The Elite Africa Project is a global network of scholars working to shift how Africa and its elites are understood.

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome to The Elite Africa Project

Watch a video introduction to the project and database.

Featured Posts

Introducing: The Elite Africa Project Database

Learn more about the Elite Africa Project and our Online Database!

Dafe Oputu

Scholar Spotlight: Sishuwa Sishuwa - Part 2

Part 2 of our interview with Zambian historian Sishuwa Sishuwa.

Elite Africa Roundup - 22 November 2024

Uganda's opposition leader abducted, artist Shonibare at Art Basel

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Elite Africa Roundup - 1 November 2024

A big week for art in W. Africa, SA supports ICJ case against Israel

Domains of Elite Power

The mechanics of how power—the essential condition of elite status—is meaningfully generated and exercised

Economic

Economic and business elites

Coercive

Military elites and those in security agencies

Ritual

Royalty, nobles, “traditional” rulers

Aesthetic

Art, literature, music- and media-based elites including new online influencers, clothing designers, architects, etc.

Religious

Religious and spiritual leaders, and intellectual/academic elites

Political

State-based or state-focused elites including international techno/bureaucrats

The Elite Africa Project

is a Canadian-based global network of scholars working to challenge predominant understandings of Africa and its elites.

Both in academia and in wider public discourse, African elites have either been ignored or depicted as grasping and self-interested. This framing perpetuates negative depictions of the continent and its peoples and draws on a simplistic understanding of what power is and how it is wielded. Our work aims to counter these perceptions by initiating global conversations about “who leads” in Africa and how they do so.

We seek to disrupt and renew both academic and public discussions of African leadership, refocusing attention on a wider, qualitatively different set of elites from those that have predominated in the past (such as the parasitic “Big Men” of neo-patrimonial politics).

Burna Boy, Nigerian musician, rapper and songwriter; in 2021, his album Twice as Tall won the Best World Music Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, and he enjoyed back to back Grammy award nominations in 2019 and 2020.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigerian economist, fair trade leader, environmental sustainability advocate, human welfare champion, sustainable finance maven and global development expert. Since March 2021, Okonjo-Iweala has been serving as Director-General of the World Trade Organization.

This project focuses on Africa’s elites, defined as those who operate at the highest level across a range of domains, wield significant power, and possess expert knowledge, skills, and personal strengths that are deployed in strategic, creative, and generative ways. While elites are those who possess the most consequential and powerful agenda-setting and decision-making capacity, Africa’s elites have either been sidelined in many of our analyses or rendered monotonal. When we switch frames to consider the continent as embodying and projecting new, generative forms of power, it changes our view of Africa. It may also change how we understand power itself.

We look at six domains of elite power, from the political to the aesthetic, and ask how we might shift how we think about and study Africa, and how this shift would impact our conceptualization of power and its exercise. Our goal is to contribute to popular conversations about Africa and to highlight the achievements of the astonishing new generation of leaders for a broader public audience.

This website will serve as a hub for collaborative activity by scholars, activists, and practitioners working on Elite Africa and house a searchable database of primary and secondary materials on African elites.

Kofi Annan (1938-2018), Ghanaian-born diplomat, trained in economics, international relations and management; was the first UNSG to be elected from within the ranks of the UN staff itself and served in various key roles before becoming Secretary General.

Namwali Serpell, Zambia award-winning novelist and writer; Recognised early on with the Caine prize, her numerous subsequent awards include the Windham–Campbell Literature Prize, one of the world’s richest literary prizes.

Mohammed "Mo" Ibrahim, Sudanese billionaire businessman. He worked for several telecommunications companies, before founding Celtel, which when sold had over 24 million mobile phone subscribers in 14 African countries.

The Elite Africa Project

is a Canadian-based global network of scholars working to challenge predominant understandings of Africa and its elites.

Both in academia and in wider public discourse, African elites have either been ignored or depicted as grasping and self-interested. This framing perpetuates negative depictions of the continent and its peoples and draws on a simplistic understanding of what power is and how it is wielded. Our work aims to counter these perceptions by initiating global conversations about “who leads” in Africa and how they do so.

We seek to disrupt and renew both academic and public discussions of African leadership, refocusing attention on a wider, qualitatively different set of elites from those that have predominated in the past (such as the parasitic “Big Men” of neo-patrimonial politics).

This project focuses on Africa’s elites — those who operate at the highest level across a range of domains, wield significant power, and possess expert knowledge, skills, and personal strengths that are deployed in strategic, creative, and generative ways. When we switch frames to consider the continent as embodying and projecting new, generative forms of power, it changes our view of Africa. It may also change how we understand power itself.

This website is the hub for collaborative activity by scholars, activists, and practitioners working on Elite Africa and will house a searchable database of primary and secondary materials on African elites.

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ELITE AFRICA PROJECT DATABASE

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Gerdes, Felix: Liberia's Post-War Elite. A New Era of Inclusive Ownership or Old Wine in New Bottles? Arbeitspapier Nr. 1/2011 der Forschungsstelle Kriege, Rüstung und Entwicklung, Universität Hamburg 2011.

This working paper investigates to what extent Liberia’s post-war elite system is inclusive. In order to allow taking a comparative perspective, it firstly describes historic processes of elite formation and elite change, describing patterns of oligarchic elite reproduction as well as opportunities for political success of lower strata individuals. Its core piece is an overview on career paths and social and professional background of elites of Liberia’s first regular postwar government. It argues that Liberia’s new elite system is significantly more inclusive than previous ones, despite discernible continuities. This, however, does not necessarily translate into accountability of government.

Source: Article's abstract

Gerdes, Felix. Liberia's Post-War Elite

This is some text inside of a div block.

This working paper investigates to what extent Liberia’s post-war elite system is inclusive.

Coercive
Economic
Political

Hensell, Stephan, and Felix Gerdes. “Exit from War: The Transformation of Rebels into Post-War Power Elites.” Security Dialogue 48, no. 2 (2017): 168–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/0967010616677713.

The reintegration of rebels after war is a key security challenge. This article analyses the post-war transformation of rebels as a process of joining the established political elite. The political careers of former rebels vary. While some rise to senior political positions, others fail to consolidate their power. Taking theoretical notions of Pierre Bourdieu as its point of departure, this article outlines the central role of social capital in the post-war political field, which allows for an analysis and explanation of differences in rebel inclusion and exclusion. The article argues that the political careers of rebels are dependent on the accumulation of vertical and horizontal social capital in elite–mass and intra-elite networks. Case studies of Liberia and Kosovo demonstrate the plausibility of our thesis and the fruitfulness of a Bourdieusian approach in studying the political transformation of armed groups. This article contributes to the debate on the post-war reintegration of rebels as well as to the debate on practice approaches in international relations and security studies.

Source: article's abstract

Hensell, Stephan, and Felix Gerdes. Exit from War

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The article argues that the political careers of rebels are dependent on the accumulation of vertical and horizontal social capital in elite–mass and intra-elite networks.

Political
Coercive

Gerdes, Felix. “The Interplay of Domestic Legitimation and Foreign Relations: Contrasting Charles Taylor and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia.” Civil Wars 17, no. 4 (2015): 446–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698249.2015.1115576.

This article investigates legitimacy and foreign relations of Liberia’s two most important recent rulers. It argues that Charles Taylor was widely considered legitimate in Liberia and that the Weberian concept of charismatic authority best explains the popularity of the former warlord and president. Charisma, however, is tied to specific cultural contexts and Taylor’s popularity was not intelligible to Western audiences. By contrast, Johnson Sirleaf frames her policies in terms appealing to both the domestic and international audiences. As a consequence, she succeeded to attract significant foreign assistance enabling her to increase legitimacy and strengthen stability.

Source: Article's abstract

Gerdes, Felix. The Interplay of Domestic Legitimation and Foreign Relations

This is some text inside of a div block.

This article investigates legitimacy and foreign relations of Liberia’s two most important recent rulers.

Political

Ganson, Brian, Mcleod, Herbert. Private Sector Development and Persistence of Fragility in Sierra Leone. Cambridge University Press. Business And Politics. Volume, 21.Special Issue, 4. Nov.  29, 2019.

Despite rhetoric equating foreign direct investment and business growth with escaping fragility in Sierra Leone, private sector development in the period from 2002 to 2014 worsened socio-political challenges. This study challenges existing practices and refines ideas about business-driven development in Sierra Leone and similar fragile states. By linking business's role in Sierra Leone with peacebuilding and state-building frameworks, it offers a fresh perspective on how private sector development functions in persistently fragile contexts, laying the groundwork for further theoretical propositions about business-state relations in aiding transitions from fragility to peaceful development.

Source: Adapted from article's abstract

Ganson, Brian, Mcleod, Herbert. Private Sector Development and Persistence of Fragility in Sierra Leone

This is some text inside of a div block.

This study challenges existing practices and refines ideas about business-driven development in Sierra Leone and similar fragile states. By linking business's role in Sierra Leone with peacebuilding and state-building frameworks, it offers a fresh perspective on how private sector development functions in persistently fragile contexts, laying the groundwork for further theoretical propositions about business-state relations in aiding transitions from fragility to peaceful development.

Economic

Jordans, Eva., Bettina. Ng’weno, and Helen. Spencer-Oatey. Developing Global Leaders Insights from African Case Studies. 1st ed. 2020. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14606-1.

This book explores how today’s leaders in Africa perceive their role, the challenges they experience, and how they operate effectively as leaders. In the era of globalization, there is an increasing need to offer guidance on how leaders can adjust their leadership style to suit situational contexts. This book illustrates how leadership can be developed and incorporates practical suggestions and tools for current and forthcoming leaders in Africa. It will contribute to the development of a new community of leaders integrating cutting-edge knowledge on leadership development in Africa.

Source: Book description by publisher

Jordans, Eva., Bettina. Ng’weno, and Helen. Spencer-Oatey. Developing Global Leaders Insights from African Case Studies

This is some text inside of a div block.

This book explores how today’s leaders in Africa perceive their role, the challenges they experience, and how they operate effectively as leaders. In the era of globalization, there is an increasing need to offer guidance on how leaders can adjust their leadership style to suit situational contexts.

Economic
Political

Falola, Toyin. “Global African Business Leaders.” In The Palgrave Handbook of Africa and the Changing Global Order, 1099–1115. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77481-3_54.

This (book) chapter examines the contribution of leading African business leaders on the continent. Despite the projection that an increased African population poses a great danger in terms of instability and conflict, the business leaders continue to build businesses that generate employment for millions of Africans. While it certainly constitutes a worry that many experts believe that the future of the continent is cloudy if activities continue in this fashion, it is not also improbable that some forward-looking, young individuals from the continent may use their ingenuity to help solve the crisis. Hence, the emergence of a business-oriented generation of Africans who have immediately swung into action to take advantage of the opportunities open to the continent. While doing this, these sets of Africans concentrate on economic activities that can maximize the population potential. They have recorded considerable progress in their business engagement and in making enviable contributions to the global economy’s advancement, using their African potentials. In this writing, a number of these African business leaders are examined, looking at the contributions they make.

Source: Excerpt from chapter's abstract.

Falola, Toyin. Global African Business Leaders

This is some text inside of a div block.

This (book) chapter examines the contribution of leading African business leaders on the continent. Despite the projection that an increased African population poses a great danger in terms of instability and conflict, the business leaders continue to build businesses that generate employment for millions of Africans.

Economic
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