Editor's note

South Africans spent the weekend digesting the outcome of the country’s national and provincial elections. The African National Congress won just over 57% of the national vote. But it came with a caveat. This is the third consecutive election the party has suffered a decline in electoral support. Christopher Isike unpacks the reasons for this, comparing its shrinking support with other once hegemonic parties that have failed to stand the test of time.

Madagascar is one of the world’s most special natural environments. But deforestation, illegal hunting and the international pet trade have pushed many plants and animals to the brink of extinction. Sarobidy Rakotonarivo lays out five actions that President Andry Rajoelina has to take to save some of the island’s unique species. “

Thabo Leshilo

Politics + Society Editor

Top Stories

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa cheers during the results announcement ceremony in Pretoria, South Africa. EPA-EFE/Yeshiel Panchia

Factionalism and corruption could kill the ANC – unless it kills both first

Christopher Isike, University of Pretoria

Why do once mighty political parties sometimes collapse? Two reasons that have driven some into obscurity are corruption and conflicts within the party. The ANC suffers from both.

Sunset at Madagascar’s avenue of the baobabs in Morondavo. Chr. Offenberg/Shutterstock

Five actions Madagascar’s president must take to save country’s biodiversity

Sarobidy Rakotonarivo, University of Stirling

President Rajoelina's five-year term, starting in 2019, may be the last chance to avoid habitats and species from going extinct.

Politics + Society

What Nigerian students told us about transactional sex on campus

Oludayo Tade, University of Ibadan

In some Nigerian universities, wealthy female students engage in trasnactional sex for pleasure, while those that needed financial support did it for the money.

The black Muslim female fashion trailblazers who came before model Halima Aden

Kayla Renée Wheeler, Grand Valley State University

Hijab-wearing model Halima Aden will be featured in Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit edition. Here's why her success needs to be viewed in context of a long history of black Muslim women's fashions.

Energy + Environment

How I stumbled on a lost plant just north of Antarctica

Nick Fitzgerald, University of Tasmania

This small herb hadn't been seen on Macquarie Island since it was first recorded in 1983, despite several searches over the next 30 years.

Biodiversity collapse: the wild relatives of livestock and crops are disappearing

Philip McGowan, Newcastle University; Friederike Bolam, Newcastle University; Louise Mair, Newcastle University

Biodiversity is in crisis. Nowhere is this more serious than among the wild species which our livestock and crops descend from.

En français

Dossier : Europe 2019, il est temps d’en parler

Thomas Hofnung, The Conversation

Avant le vote du 26 mai, The Conversation France publie une série d'articles pour analyser les défis, les changements, les ruptures et les espoirs qui accompagnent l'aventure européenne.

Élections européennes : le facteur religieux, un élément secondaire, vraiment ?

François Foret, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Emilie Mondo

Si la référence religieuse ne fait plus l’élection, elle devient un marqueur symbolique pour exprimer une identité, une mémoire ou des valeurs.