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kopalo.bsky.social
Associate Professor at Georgetown University. Washington, DC. More here: https://www.africanistperspective.com/
185 posts 14,580 followers 71 following
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Famously, World War Two was won by pointing out the many provable hypocrisies of the axis ideologies.

submitted 2 days ago • 14 comments

From the archives: Academic research and policy research are two different things: www.africanistperspective.com/p/there-is-a...

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

The Great Siege of Malta This is the day! www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4... via @lrb.co.uk

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

What competition? There is no competition. Which African countries trade more with the U.S. vs China?

submitted 5 days ago • 5 comments

The problem of organizing weak states; and why Africa needs a new model of Pan-Africanism www.africanistperspective.com/p/the-proble...

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

If only the United States of America had Strong Western Institutions.

submitted 7 days ago • 4 comments

It’s only vote buying if it happens in the tropics. Otherwise it’s just sparkling whatever this is. www.bbc.com/news/article...

submitted 7 days ago • 1 comment

This is a fair critique of the discourse.

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

It’s common to see people offhandedly dismiss insights like this. But Branko is right. You can’t eat democracy: www.africanistperspective.com/p/you-cant-e...

submitted 10 days ago • 4 comments

From the Archives: The potent powerlessness of Leftist politics in African states www.africanistperspective.com/p/the-potent...

submitted 12 days ago • 1 comment

Kenya had a working education system that needed improving, and then they went ahead and completely destroyed it in the name of “reforms.” And then those involved simply moved on.

submitted 13 days ago • 1 comment

There’s a certain form of paternalism out there that refuses to acknowledge this fact. This, of course, isn’t just about personal income. It’s also about the sorts of social and physical “civic goods” that high-income affords societies.

submitted 14 days ago • 1 comment

Being a serious person doesn’t require having to find reasons to oppose every effort towards us collectively having lots of nice things. It’s OK to be positive and proactive. You don’t have to limit yourself to fighting and correcting other people’s mistakes and neuroses.

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

It’s wild seeing otherwise reasonable people support this kind of stuff. This won’t end well. D.H.S. Detains a Georgetown University Academic: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/u...

submitted 18 days ago • 3 comments

There’s a lesson in there for international development experts.

submitted 18 days ago • 1 comment

Talk of outsourcing ambition. www.wsj.com/world/africa...

submitted 19 days ago • 0 comments

Talk of outsourcing ambition. www.wsj.com/world/africa...

submitted 19 days ago • 0 comments

This cartoonish understanding of political development is actually quite common. Especially among evangelists of “Strong Western Institutions.” You’ve just got rid of Saddam Hussein and seek stability? Just add a liberal constitution and elections and stir.

submitted 19 days ago • 2 comments

On Gulf Cash and Influence in Africa: www.africanistperspective.com/p/gulf-cash-...

submitted 20 days ago • 0 comments

In the context of the suspension of US assistance, an interesting piece by @kopalo.bsky.social on how narratives of catastrophe dominate the way Africa is viewed and how that needs to change... www.africanistperspective.com/p/how-reflex...

submitted 21 days ago • 1 comment

This 👇 from @kopalo.bsky.social is a ‘must read’ if you are interested in Africa futures.

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

No surprise, but @kopalo.bsky.social's most recent piece is a must read. I was particularly struck by this section, and I think it extends well beyond policy towards Africa. Reimaging structures and ecosystems that are broken will require a lot of moonshots.

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

How reflexive catastrophizing inhibits policy imagination in African states: www.africanistperspective.com/p/how-reflex...

submitted 24 days ago • 2 comments

Who’s scared of logistics???

submitted 25 days ago • 4 comments

“African countries should see Trump’s second term as an opportunity to cement the improvements to commercial relations that were made under Biden while remaining clear-eyed about the attendant risks of a transactional U.S. approach to Africa,” writes @kopalo.bsky.social.

submitted 31 days ago • 0 comments

Insightful as always from @kopalo.bsky.social: "What explains the ambition gap among African elites?" www.africanistperspective.com/p/what-expla...

submitted 32 days ago • 0 comments

All the talk about Lesotho reminded me of Jim’s excellent book (may he rest in peace).

submitted 33 days ago • 1 comment

"It’s hard to argue against the general premise that aid dependency is bad. Period. No society should have to go through the humiliating tragedies we are already witnessing at scale based on electoral outcomes in far off lands" www.africanistperspective.com/p/african-co... @kopalo.bsky.social

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

On the urgent need to seriously start working on ending aid dependency: www.africanistperspective.com/p/african-co...

submitted 35 days ago • 3 comments

Times like these are a reminder of how tragic it is to be led by absolutely complacent elites.

submitted 38 days ago • 2 comments

morality aside: it turns out, as a purely sociological matter, that a politics premised on empowering people who loudly and performatively don't care if discriminated-against Others suffer and die results in surprisingly indiscriminate suffering and death. this needs to be explained to people

submitted 39 days ago • 22 comments

Great post from @kopalo.bsky.social on "what will become of international development after the end of the aid paradigm?" www.africanistperspective.com/p/what-will-... It's not just about USAID. Post is focused on students/young prof, but of importance to all of us.

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

Your regular reminder that even people with the right ideology can have bad policy ideas; and that reality-based policy debates are actually good.

submitted 39 days ago • 1 comment

Honored to be taking on this role and look forward to the chance to read all the new books!

submitted 41 days ago • 1 comment

The new issue of @foreignaffairs.com is out and it includes the debut of two wonderful additions to our roster of regular reviewers: Pratap Bhanu Mehta on South Asia and Elizabeth Economy on East Asia. @kopalo.bsky.social starts next issue on books on Africa. www.foreignaffairs.com/issues/2025/...

submitted 41 days ago • 0 comments

A thought-provoking and optimistic conversation between DLD Co-Director @possibilist.bsky.social and @kopalo.bsky.social about the future of aid, the recent public response to economic reforms in some African countries and why 'lack of political will' is often a cop out! youtu.be/cOlNHHh73Z4?...

submitted 42 days ago • 0 comments

"Aid dependency robbed these countries of the chance to cultivate policy autonomy [and] ensured that their ability to deliver services did not grow," insightful @kopalo.bsky.social piece for @Semafor's One Big Idea series about a paradigm shift in global aid.

submitted 42 days ago • 0 comments

A huge loss. One thing I appreciated about Ferguson was his ability to change his mind. In the opening to Global Shadows (maybe my favorite text about globalization) he subtly guts the "anti-development" positioning of his own early work:

submitted 44 days ago • 0 comments

The author of one of the great books on Zambia and the painful economic decline the country endured. A sad loss.

submitted 44 days ago • 1 comment