How did Europe colonize Africa and why it happened much later than other continents? Would Africa be more prosperous today without colonization? In this stimulating episode, we dive into the intricacies of Africa’s colonial history and undertake a multitude of challenging topics, some difficult and unpleasant.

We begin by looking back on what happened, and in the process discern centralized vs decentralized polities, settler vs non-settler colonies, and direct vs indirect rule. Then we look forward and examine the various challenges facing the continent today and consider their remedies. How to solve poverty, inequality, and corruption? How should countries position themselves geopolitically in light of great power competition? How is climate change both a risk and an opportunity?

Dr. Vladimir Chlouba is a prominent political scientist and professor at University of Richmond studying politics in sub-Saharan Africa. He obtained his PhD at Ohio State University, and was previously a visiting fellow at University of Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute. Dr. Chlouba’s work has been published in leading academic journals, including Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Historical Political Economy, and others. Outside of academic work, he has co-authored several policy-oriented reports published by the World Bank.

Timestamps
(00:00:00) Introduction
(00:02:48) Precolonial Africa
(00:06:26) Diving Into Colonial Africa
(00:08:12) Scramble for Africa
(00:08:54) Settler vs Non-Settler and Direct vs Indirect Rule
(00:12:53) Centralized vs Decentralized Polities
(00:17:05) Colonizer Perspectives
(00:26:48) Decolonization and Independence
(00:28:38) Colonial Scars and Implications
(00:34:34) Postcolonial Relationships
(00:37:09) The Resource Curse?
(00:39:58) Corruption, Inequality, Climate Change
(00:47:44) Liberation Wars, Property Rights, and Inequality
(00:51:44) The Sins of Inequality
(01:00:10) Geopolitics and Diplomacy
(01:04:45) Aparteid, Racism, Interracial Relations
(01:19:44) Intellectual Climate on College Campuses

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