Burkina Faso: Revolution, authoritarianism & the crisis of African emancipation politics

From Mail & Guardian

Today, a new face of revolution is emerging in Burkina Faso under the youthful and charismatic Captain Ibrahim Traoré. His image is cast in the mould of Thomas Sankara, evoking the anti-imperialist spirit of the 1980s... What are we to make of yet another seizure of power by men in uniform, claiming to act on behalf of the people? If history is to be our teacher, then we must ask... Are we merely witnessing the replay of a tragic cycle in which the people are always betrayed?... In answering this, anarchist theory offers a sobering and necessary critique, particularly the principle of “prefiguration”. Loosely this means what we want our society to become in the future is literally shaped by what we do today

Traces of Anarchism In Zambia & Uganda

From Muntjac Magazine

Historically, it’s been hard to find any information of anarchism in central Africa, there was the short lived Anarchist & Workers’ Solidarity Movement (AWSM) in Zambia led by Willstar Choongo. Zambia in the mid nineties had a very small “left” and Willstar came up through organising his fellow workers at the University of Zambia (UNZA), his group would later be kicked out of the University for advocating decentralisation and organising meetings outside of political parties.

Video: Lucien van der Walt - Anarchism and revolutionary syndicalism in Africa

From Kantine Festival
August 3, 2023

Live from the Kantine Sabot 2023

This talk will provide an overview the two main phases of anarchism and revolutionary syndicalism in Africa. The focus will be on southern Africa, and North Africa, but there will be some mention of developments in the eastern and western regions. Tracing the African history of the anarchist/ syndicalist current from the 1860s onwards, it will pay close attention to how it was shaped by the larger context as well as by specific national and regional dynamics. The first phase, from the 1860s-1930s, developed against the larger backdrop of Western colonial expansion, and an early epoch of globalisation; the second phase, from the 1990s onwards, started in the wave of struggles against authoritarian African regimes, and the onset of neo-liberal globalisation.

Review: African Anarchism – The History of a Movement

From C4SS by Jordan Jardine

As an anarchist, I am naturally inclined to research not only anarchist movements from America, but from all around the world. I am very fond of Lao Tzu, for instance, and the Tao Te Ching author was a major influence on prominent anarchists like Peter Kropotkin and Rudolf Rocker. Therefore, I have learned some things about anarchist movements in China and other parts of Asia. However, as an admirer of African culture as well, I recently developed a desire to look into anarchist movements in Africa as well. Luckily, one essential volume documenting this history–and sometimes the lack thereof–is the 1997 book African Anarchism: The History of a Movement by Nigerian anarchist activist Sam Mbah and co-author I.E. Igariwey. 

Subscribe to africa