Gen Z, Digital Activism, and Regime Change in Madagascar

In this Spotlight Xuefei Shi describes how digital strategies and online coordination enabled young activists in Madagascar to topple a regime within weeks, manifesting a new era of digital activism in Africa.

• Christine Hackenesch
• Tobias Heidland
• Denis M. Tull (Hg.)

Leverage and Limits: What African Actors Make of the New Multipolarity

Africa is entering a new era of multipolarity, with global powers competing to become key partners to the continent. This study analyses the different facets of multipolarity and how African actors respond to both opportunities and constraints arising from the growing interest of foreign actors.

doi:10.18449/2025MTA-WP21

• Zum Volltext (PDF) | 2,0 MB

Debating Trump 2.0 and Implications for Africa – The Multiple Pressures on Civil Society Organizations

The USAID cuts put strain on Africa’s underfunded civil society organizations and fuel debates about their legitimacy. While CSOs need to diversify their funding sources, European donors should invest in narratives that support an independent civil society and shift their funding to advocacy. 

• Christine Hackenesch
• Godfred Bonnah Nkansah

African Youth and the Future of Democracy

With African youth at the heart of political change, this study draws on Afrobarometer data from 41 countries to examine how the youth bulge, urbanization, and social media use shape young Africans’ support for democracy, voting behavior, and protest participation.

doi:10.18449/2025MTA-WP20

• Zum Volltext (PDF) | 1,1 MB

How Elections Can Shape Long-Term Political Views: Lessons from the 2005 Ethiopian National Election

Ethiopia has never had a national election as contested as the one in 2005. Afrobarometer data show the long-term effects of this event, such as the former youth's embrace of national rather than ethnic identities or a preference for geographically based federalism.

doi:10.18449/2025MTA-WP18

• Zum Volltext (PDF) | 407 KB

A Question of Standard Regulations? Colonial Continuities of Afro-European Visa Regimes and Mobility Partnerships

• Deutsch

Legal and safe migration to Europe has become increasingly difficult for African citizens owing to racialised structures of mobility. Visas put huge burdens on African applicants while migration partnerships have had little impact, despite Germany’s need for migrant labour, argues Franzisca Zanker.