The NSI is excited to share a new article written by our co-founders, Ivor Chipkin, Executive Director, and Jelena Vidojević, Research Fellow and leader of the Welfare Reform project. The piece, initially published by an Indian journal Aisi Akshare (special edition for Diwali) in its local language (Marathi), explores the misunderstandings and intricacies surrounding corruption in Africa.

Recognizing the importance of reaching a broader audience, the authors decided to publish an English version of the article titled “Africa is not a Country” in the Brave New Europe online magazine on October 26, 2023. This initiative marks another collaboration between NSI and Brave New Europe. Previously, Jelena Vidojević and Distinguished Fellow Radmila Nakarada had a conversation with Professor William I. Robinson on June 18, 2023, which was also published in this journal. Aiming to disseminate the text to the South African audience, an adapted version was published in the Daily Maverick on November 2, 2023.

Through their article, Chipkin and Vidojević challenge the common, narrow perspectives of Africa as a corrupt continent. They argue that making broad generalizations about Africa is not accurate and relies on stereotypes that depict the continent in a negative light.

The authors criticize the simplistic view of labeling the entire continent as corrupt, which they see as a biased and uninformed perspective. The authors observe that corruption is often viewed as an African issue in the post-Cold War period.

This generalization overlooks the distinct histories and challenges of individual nations, and erroneously portrays the entire continent as homogeneous. The article emphasizes the need to acknowledge the diversity of political cultures, languages, and colonial legacies across African countries, as opposed to presenting a single narrative. The article emphasizes the need to acknowledge the diversity of political cultures, languages, and colonial legacies across African countries, as opposed to presenting a single narrative.

Chipkin and Vidojević emphasize the significance of relating corruption to its context. They cite P. Ekeh’s research on postcolonial Africa, which identifies two distinct publics – the primordial public and the civic public – and illustrates how this division can help elucidate instances of corruption.

The article contends that to comprehend corruption and other challenges encountered by African nations, one must consider their unique circumstances and settings. The writers stress that combatting corruption also means fighting against reducing Africans to abstract concepts by using uniform language.

We suggest reading the complete article to get a thorough grasp of the intricate challenges of tackling corruption in Africa.