Open Access Special Journal Issue on Eastern Africa-China Connections

 Kairos: A Journal of Critical Symposium devoted its volume 11 (2) 2026 issue to Eastern Africa-China relations.  The open access articles are:

--The Dynamics of Eastern Africa-China Transoceanic and Digital Connections Across Centuries by Oduor Obura and James Odhiambo Ogone.

--Enduring Entanglements between Eastern Africa and China: Conversation with Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor by James Odhiambo Ogone and Oduor Ogone.

--Digital Culture and Popular Diplomacy: Bridging the Eastern African China Divide through Cultural Exchanges on Social Media by James Odhiambo Ogone.

--Eating Frogs with Your Online Friends: Cultural Mobility and Soft Cosmopolitanism between Eastern Africa and China by Oduor Obura.

--'Welcome to Milele'--Chinese TV Goes to Tanzania by Anke Bartels.

--Ecocide and Sino-East African Relations in Yvonne Owuor's The Dragonfly Sea by Edgar Fred Nabutanyi.  

--Framing the Dragon: Popular Local Tales about Chinese at Ahero Highway Interchange Site in Kenya by George Otieno Odhaimbo.

--Intercultural Communication Strategies: Between Kenyan Kiswahili-Speaking Workers and Chinese Construction Workers by John Obiero Ogone.

Ethiopia: A Song Upends a Country

 Ethiopia Insight published on 16 May 2026 a commentary titled "Teddy Afro's Mourning Tent and Ethiopia's Fractured National Imagination" by Belete Addis Yemata, University of Melbourne.

Teddy Afro's new album Etorika and especially the opening song, Das Tal (loosely meaning "pitch the tent"), has drawn more than 140 million views on You Tube and ignited political arguments throughout the Ethiopian community.  Reactions to Das Tal exposed political loyalty, politico-religious alignment, competing ideas of Ethiopia, and different opinions about Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.  

Russia Plays the Long Game in Africa

 War on the Rocks published on 17 September 2025 a commentary titled "Russia Is Shrewdly Playing the Long Game in Africa" by Hanna Notte.

Russia's Africa Corps is methodically replacing the Wagner Group in Africa's Sahel region and is looking to expand elsewhere in West and Central Africa.  Russia seeks to avoid high risk missions and focus on training of local military and law enforcement.  Because of its preoccupation with the war in Ukraine, Russia is playing the long game in Africa.

Sudan's Cycle of Violence

The Guardian published on 21 November 2023 an article titled "Sudan's Cycle of Violence: 'There Is a Genocide Going on in West Darfur'" by Kaamil Ahmed and Zeinab Mohammed Salih.

As the war between Gaza and Israel consumes the world's press attention, the ongoing conflict in Sudan is generally being ignored.  The situation in Darfur in western Sudan may well constitute genocide.  

Is Chinese-financed Surveillance Eroding Democracy in Mauritius?

 The National Endowment for Democracy and International Forum for Democratic Studies published on 15 December 2022 a document titled "Smart Cities and Democratic Vulnerabilities," which contains a contribution (pages 11-17) titled "Is Digitalization Endangering Democracy in Mauritius?" by Roukaya Kasenally, University of Mauritius.

Over the last five years, Mauritius has experienced significant democratic backsliding.  Worrying trends include arbitrary arrests of journalists and other citizens, amendments to broadcasting and digital legislation, closures of certain private radio stations, the political weaponization of the police, and the weakening of key oversight institutions.  

Adding to this situation is the Mauritius Safe City Project (MCSP), one of more than twenty Huawei-backed smart or "safe" city projects across Africa.  In Mauritius, it involved the installation of 4,000 cameras with facial recognition and license plate recognition capabilities.  The author argues that the real intent behind the $455 million project financed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China remains unclear.  But critical questions about how the MCSP will affect Mauritian politics against the backdrop of the country's recent democratic backsliding are unanswered.    

China's Wolf Warrior II and Its Meaning for Africa

 The Conversation published on 1 September 2022 a commentary titled "Wolf Warrior II: What the Blockbuster Movie Tells Us about China's Views on Africa" by Yu Xiang, Shanghai University, and Jinpu Wang, Syracuse University. 

The 2017 film tells the story of an exiled elite Chinese soldier who travels to an unnamed African country and gets caught in the middle of a civil war between government troops and mercenaries.  The hero rescues African and Chinese civilians and defeats the mercenaries.  China is portrayed as a beacon of hope, development, and peace in Africa.

The authors note that it has been five years since the release of Wolf Warrior II.  Yet the nationalism and racism in the film have not faded within China.  Indeed they have grown stronger, especially on social media in China.