African Political Sociology is a peer‑reviewed scholarly journal published under the Pan‑African Research Journals (PARJ) platform, advancing African‑centred and global research.
Thinking the Fragile State Otherwise: Fanon, Nkrumah, Nyerere, and African Theories of Post-Conflict State Formation
Thinking the Fragile State Otherwise: Fanon, Nkrumah, Nyerere, and African Theories of Post-Conflict State Formation examines the dominance of liberal peacebuilding vocabularies that obscure African intellectual resources for understanding authority, violence, and reconstruction. Centering South Sudan without treating it as exceptional, the study situates the case within broader debates in post-colonial theory, African political thought, and critical international relations. It develops the concept of African-centred post-conflict statecraft to explain how formal norms, institutional design, and struggles over authority are configured through distinct intellectual traditions. Drawing on intellectual history and textual analysis of African political thought; critical engagement with liberal peacebuilding theory from an African perspective; and application of these frameworks to South Sudan’s post-conflict governance, the study advances three linked propositions. First, decolonization thought can be re-read as a critique of state formation rather than a completed historical moment. Second, African socialist and anti-colonial traditions provide alternative design vocabularies for political order. Third, African political thought reshapes how fragile-state dynamics are interpreted and addressed. The analysis addresses the central question of what analytical resources Fanon’s account of decolonization offers for understanding governance pathologies in post-independence African states. It shows that institutions, narratives, and policy frameworks function as political instruments rather than neutral containers, revealing the limits of externally derived statebuilding models. The study concludes that reform efforts fail when they treat fragility as a technical deficit rather t
Copyright (c) 2023 African Political Sociology
This article develops predatory peace as an analytical lens for understanding the predatory peace: oil rents, elite bargaining, and the reproduction of organised violence in south sudan, 2005–2023. It argues that peace agreements in resource-dependent fragile states frequently redistribute access to rents rather than transform the political economy of violence, allowing wartime coalitions to mutate into peacetime revenue cartels. Drawing on process tracing across three peace agreement cycles; elite interview data with former ministers, splm-io commanders, and oil sector officials; budget execution analysis of nilepet revenue data; comparison with angola (post-2002) and chad as rentier post-conflict cases., the paper links the theoretical debates identified in rentier state theory (mahdavy; beblawi; luciani) intersected with political settlements analysis (khan; di john & putzel) and war economies literature (keen; collier & hoeffler). proposes the concept of the 'predatory peace' peace agreements as rent-redistribution frameworks rather than conflict-termination instruments. to a comparative and historically grounded reading of South Sudan and the related cases assembled in the research design. The article advances three core claims. First, oil revenue in South Sudan operated as the principal medium through which elite bargains were negotiated, broken, and renegotiated, making fiscal distribution inseparable from military realignment. Second, Nilepet, off-budget revenue channels, and patron-specific financing tied domestic coalition management to external sponsors in ways that deepened rather than reduced factional competition. Third, stabilization is unlikely without fiscal transparency, escrow-type revenue controls, and peace agreement design that treats macro-fiscal
Copyright (c) 2023 AJSoA-PoliticalSoc https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Predatory Peace and the Oil-Rent State: Elite Bargaining and the Reproduction of Organised Violence in South Sudan, 2005-2023
WhatsApp and Political Disinformation in African Electoral Campaigns
This article examines WhatsApp and Political Disinformation in African Electoral Campaigns: A Mixed-Methods Inquiry with a focused emphasis on Nigeria within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a survey research article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This article examines Women's Suffrage Histories in Africa: Formal Rights and Substantive Exclusion: Accountability, Transparency, and Reform with a focused emphasis on Guinea-Bissau within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a commentary that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Copyright (c) 2024 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Freedom of Information Laws and Their Implementation in East Africa
This article examines Freedom of Information Laws and Their Implementation in East Africa: Evidence from South Sudan with a focused emphasis on South Sudan within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a working paper that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Copyright (c) 2021 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This article examines The Role of NGOs in Local Governance: Substitution, Complementarity, and Accountability: Lessons for Sub-Saharan Africa with a focused emphasis on Ethiopia within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a ethnographic study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Social Media Regulation and Political Expression in East African States
This article examines Social Media Regulation and Political Expression in East African States with a focused emphasis on Zambia within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a policy analysis article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This article examines Gramsci's Hegemony and African Politics: Consent, Coercion, and Counter-Hegemonic Movements: The Role of Civil Society with a focused emphasis on Burkina Faso within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a theoretical framework article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
The Role of First Ladies in African Politics
This article examines The Role of First Ladies in African Politics: Soft Power, Influence, and Informal Authority: Implications for Regional Integration with a focused emphasis on Tanzania within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a qualitative study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
British Colonial Administration in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
This article examines British Colonial Administration in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan: Legacy and Continuity: Institutional Dimensions and Reform Pathways with a focused emphasis on Egypt within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a qualitative study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Copyright (c) 2023 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Electoral Systems Design and Political Outcomes in Africa
This article examines Electoral Systems Design and Political Outcomes in Africa: Proportionality, Accountability, and Inclusion: Institutional Capacity and Political Will with a focused emphasis on Uganda within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a theoretical framework article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article examines Postcards from the Periphery: Governance in Remote and Border Counties: Perspectives from Eastern Africa with a focused emphasis on Central African Republic within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a commentary that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Copyright (c) 2022 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Memory, Trauma, and Political Identity in Post-Conflict African Societies
This article examines Memory, Trauma, and Political Identity in Post-Conflict African Societies: An African Union Perspective with a focused emphasis on Malawi within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a mixed methods study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Cross-Border Cattle Raiding and State Responses
This article examines Cross-Border Cattle Raiding and State Responses: Jonglei, Murle, and Inter-Communal Violence: Theoretical Framework and Empirical Analysis with a focused emphasis on Uganda within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a qualitative study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Drone Warfare and U.S. Counterterrorism in Africa
This article examines Drone Warfare and U.S. Counterterrorism in Africa: Effectiveness, Blowback, and Legal Controversy: International Norms, Local Realities with a focused emphasis on Morocco within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a policy analysis article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article examines The Ethics of Foreign Intervention: Sovereignty, Human Rights, and Political Responsibility: Decolonial Reflections with a focused emphasis on Mali within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a policy brief that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Participatory Planning and Community Development in South Sudanese Counties
This article examines Participatory Planning and Community Development in South Sudanese Counties: The Role of Civil Society with a focused emphasis on Kenya within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a theoretical framework article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration
This article examines Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration: Implementation Failures and Security Setbacks with a focused emphasis on Senegal within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a mixed methods study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article examines Money in Politics: Campaign Finance Regulation and Enforcement in East Africa: A Feminist Political Economy Approach with a focused emphasis on Ghana within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a ethnographic study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article examines WhatsApp and Political Disinformation in African Electoral Campaigns: A Mixed-Methods Inquiry with a focused emphasis on Malawi within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a policy analysis article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article examines Women's Suffrage Histories in Africa: Formal Rights and Substantive Exclusion: Accountability, Transparency, and Reform with a focused emphasis on Eswatini within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a qualitative study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article examines Anti-Corruption Agencies in East Africa: Independence, Effectiveness, and Political Interference: Multi-Level Governance Perspectives with a focused emphasis on Côte d'Ivoire within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a comparative study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
Men and Masculinities in African Peacebuilding
This article examines Men and Masculinities in African Peacebuilding: Engaging Male Actors in Gender Equality: Lessons for Sub-Saharan Africa with a focused emphasis on Ethiopia within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a comparative study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article examines Rebel Governance and Social Services: How Non-State Armed Groups Build Legitimacy: Political Economy Dimensions with a focused emphasis on Seychelles within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a theoretical framework article that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.
This article examines Cross-Border Cattle Raiding and State Responses: Jonglei, Murle, and Inter-Communal Violence: Theoretical Framework and Empirical Analysis with a focused emphasis on Zambia within the field of Sociology. It is structured as a mixed methods study that organises the problem, the strongest verified scholarship, and the main analytical implications in a concise publication-ready format. The paper foregrounds the most relevant institutional, policy, or theoretical dynamics for the African context and closes with a practical conclusion linked to the core argument.