The Africa Institute Sharjah to host meet on African political economy

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

The Africa Institute, Global Studies University (GSU) in Sharjah, is hosting an international conference November 14-16 titled ‘New Directions in African Political Economy’. The three-day event will engage global scholars in critical discussions on the future of African political economy, centered on the intellectual legacy of the late Professor Thandika Mkandawire, one of Africa’s most influential political economists.

“Thandika Mkandawire was more than just a first-rate scholar,” said Grieve Chelwa, conference convenor and Chair of Social Sciences and Associate Professor of Political Economy at The Africa Institute (GSU). “He fundamentally reshaped how we understand African political economy. His approach was revolutionary because he insisted on examining Africa’s trajectory from a position of dignity, rather than deficit.

“What makes this conference particularly special is its inter-generational nature — we’re bringing together Mkandawire’s contemporaries and friends alongside mid-career and emerging scholars, all united in advancing his intellectual legacy. By convening such a diverse group of rigorous thinkers in Sharjah, we’re not just celebrating Thandika’s contributions, but actively charting new directions for African political economy in the 21st century.”

Mkandawire’s work remains essential for scholars, policymakers and institutions navigating Africa’s complex socio-economic landscape. More than 25 distinguished speakers from leading institutions across UAE, Africa, Europe and North America will gather for keynote addresses, panel discussions, and dialogues. The event features participants from renowned institutions such as Cornell University, Stellenbosch University, CODESRIA, University of South Africa, Howard University and the International Development Economics Associates.

 A programme at The Africa Institute.

Participants include Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, Senior Advisor for Strategic Initiatives at Howard University, presenting the opening keynote on African intellectual decolonisation; Abdalla Hamdok, Executive Chairman of the Center for Africa’s Development and Investment (CADI), presenting a dialogue on building progressive scholarly communities in Africa; Vijay Prashad, Executive Director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, presenting the second keynote ‘Can We Build Scholarship for Our People? Walking by the Durban Beach with Thandika Mkandawire in 2001’, on revitalising intellectual production in the Global South; Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, Professor and South African Research Chair in Studies in Historical Trauma and Transformation, Stellenbosch University, presenting the closing keynote on historical trauma and knowledge production; and Godwin Murunga, Executive Secretary of CODESRIA, presenting on Thandika Mkandawire’s approach to grounded methodologies.

The event features five-panel discussions chaired by faculty members of The Africa Institute, focusing on critical themes in African political economy, such as Social Policy and Development; Development and the Developmental State; Intellectual Thought; Globalisation and Development; and Agriculture, Land, and Structural Transformation in Africa.

The deliberations are expected to produce a series of policy and scholarly papers that could influence African economic strategies in the coming years. The book titled ‘Re-envisioning the African and American Academies’ (Dakar: CODESRIA Press, 2024) by Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, a vital exploration of higher education dynamics amid global challenges, will also be launched on the occasion.

The conference comes at a pivotal moment for Africa as the continent’s role in the global economy is being redefined and continues to evolve amid new challenges. The gathering will offer a platform to reflect on Mkandawire’s groundbreaking scholarship, which reshaped conventional understandings of African development, emphasising African agency and dignity.

The programme will open with welcome remarks from Hoor Al Qasimi, President of GSU, and Professor Salah M. Hassan, Chancellor of GSU and Dean of The Africa Institute (GSU). The conference is open to the public, and is of particular relevance for students, scholars, policymakers and individuals engaged with African development, global political economy, and international affairs.

It will be conducted in English, with Arabic interpretation provided to ensure accessibility for a wider audience. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be livestreamed on The Africa Institute’s YouTube channel. Based in Sharjah, UAE, The Africa Institute is a higher education academic entity dedicated to advancing the study, research, and documentation of Africa and its diaspora, with a focus on the humanities and social sciences.

It operates as a centre of research and documentation, and a postgraduate studies institution, offering master’s and Ph.D. programmes as well as diplomas in African Languages and Translation. In 2023, it became part of the newly established Global Studies University (GSU).

The late Thandika Mkandawire (1940 — 2020) was a development economist, former refugee, and the inaugural Chair in African Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He was a vocal critic of the predominant neo-liberal development theories of the 1990s, arguing that they lacked an African perspective.

Born in Zimbabwe, he was raised in Zambia and Malawi. He became involved in Malawi’s independence movement, initially protesting on the streets and later through his journalism. He moved to the United States to study, but in 1965, during a visit to Ecuador, the Malawian government revoked his passport.

This left him persona non grata till he was granted political asylum and eventually gained citizenship in Sweden. He returned to Malawi in 1994, after 30 years in exile. In his academic career, Mkandawire was a founding member of the Zimbabwe Institute of Development Studies and the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) in Dakar, Senegal.

He later served as director of the UN Research Institute for Social Development in Geneva before joining LSE as the Chair in African Development. His final academic position was as the Olof Palme Professor for Peace at the Swedish Institute for Future Studies. He passed on in Stockholm in 2020.