Global politics became even more volatile this year under the Trump administration, and as research shows, discretionary long-haul travel is one of the first casualties of geopolitical instability. Unpredictability is the enemy of tourism, and in Africa, we are traditionally over-reliant on a handful of Western markets, particularly Europe and North America.  A May 2025

At the conclusion of South Africa’s G20 Presidency on November 23, 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa, at the closing ceremony, called for a renewed commitment to multilateral cooperation, characterised by partnerships anchored in shared goals and common humanity.  This was a much-needed call for unity at a time of heightened global tensions and with multilateralism increasingly

The 2025 G20 Summit, held in South Africa, marked a pivotal moment in the rearticulation of global governance, with a renewed focus on the Global South. Central to the summit’s agenda was the need to strengthen cooperation, particularly across Africa.  Yet, even as the G20 called for deeper integration and solidarity, West Africa has been

Following a year of heightened geopolitical volatility and diplomatic strain, South Africa closed its G20 presidency in Johannesburg last November with a Leaders Declaration that outlined shared commitments on disaster resilience, renewable energy capacity and energy efficiency, debt sustainability, and the leveraging of critical minerals. Significantly, the summit proceeded despite strong criticism from Washington, and

The need to tackle climate change is as well accepted in Africa as anywhere else in the world – and perhaps more so because the impact is already being felt on the continent. Ramping up oil, gas and coal production will only help increase average temperatures, but Africa’s role in creating the problem has been

Nigeria’s rich reserves of critical minerals, such as lithium, gold, cobalt, and rare earth elements, put it at the centre of the global energy transition and tech revolution. Yet the country remains stuck in a cycle of exporting raw materials and importing finished goods. As demand for these minerals surges, Nigeria faces a crucial question:

As the world stands on the precipice of a new industrial age, most people remain unaware that its foundations are not abstract technologies, but materials extracted from the earth itself. Critical minerals, defined in policy circles as non-fuel minerals that are strategically essential yet whose supply chains are highly volatile, sit at the centre of

The systemic rivalry between major global economies to reshape the organisation of critical mineral value chains is presenting serious diplomatic challenges and opportunities to mineral-rich African countries.  Over the past few years, while there has been increasing policy action on critical minerals, this has taken place in a context of growing scepticism about the role

The African Union (AU) is the continent’s premier political organisation, with all 54 countries as members. It is the largest association of African states and ranks second only to the European Union in institutional development. The AU, which was officially relaunched in 2002 as the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), continues to

“The world understands that we have a climate emergency; it’s time we recognise that we face an inequality emergency too. It isn’t just unfair; it’s a problem for our economy and our politics.”   Professor Joseph Stiglitz (2025( Wealth inequality is not a new problem; scholars and policymakers have been grappling with it for decades. However, in recent years, wealth inequality

South Africa’s 2025 G20 presidency, under the banner “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability,” draws heavily on the African philosophy of Ubuntu – the idea that “I am because we are”. Yet the G20’s call for a more inclusive, rules-based global order also raises an important question: how far do Africans themselves support greater integration and openness, and

The 20th G20 summit held in South Africa in November 2025 was the most geopolitically tense since the organisation was established in 1999. The tensions emerged from the spectacular ideological, political, diplomatic, and economic fallout between the United States and the rest of the G20 member states. President Donald Trump’s America First foreign policy instituted