Leadership, legacies, and the politics of change with Ken Opalo

What role do African parliaments play in shaping governance? How do historical legacies affect contemporary political systems, and why does foreign aid often fail to build stronger local institutions? Johan Fourie and Jonathan Schoots discuss these questions - and many more - with Ken Opalo, Associate Professor at Georgetown University and author of the popular blog, An Africanist Perspective.

Several of Ken’s academic papers and blog posts are mentioned in this episode: a chapter on the political economy of aid in Africa, a paper on clientalism in Kenya, and blog posts on two ideas on how to invest some of Melinda Gates’ $12.5 billion?, the powerlessness of Leftist politics in African states, and the difference between academic research and policy research. His book, 'Legislative Development in Africa: Politics and Postcolonial Legacies', is available on Amazon. The Suno song we created about Ken’s research – Wealth in People – can be found here. Make sure to sign up for his blog.

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This podcast is produced with the help of Voice Note Productions. Our producer is Vasti Calitz with editing done by Andri Burnett.

Kelsey Lemon provided helpful research assistance.