New African Thinkers: Africa in a Polycrisis

Nicasius Achu Check, Blessing Masamha & Vuyo Mjimba

New African Thinkers: Africa in a Polycrisis, seeks to examine the challenges associated with economic development, trade, governance, peace, and security in Africa. This edition of the title examines the complex security and economic scenario where multiple crises interact, creating a complex and often unpredictable scenario of interrelated crises.

Product Information

Categories:

Africa, Coming Soon, Economic and Development, Non-Fiction, Politics, Philosophy & Social Sciences

Format:

234 x 156 mm

Pages:

312pp

ISBN-13:

978-0-7983-0566-2

Publish Year:

January 2027

Rights:

World Rights

Coming Soon: July 2027

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Chapter 1- Introduction – Why Development in Africa Must Be Inclusive, Equitable, and Sustainable

Nicasius Achu Check, Blessing Masamha & Vuyo Mjimba

Chapter 2 – The rise of new forms of armed conflicts in Africa: Central and West Africa in comparative perspectives

Nicasius Achu Check

Chapter 3 – Wither Peace in Mozambique: What the Cabo Delgado Insurgency Reveals About Africa Peace and Security Architecture and the African Standby Force

Ncumisa Liwela and Meketsi Tsotetsi

Chapter 4 – Post‐1994 South Africa’s peacekeeping and military intervention in Southern Africa, with reference to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Lesotho

Clifford Mhlanyakwa Duma

Chapter 5 – The Importance of Public Sector Monitoring and Evaluation in Promoting Good Governance in Africa: Sierra Leone as a Case Study

Michael Augustine Katua

Chapter 6 – Exploring how Weak Governance Structure and Human Rights Abuses Fuel Insecurity and Hinder Peace-Building Efforts in Africa; Sierra Leone

Mustapha Abdulai Kargbo

Chapter 7 – Exploring the Intersection of Community Engagement and AI-Enhanced Health Communication

Dimpho Seponi Magdeline Mogano

Chapter 8 – Climate Change Vulnerability and Economic Resilience: A Dynamic Panel Analysis of African Economies

Enock Mwakalila

Chapter 9 – Pathways for transforming food systems to enhance food and nutrition security in the Polycrisis era.

Blessing Masamha

Chapter 10 – Smallholder’s Farmers’ Willingness to Pay Using the Take it or leave it and Becker- DeGroot-Marschak Elicitation Methods for Certified Improved Maize Seed in Morogoro, Tanzania

Jacqueline P. Majuva, Joseph P. Hella, Nicetus Seluhinga, and Martin Komba

Chapter 11 – Harnessing Indigenous and Local Knowledge for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction: A Case of Nkomazi Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

Nomcebo Ubisi and Mulala Jimaima

Chapter 12 – Improving Water Governance in Smallholder Irrigation Schemes in Rural Communities: A Case Study of the Nzhelele Area, Makhado Municipality, South Africa

Nedombeloni, M. A. Mathaulula and E.J Mwendera

Chapter 13 – Exploring Land Use Planning Approaches and Models Guiding Urban Food Systems in Maseru, Lesotho

Leemisa Simon Matooane, Johannes Itai Bhanye and Abraham Matamanda

Chapter 14- Conclusion – Achieving Sustainable, Inclusive, and Equitable Development in Africa: Some Critical Considerations

Nicasius Achu Check, Blessing Masamha & Vuyo Mjimba

New African Thinkers: Africa in a Polycrisis, Africa’s next chapter will not be written with yesterday’s answers. Born from the 2025 Africa Young Graduates and Scholars Conference, this edited volume brings together a new generation of thinkers to tackle the two defining challenges of Africa’s last decade: insecurity and the struggle for sustainable development. Its argument is bold: real change demands a change in thinking. Political institutions emerge, evolve, and decay, and African states must be well resourced and adaptable enough to meet the needs of their moment. As societies change, creating new social classes, educating citizens, and introducing innovative technologies, young people must help ensure that change serves the times they live in. Africa is rich in natural resources, human capital, and innovation potential. What has held back shared prosperity is not scarcity but the failure to put domestic priorities first. The contributors call for innovative national development plans built on digital transformation, green growth, and regional integration, and look to long-term visions already taking shape, from Kenya’s Vision 2030 and Rwanda’s Vision 2050 to Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and South Africa’s National Development Plan. What sets the book apart is its dual lens. Part One confronts insecurity through a structuralist framework. Part Two turns to the deeper work of sustainable development. Together, they offer a fresh, unified way of thinking about Africa’s future, one that cuts poverty and safeguards the continent’s resources for generations to come.

Nicasius Achu Check is a Senior Research Specialist in the Governance, Peace and Security programme at the Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA), Human Sciences Research Council. He holds a PhD in Political Studies from the University of Johannesburg and specialises in decolonial politics, France-Africa relations, post-colonial state-building, genocide studies, and African philosophy. His research focuses on the African peace and security architecture, African Union governance reforms, and nation-building. He has published widely and presented at numerous international conferences, sits on the editorial committee of Africa Insight, and is a steering committee member of the African Peer Review Mechanism’s School of Governance.

Blessing Masamha is a Research Specialist at the Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA), HSRC, with a PhD from the University of Pretoria (2018). He is an interdisciplinary researcher focused on agricultural transformation, food systems, and rural development across Southern, Eastern, and West Africa. He led a multi-country study on using AI and climate-smart agriculture to reduce food loss in South Africa, Zambia, and Tanzania, and his work increasingly explores AI’s role in transforming smallholder agriculture. With over nine years of teaching and research experience, he has supervised postgraduate students and co-authored numerous journal articles and policy briefs. He serves on the Interim Editorial Committee of Africa Insight and co-convenes the Food Value Chains and Rural Socio-economic Transformation Research Hub.

Vuyo Mjimba is Chief Research Specialist at the Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA), HSRC, with over 15 years’ experience in applied research and evidence-based policy evaluation. He holds a PhD in Development Policy and Practice from The Open University (UK) and brings an interdisciplinary lens from earlier training in biotechnology and biochemistry. His research spans sustainable development, industrial policy, climate policy, regional integration, and innovation systems, recently extending to non-communicable disease management and green transitions in Africa. He has published over forty outputs, including journal articles, policy briefs, and edited books, and serves on editorial and ethics committees.

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