In this report, the challenges and opportunities arising from the growing ties between two key “Rising Powers,” China and India, and Africa are more fully explored. This trend has given rise to speculative, exaggerated and ideological responses and a mixture of anxiety and hope. What is needed is an interdisciplinary political economy study to investigate the ways ...

Several African countries are tackling the issue of slums and informal settlements by building completely new housing developments. However, many residents view these new areas as less habitable because of poor social conditions. Drawing on three case studies, this policy note argues that community engagement is crucial when planning to replace informal settlements...

Khat is a plant native to Ethiopia that has been consumed over several centuries as a mental and physical stimulant. This report outlines khat’s role as a source of livelihood. Khat, dubbed a social ill by many, is at the same time part and parcel of the livelihoods of many others. With consumption of the stimulant spreading to many parts of Africa, Europe, North A...

Dams, irrigation systems and hydropolitics are back on the geopolitical agenda. In recent years, we have seen an accelerating interest in large-scale water infrastructures, such as multipurpose dams and irrigation schemes, in the Nile Region and adjacent catchment areas. Governments in these regions are struggling to increase food security and to provide more energ...

Over the last 15 years, Ethiopia has seen remarkable economic growth. The agricultural sector is part of this growth, but its proportional contribution to the overall economy has gone down. There is an urgent need to transform Ethiopian agriculture, not least when it comes to the inefficient land laws that impede young people from investing in farmland. This policy...

Is Africa rising? Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa experience remarkable growth. Afro-optimists claim that an economic transformation is imminent, while critics argue that growth is mainly in the extractive sectors, with little improvement being noted among the rural and urban poor. This collection of essays focuses on East Africa, with an emphasis on Tanzania....