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Africa’s ruling parties have shown that they’re highly resourceful at retaining power. In the light of this, what purpose do elections serve? Andre Guichaoua argues that despite their shortcomings and the fact that they can be ritualistic, elections are important because leaders can never be entirely certain about their outcome.
South Africa’s police minister wants the country’s army to be used to in crime fighting operations, specifically to take on gangsterism. Theo Neethling sets out why this would be a bad idea. He also points out that the South African National Defence Force is in such a parlous state that it wouldn’t be able to fight crime even if it wanted to. \
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An elderly woman displays her inked finger after casting her vote during the 2016 presidential elections in Uganda.
Reuters/James Akena
André Guichaoua, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
The outcome of the race between increasingly artful electoral manipulation and limitless possible manifestations of democratic expression is never entirely certain.
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Politics + Society
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Theo Neethling, University of the Free State
The military is not tactically trained for community protection and crime fighting and South Africa should not deploy soldiers in urban communities.
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Health + Medicine
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Bob Snow, University of Oxford
The history of malaria prevalence in Africa is a long term cycle of highs and lows. However, there's been little change in the high transmission belt that covers parts of West and Central Africa.
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Science + Technology
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Lara Sciscio, University of Cape Town
The earth's own magnetic field offers a useful way to measure the age of rocks - information that can help unpack ancient events and aid our understanding of the present.
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From our international editions
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Fabio Andres Diaz, International Institute of Social Studies
A court decision securing last year's peace deal and a new ceasefire have invigorated Colombia's peace process, but there are plenty of ways it could still go wrong.
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F. Todd Davidson, University of Texas at Austin; Michael E. Webber, University of Texas at Austin
Using ride-hailing services full-time would mean avoiding the hassles of owning a car. But it could cost less, too – depending on how you value your time otherwise spent behind the wheel.
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Lowri Dowthwaite, University of Central Lancashire
Research shows that funny people are also nicer to be around.
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Martin Hendry, University of Glasgow
The discovery of tiny ripples in space from the violent collision of dense stars could help solve many mysteries – including where the gold in our jewellery comes from.
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