Reflections on Researching Africa in the 21st Century.

Researching Africa in the twenty-first century is shaping up to be very different from previous times. First of all, the increasing scope of Africa not only as a place subject to its history, poverty, and corruption, but also as a viable socio-economic player in the international game. The new ways of realising Africa’s role are in the new methods and considerations taken into account when researching. New methods include the digital revolution of social media platforms as well as increasing African study research on the continent, considerations that need to be taken revolve around the continued colonisation of institutions, academia at the forefront, and how knowledge is produced. This reflective paper will cover four main topics: the first being Globalisation; or mobility and digital media spaces, then hierarchies of knowledge production, decolonisation and positionality, and finally crisis thinking. Each topic will be investigated in a general way relating to Africa, and then relating to the Casamance region in Senegal where separatist battles have been fought since 1982, and the role of civil society organisations in conflict crisis management.

The first subject to be discussed here is Globalisation. The key takeaways here for me were the importance of new media, and increasing access to these channels across the continent, as well as the spread of information. While the continent is becoming more and more digital, it is true that this is not one solid movement forward but a patchy development at different speeds[1]. As with anywhere and indeed with western spaces, urban connectivity is far higher than in rural areas, adding to the disparity between the two. It is also important to define connectivity in the sense of “mobile telephony […] preceded by the introduction of script, roads, radio, and television”[2], it is not, however, a continent-wide spread of social media platforms and smartphones.  Additionally, this increased technology will prove to be vital to the development of African studies in the way that information can be disseminated with those that are integral to our research, as well as ease of communication with the informant[3]. If one removes the academic for a minute, one can clearly see that these “virtual public spheres for ‘trans-human’ communication, have overturned the age-old face-to-face communication between elders and young people, women and men, children and parents, dignitaries and commoners, socio-political elites and average citizens in Africa”, which has the potential to change much of everyday communication as well[4].

In the Casamance, the potential to see how this digital- and global-isation can alter the outcome of crisis management is still low. The factional nature of the MFDC, and plethora of civil society organisations working for peace (but with who), means that there is little inter-CSO communication or collaboration “the physical dispersion of actors in Dakar, Ziguinchor and the communities located throughout the region complicates communication”[5]. Mobile communications would therefore be an important step in consolidating the peace process. A project on Engaging Civil Society for Peace in the Casamance held women’s dialogue sessions to which WhatsApp groups were created to “continue conversations between women”[6]. In terms of research, it has increased access to actors, including contact for interviews, although not yet the easiest[7].

Following on from the topic of globalisation brings us to the topic of knowledge production and decolonisation of these hierarchies. African studies have been a significantly Western discipline since its inception around the ’60s, and the production of knowledge has followed this discourse. There is a serious debate ongoing about the origins, and future, of African studies and the ‘rights’ to study Africa as a discipline. One main topic was about the use of colonial languages in African knowledge production. English has arguably become more than just a colonial language and is the lingua franca of the world, however, much knowledge about Africa is also produced in French. It is argued therefore that when it comes to Africa “since education is a path to the acquisition of knowledge about the self and the Other, it demands curriculum reforms which, for all these thinkers, includes the teaching and thus the refocusing on African languages”[8]. While African languages are crucial to taking back African studies, for wider academic readership the chances of needing translations are high. For Africans to be involved in the research, however, native languages should be used. There is also the redirection of African studies away from development, aid, and policies, towards research that is “relevant to the issues of the day and it should also help members of society understand the forces of the wider world that impinge on them”[9]. We cannot simply look at Africa from afar, but it must be an inclusive and shareable form of knowledge production. Importantly, it is worth noting that institutions cannot simply replace Western academia (materials or staff) but must institute “a more profound unsettling of what constitutes knowledge and knowledge production”[10].

When considering decolonisation of the mind and academia in the case of Senegal and the Casamance we will have to be incredibly mindful about the position that we hold in relation to the research we will be conducting. Given that my topic of research in Casamance will be focused on conflict crisis management and civil society organisations, it is more imperative than ever to be fully aware of Western thinking, however, this will be discussed more when we look at crisis thinking later on as the two are intrinsically linked in this case. However, a flick over existing preliminary literature gathered for this research shows that out of the fifteen or so articles, around ten are by Western authors, two are NGO policy reports and three are written by African scholars.

The third main topic to reflect upon is decolonisation and decoloniality in a more general sense. Colonial institutions have continued to dominate the continent both in name and curricula. The Rhodes Must Fall Movement was only one of the more recent and publicised efforts to remove these colonial legacies from the education system. The ongoing question as to why these Eurocentric institutions have continued to dominate African education has no reasonable answer. The treatment of black African students at universities during and after colonial times was belittling and abhorrent and is the perfect example of this unnecessary segregation on the grounds of racism and inferiority. In South Africa for example, the apartheid at universities was exclusionary, and “these racially and ethnically bifurcated universities became consumers and sites of reproduction of Eurocentric idea, including even those that were designated for African people”[11]. The movement towards parity of representation, freedom to learn in unbiased and not euro-, but afro-centric ways is, therefore, a struggle when the oppression is still evident today, “if one takes into account desocialising implications of colonial education then it is not surprising that decolonisation entailed revival of indigenous cultures, reaffirmation of African identities, rise of nationalist historiography and other initiatives aimed at reversing alienation imposed by colonialism”[12].

The struggle at African Eurocentric universities is that while academic freedom can be an institutional struggle the world over (even when claims are made for liberal universities), there is also an epistemic freedom in the balance which is often harder to find. Academic freedom relates to the above-mentioned freedom of expression and dissenting opinions including “those critical of authorities and political leaders. Epistemic freedom […] speaks to cognitive justice; it draws our attention to the content of what it is that we are free to express and on whose terms”[13]. In any case, again, the decolonisation of education goes beyond simply changing the curricula, it represents a struggle against unattainable costs, poor quality, colonial education, as well as racism, patriarchy, and sexism in a Eurocentric environment. In Senegal new universities are popping up, funded by Cheikhs as opposed to the traditional French state-funded ones.

The final subject to reflect upon is arguably the most important when looking at my specific research in the Casamance. Crisis thinking dominates our every day, as my previous blog explains in more detail relating to aid and charity donations. Here though we shall look into something that stuck with me from readings and discussions which was “crisis for whom”. When talking about crisis thinking it is mainly the west claiming a crisis. Be that in climate; rising sea levels and temperature, extreme weather conditions, drought or floods, or (global) health issues; such as the COVID-19 pandemic; or issues relating to war; migration, humanitarian aid, etc. There seems to be a recurring theme of marginalisation the global south’s role and position in these crises.

When one looks at climate issues it is pressed upon nascent governments that actions to develop should include sustainability, green initiatives, and carbon neutrality as the ‘crisis’ deepens. However, it is not because of the African continent that global warming exists. The industrial revolutions that occurred across the global north extracted people and resources so that we could have access to cheaply produced goods, and yet at COP conferences the pressure remains on Africa to spend copious amounts of money to reverse the actions of the nations who colonised them. [14]

When looking at health, the fact that Covid was painted as the first pandemic in a hundred years shows how the crisis is painted by the West, “the past century has not been devoid of epidemics, either on the African continent or elsewhere. Malaria, yellow fever, rabies, HIV, tuberculosis, cholera, and innumerable other diseases have emerged and re-emerged”[15], yet we are relatively distanced from these. When we are aware of disease spreading rapidly, there is a large and immediate push from the West to respond with humanitarian aid, yet when it became a global pandemic, we stockpiled all of the supplies (PPE and vaccinations) and then created narratives about donation millions of vaccines to Africa out of kindness. As it turned out “quantities of these vaccines are being shipped to Europe to assist with booster doses; meanwhile, most Africans remain unvaccinated, creating a moral dilemma”[16]. France’s COVAX initiative as the first of sending vaccinations was phrased on the Mission Permanente de La France Auprès des Nations Unies á New York as aiming to enable the development and production of and equitable access to safe vaccines against Covid-19 by organising the purchase and delivery of vaccine doses for low- and middle-income countries, in lines with the WHO-approved global allocation framework for fair access and effective vaccines. It also helps higher income countries that want to buy the vaccines for themselves (“self-financing” countries)”[17].

A final example of crisis thinking in without consideration of the context is migration and the introduction of technology-assisted aid. For example, migrants have to contend with biometric identification and classification which can result in their swift return to areas that are unsafe. It is also a way to keep track of people, in order to relieve pressure to Western governments. A more staggering version is apps, developed in order to:

• Track outputs more effectively by mapping information gathered via SMS, surveys, and other communication channels.
• Monitor the progress of a project using an easily accessible online database and maps.
• Share project outcomes visually with colleagues, government partners, donors, and other stakeholders[18].

Yet, we are reminded that “refugees are conspicuously absent from the listed objectives. The above list suggests that that feedback is directed to donors and government partners who demand evidence of “impact””[19]. It also renders the refugee as the second-class citizen and redefines the crisis as one of the receiving countries as opposed to the one that has had their basic human rights violated.

In the Casamance, conflict has been occurring since the 80s. Given that my topic is conflict crisis management, awareness of this crisis thinking is of paramount importance. It is however worth remembering that sometimes there simply are crises and these do need to be resolved, but it should be in a way that is beneficial for the people around it, not just getting over-excited and rushing in, in the name of western saviour complexes.

In conclusion, researching Africa in the 21^st century shows us the shift away from traditional academia. The spread of communications has increased the need for better distribution of comprehensible information to those we are researching and writing about. Additionally, the hierarchies of knowledge production are being assessed and broken down to include African voices and writings in their field. The ongoing decolonisation of institutions is also beginning to pick up pace and while curricula changes are not the be-all end-all, it is certainly a step in the right direction. Finally, awareness of the continual construction of Africa as being in a state of perpetual crisis and the reality of these situations is crucial to changing the way that we research and engage with Africa in the future.

[1] Mirjam De Bruijn, Digitalization and the field of African studies (BASLER AFRIKA BIBLIOGRAPHIEN, 2019): 16.

[2] Mirjam De Bruijn, Digitalization and the field of African studies (BASLER AFRIKA BIBLIOGRAPHIEN, 2019): 16.

[3] Mirjam De Bruijn, Digitalization and the field of African studies (BASLER AFRIKA BIBLIOGRAPHIEN, 2019): 10.

[4] Kelebogile Setiloane and Abdul Karim Bangura, “General Introduction”, in Africa and globalization: Novel multidisciplinary perspectives, Springer International Publishing (2020): 3.

[5] Kim Mahling Clark, Final Report: Support to the Casamance Peace Process. USAID. (2009): 4.

[6] Partners Global et al. UNAAM KAYRAAY: Engaging Civil Society for Peace in the Casamance. (2018): 39.

[7] Paul Diédhiou en Eugène Tavares, “Le conflit de Casamance : comprendre les motivations individuelles d’enrôlement des nationalistes du MFDC”, Cadernos de Estudos Africanos, nr. 42 (25 August 2021) : 179.

[8] Maria Grosz‐Ngaté, “Knowledge and Power: Perspectives on the production and decolonization of African/Ist knowledges”, African Studies Review 63, nr. 4 (1 December 2020): 693.

[9] Maria Grosz‐Ngaté, “Knowledge and Power: Perspectives on the production and decolonization of African/Ist knowledges”, African Studies Review 63, nr. 4 (1 December 2020): 697.

[10] Victoria Bernal, “Digitality and Decolonization: A response to Achille Mbembe”, African Studies Review 64, nr. 1 (1 March 2021): 43.

[11] Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Epistemic Freedom in Africa: Deprovincialization and decolonization, (2018): 230.

[12] Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Epistemic Freedom in Africa: Deprovincialization and decolonization, (2018): 230.

[13] Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Epistemic Freedom in Africa: Deprovincialization and decolonization, (2018): 4.

[14] Images such as this are used to provoke strong feelings to take action, both for the climate and the poverty-starvation aspects.

[15] Tamara Giles‐Vernick, “Postscript: A pandemic read on African health and environmental histories”, Health & Place 77 (1 September 2022): 2.

[16] Brenda Kubheka en Tshowa Kabala, “COVID-19 vaccine donations: Blessings and curses for Africa”, Journal of Global Health Economics and Policy 2 (3 January 2022): 2.

[17] “France Has Fulfilled and Gone beyond Its Commitment to Donate COVID-19 Vaccine Doses”, France ONU, z.d., https://onu.delegfrance.org/france-has-fulfilled-and-gone-beyond-its-commitment-to-donate-covid-19-vaccine.

[18] Mirca Madianou, “Technocolonialism: digital innovation and data practices in the humanitarian response to refugee crises”, Social media and society 5, nr. 3 (1 July 2019): 7.

[19] Mirca Madianou, “Technocolonialism: digital innovation and data practices in the humanitarian response to refugee crises”, Social media and society 5, nr. 3 (1 July 2019):7.