Since the early 2000s, Rwanda has been praised for its high number of women in Parliament. However, critics argue that President Paul Kagame's government is an authoritarian regime that silences political opposition. Xianan Jin (University of Exeter) will explore this paradox during the ASCL Seminar on 3 April. Join us!

Apply for the Master or Research Master in African Studies at Leiden University! The Research Master is unique in continental Europe for its interdisciplinary approach and the six-months fieldwork in Africa. The Master is an advanced area studies qualification that combines leading Africanist scholarship with practice-based learning.

To mark the retirement of the ASCL's Head of the Library, Documentation, and Information Department, Jos Damen, the staff of the Library and Marleen Dekker, director of the ASCL, pay tribute to Jos with the help of a book or a film they associate him with: Jos Damen in 11 books and films!

The abrupt freeze of US Foreign Aid has left many communities in Africa in limbo, undermining the hard-earned trust that took years to build. In a new blog, PhD candidate Tinashe Chimbidzikai, who has actively participated in implementing USAID-programmes in Zimbabwe, observes the fragility of trust in humanitarian efforts.

The journey of fieldwork research and thesis writing is a defining experience for master’s students. To enhance this process, the LDE Thesis Lab Seminar Week, held in Nairobi last January, provided an immersive and enriching environment for Kenyan and Dutch students embarking on their research journeys.

In light of the recent advance of the M23 rebel movement in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the African Library has created a list of web resources on this conflict, containing online articles, blogs, infographics, podcasts and videos, most of which are freely accessible.