https://www.africanistperspective.com/
This piece (from 2024) has sadly aged pretty well. Gulf Cash & Influence in Africa: www.africanistperspective.com/p/gulf-cash-...
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 overcome their lack of strategic ambition.
africanistperspective.com
Debates about Rwanda’s growth success are largely concerned with quarrelling over the veracity of data. There is less attention to the distinct nature of its development strategy and what that tells us about the challenge of late development under contemporary globalisation
Ken Opalo@kopalo.bsky.social · last wk.Book Review: The Political Economy of Rwanda’s Rise (by Pritish Behuria): open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...
Book Review: The Political Economy of Rwanda’s Rise (by Pritish Behuria): open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...
Book Review (3/26): The Political Economy of Rwanda's Rise (by Pritish Behuria)
On developmentalist state-building and its impacts on business-state relations.
open.substack.com
Why is it so difficult (and crazy expensive) to fly within Africa? open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...
Why is it so difficult (and crazy expensive) to fly within Africa?
Thinking through the economics and politics of connectivity over a vast continent
open.substack.com
In my search for thought provoking perspectives on #politics, #governance and #economics, beyond Europe & the USA, I have come across @kopalo.bsky.social's work , which I find interesting both from an Africanist Perspective and a broader worldwide perspective... www.africanistperspective.com/about
About - An Africanist Perspective
African political economy, foreign affairs, and general commentary. Click to read An Africanist Perspective, by Ken Opalo, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.
africanistperspective.com
Much of Africa is terribly under-governed. That needs to change: open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...
The mechanics of building strong states in 21st century Africa
On models of state-building and their applicability to the African context
open.substack.com
Always good to see a fresh perspective on the conflicts in the Sahel and particularly one that grapples with "well, wait for the governments to be functional western democracies and then..." as not a useful nor functional answer.
Ken Opalo@kopalo.bsky.social · last mo.African countries can and should get better at fighting and winnung wars: open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...
African countries can and should get better at fighting and winnung wars: open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...
How African militaries can get better at fighting and winning wars
African states will continue to struggle against non-state armed actors unless the region’s militaries undertake significant organizational and technological reforms.
open.substack.com
You can't projectize industrial policy. A caution against faddist approaches to industrial policy (the old industrial policy rules still apply) open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...
A caution against faddist approaches to industrial policy (the old industrial policy rules still apply)
It’s a good thing that World Bank is finally OK with industrial policy, but policymakers shouldn’t let themselves be constrained by the coming prescriptive “best practices.”
open.substack.com
African policymakers should be clear-eyed about the short and medium term impacts of the U.S./Israel-Iran war: www.africanistperspective.com/p/african-po...
African policymakers should be clear-headed about the short and medium term impacts of the U.S./Israel-Iran war
Policymakers should prepare for the fact that the coming shocks to have long lags; and that the cadence of global crises will likely pick up.
africanistperspective.com
From the archives as Ethiopia marks the 130th anniversary of the victory at Adwa. open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...
How Ethiopia avoided colonization in the late 19th century but then lagged behind in the 20th century
Lessons in stateness, (failed) modernization, and economic (under)development
open.substack.com
Governments in the Horn must be careful not to play host to conflicts arising from rivalries on the other side of the Red Sea. open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...
Is Conflict in the Horn of Africa Unavoidable?
Ideas matter. And it's high time key players in the Horn (politicians, academics, journalists, analysts, and military strategists) chose to escape the pro-war shackles of geography and history.
open.substack.com
What lessons should African countries learn from the last commodity boom? And how should they prepare for the next one? open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...
How African policymakers should prepare for the coming commodity boom
Projections point to elevated commodity prices in important sectors. Here's how African policymakers can avoid mistakes of the past.
open.substack.com
Appreciating @kopalo.bsky.social's recent post: www.africanistperspective.com/p/the-intern... & thinking his final suggestion on local knowledge production ('let 1000 think tanks bloom') resonates with our discussion on @rvinews.bsky.social 'Beyond research' podcast: riftvalley.net/multimedia_m...
Book Review: Mahmood Mamdani’s Slow Poison: Idi Amin, Yoweri Museveni open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...
Book Review (1/26): Mahmood Mamdani’s Slow Poison
A journey through Uganda’s stunted political development
open.substack.com
We just posted some (re)thinking about this, wrt Sudan and South Sudan. riftvalley.net/publication/...
Rethinking Aid in Sudan and South Sudan – Rift Valley Institute
riftvalley.net
The international development community isn’t adapting fast enough to official aid cuts. That’s a big problem. open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...
The international development community isn’t adapting fast enough to official aid cuts. That’s a big problem.
On the urgent need for a pivot to spending more time trying to supporting specific countries interested in boosting their state capacity; and catalyzing commercial revolutions in low-income countries.
open.substack.com
The international development community isn’t adapting fast enough to official aid cuts. That’s a big problem: www.africanistperspective.com/p/the-intern...
The international development community isn’t adapting fast enough to official aid cuts. That’s a big problem.
On the urgent need for a pivot to spending more time trying to supporting specific countries interested in boosting their state capacity; and catalyzing commercial revolutions in low-income countries.
africanistperspective.com
If only the United States of America had Strong Western Institutions. U.S. prosecutors are investigating Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over his testimony last summer about the central bank’s building renovation project. www.wsj.com/economy/cent...
U.S. Prosecutors Are Investigating Fed Chair Jerome Powell
The criminal probe looks at Powell’s testimony on building renovations. Powell said it was part of Trump’s campaign to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates.
wsj.com
Africa in 2026: figuring out how to grow during hard tines >> open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...
Africa in 2026
The 11 trends/factors that will shape African affairs in 2026
open.substack.com
Three things to read about Ethiopia and Somaliland: 1) Ethiopia needs access to the sea: www.africanistperspective.com/p/ethiopia-n... 2) The geopolitics of recognizing Somaliland: www.africanistperspective.com/p/recognizin...
Ethiopia needs a reliable seaport and a navy
In order to secure its economic future, Eastern Africa's wobbly giant must overcome the landlockedness penalty.
africanistperspective.com
On #Nigeria: You never want to play host to other people’s wars. And you never want to internationalize your domestic security problems. Getting foreign assistance is fine. But you must always launder and domesticate it. You must always retain the initiative.
Ken says of Emancipation, it's his "best read of the year by far". Not too late to give as a gift this holiday season to anyone who wants to understand Africa's place in world history in the 20th century better.
Book Review: The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide, by @hofrench.bsky.social >> www.africanistperspective.com/p/book-revie...
Book Review (12/25): The Second Emancipation
Explorations in African leadership
africanistperspective.com
