By Jabulani Sikhakhane, Editor, The Conversation
The Conversation Africa has published more than 13,000 articles since it launched in 2015. Written by academics and researchers, these articles have covered topics ranging from political developments to health, climate change, environmental science, education, economics, culture and technology.
All have been free to read, and free for other media to republish.
We will continue to offer them for free. That’s our value proposition: making academic research and expertise freely available.
But it costs money to commission and publish these articles. Thus far,…
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By Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham
Houthi rebel forces have seized the Yemeni port of Mokha as well as Mayyun Island overlooking the Bab el-Mandab strait. This gives Iran’s most powerful remaining proxy force in the Middle East nearly complete control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast.
Directly or indirectly, Tehran now has a chokehold on around 12% of global trade that passes through that waterway. It is also maintaining its pressure on the Strait…
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By Jesse Liu, Assistant Professor of Physics, New York University
Every second, particles zip through your body at nearly the speed of light. They rain down from a storm high in the sky, where cosmic rays, a powerful type of interstellar matter, are constantly striking atoms in Earth’s atmosphere. The impacts break them apart into a shower of particles that rain to the ground.
Scientists have studied these cosmic rainstorms for over a century, but they lack a precise understanding…
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By Denise Turner, Professor of Social Work, University of Hertfordshire
Katie Walsh, Reader in Human Geography, University of Sussex
September is traditionally the time of year when many young people go to university or college, often leaving parents and carers facing an “empty nest”. But an empty nest doesn’t just mean a quiet home. Sometimes for the older generation there are also difficult questions about the next phase of their life.
The term “empty nest” was popularised by US author and activist Dorothy Canfield Fisher in her 1914 book Mothers and Children. It described the emotional challenges mothers experienced when their children…
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By Graeme Close, Professor of Human Physiology, Liverpool John Moores University
Richard Kirwan, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, Liverpool John Moores University
A food shortage is never going to be an ideal situation. But it’s possible to build a healthy stockpile for your home.
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By Richard Fosu, Lecturer in International Relations, Monash University
Ayotunde Giwa, PhD Candidate, Political Science, Northern Arizona University
Christopher Amrobo Enemuwe, PhD student, Idaho State University
When violent conflict erupts in Africa, attention often turns to the United Nations, major powers, or external donors. Yet over the past two decades, the African Union (AU) has become one of the continent’s most important peace and security actors.
From Burundi and Sudan to Somalia, Mali and the Central African Republic, the AU and regional African organisations have deployed peace operations, mediated…
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By Saeed Akannah Junior, Lecturer, School of Build Environment, Bolgatanga Technical University
When people discuss architecture in Ghana, attention often focuses on modern buildings: concrete houses, glass offices, shopping malls and ambitious urban developments. Yet across the country, another architectural tradition continues to offer lessons about how people have built and lived for generations.
This is vernacular architecture. It is not uniquely Ghanaian. The term refers to buildings and settlements shaped largely by local knowledge, materials, construction techniques, cultural practices and environmental conditions of a particular region. It is not simply old or traditional…
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By Jerome Loveland, Head of Transplant Surgery at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, and Academic Head of Transplantation, University of the Witwatersrand
South Africa is no stranger to organ transplants. The world’s first heart transplant was performed in the country in the 1960s. There have been major developments in the decades since then. In the 1980s an organ donor registry was set up and local surgeons have been pushing the boundaries of what is possible. The Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre recently marked a milestone of completing 1,000 liver transplants since initiating its programme…
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By Arthur Shirichena, PhD candidate aviation law, University of Manchester
When conflict erupted in the Middle East in 2026, the consequences were felt far beyond the region. One was the disruption to Gulf airspace. The ripple effects hit the global aviation network, including Africa.
Airlines have been forced to reroute flights and there’s been a spike in operating costs, delayed cargo and disrupted passenger…
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By Subhashish Panigrahi
As I read through the pieces Global Voices’ authors contributed to the August 2026 Spotlight series, “Indigenous Rights,” one common question stands out for me: Who gets to decide?
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