Celebratory inaugural lecture Mayke Kaag

Congratulations to Mayke Kaag, who gave her inaugural lecture as Professor of the Anthropology of Politics and Governance in Africa at Leiden University on 9 September, with the title Reflections on power, knowledge, and trust. Political dynamics in Africa and beyond. Mayke Kaag was appointed professor at Leiden University as of 1 January 2024.

Kaag’s research focuses on trust and truth in African politics and governance, and she calls for a shift in perspective: from seeing Africa as the periphery, to taking it as a mirror of global developments - such as the impact of the digital revolution, which is sweeping across Africa. 

Learn more about her research in this interview by Leiden University.

About Mayke Kaag

Mayke Kaag is Professor of the Anthropology of Politics and Governance in Africa at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (CADS) on behalf of the African Studies Centre Leiden. She is also Professor of the Anthropology of Islam in Africa and its Diaspora at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). She did her PhD on land use and social change in Senegal (Vrije Universiteit 2001). Her current research focuses primarily on Africa’s global connections, including in the field of (geo-)politics, land issues, Islamic philanthropy and activism, knowledge production, and engagements with the diaspora. She is the convenor of the collaborative research group ‘Africa in the World: Rethinking Africa’s Global Connections’.

Key publications include: The Global Land Grab. Beyond the Hype (co-edited with Annelies Zoomers, Zed Books 2014); ‘Islamic charities from the Arab world in Africa: intercultural encounters of humanitarianism and morality’(2016); ‘Linking-in through education?: exploring the educational question in Africa from the perspective of flows and (dis)connections’ (2018), ‘A plea for  kaleidoscopic knowledge production’ (together with Miriam Ocadiz, 2019), Destination Africa. Contemporary Africa as a Centre of Global Encounter (co-edited with G. Khan-Mohammad and S. Schmid, Brill 2020), and Trust and Trust Making in Africa’s Global Connections (co-edited with A. Thiel and I. Tarrósy, Brill 2025).