Liberation Heritage, African Politics and Global Imperial Designs

The histories of Africa and its encounters with non-African powers have long been marked by deep contradictions and complex entanglements. These dynamics, ranging from collaboration and resistance to exploitation and development, oppression and freedom, have shaped African societies in ways that continue to reverberate today. While past experiences of slavery, colonialism, and apartheid remain central to understanding African political and social trajectories, contemporary challenges such as neo-colonialism, open colonial expansionism, global economic domination, technological exploitation, and emerging forms of inequality demand urgent scholarly attention. Existing scholarship on liberation heritage often adopts liberal or Marxist-Leninist perspectives, which can obscure the nuanced realities of African societies and fail to fully address the contemporary implications of historical legacies. Furthermore, disparities in documentation, uneven decolonisation of curricula, and limited local expertise have contributed to a shortage of scholarship that is both locally grounded and globally relevant. The practical realities on Africa’s political discourse presents a compelling case for alternative perspectives about liberation, taking cognisance of its many dimensions and phases.This special issue invites scholars to re-examine the enduring and emerging legacies of liberation heritage, situating African politics within a 21st-century global context.We welcome contributions that offer cutting-edge, critical insights into the intersections between liberation heritage and African politics, including but not limited to:• Conceptualising and re-contextualising liberation in historical and contemporary terms• Exploring the roles of local actors in processes of oppression, resistance, and emancipation• Liberation heritage as a tool for development, exploitation, or global domination• Connections between liberation heritage and nation-building in the 21st century• Case studies of liberation struggle with lessons for contemporary politics Topic editors: Kgothatso Shai, Alexander Madanha Rusero, Muhluri Nkuna Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77484/liberation-heritage-african-politics-and-global-imperial-designs