Interactions: A Strategy of Difference and Repetition
Interactions Interactions is an edited excerpt from filmmaker, writer and artist Aryan Kaganof’s new short film of the same name. Originating out of a commission by the Theater Institut Netherlands – which wanted a “film report” on a meeting of art professionals – Kaganof created a satire of bureaucracy, cultural administration and distorted power balances. […]
Guilt Trips
Kai Friese interrogates the colonial fantasy that lives on in the sententious philanthropy of ethical tourism. Escape Narratives Suspicion in the Oriental is a sort of malignant tumour, a mental malady, that makes him self-conscious and unfriendly suddenly; he trusts and mistrusts at the same time in a way the Westerner cannot comprehend. It […]
The First Lady Syndrome
Mama Chantal Biya Yves Mintoogue* traces the nepotism and political patronage that are the weave in the wig of Chantal “Chantou” Biya, who is widely regarded for her philanthropy and humanitarian and social work around Aids, but is first and foremost the high-profile half of the predatory presidential couple of the Republic of Cameroon *Translation […]
Manufacturing the post-election peace: A reporter’s 2013 election diary
Parselelo Kantai watches as NGOs, the media and the state rally together to stage a peaceful takeover of power in Kenya. The top priority of the recent elections, he observes, was not a faithful determination of the will of the people, but the maintenance of peace and stability. An exchange of pall-bearers 9 […]
A Civil Society Of African States
Paula Akugizibwe assumes observer status at the African Union and finds the ‘new sovereign’ in a state of afro-centric rebirth. But under the silky sheets of diplomacy and people-power pillowtalk, she discovers, is a charm offensive that puts paid to the ‘Renaissance’ and keeps the West in control. “Ninety-nine problems, but the people ain’t one,” […]