African Studies
Utafiti: Journal of African Perspectives
Call for Papers: Utafiti is inviting you to submit your manuscript – any topic in the humanities - for consideration in the next issues.
Highlights
News & Announcements
Stay up-to-date with the Brill African Studies Community and sign up to our newsletter!
Sign upNew at Brill: Afrika Focus
This journal promotes critical and worldly debates with Africa at the centre.
New Series: Africa Futures / Afrique Futurs
Published in association with the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Africa Futures features cutting-edge research that critically reflects on some of the big questions relevant to imagining Africa’s future as a place.
Listen to our podcast on Africa and Climate Change
Robin Attfield talks about how Africa finds itself vulnerable to drought but also the flooding of its coastline, among other untoward environmental effects of climate change and civil war.
After years of political turmoil arising from the Anjouan secession of 1997 and a bloodless military coup in 1999, this small island state made considerable progress towards completing its transitional phase and setting up all the institutions of the new federal ‘Union des Comores’ (Comorian Union), whose foundations had been laid by a constitutional referendum in December 2001. Deep-seated conflicts between the key actors of the four distinct state entities about their respective competencies, and scepticism about the functionality of the highly complex and costly new government structures, however, persisted and were not fully resolved by year's end.
Despite some signs of a possible re-emergence of the vicious political confrontations that had long characterised the country during its often turbulent past, 2013 turned out to be another (third) year of relatively calm political normalcy without any major upheavals. A failed coup attempt had no noticeable effect on the stability of the government. President Dhoinine managed to further consolidate his leadership position despite an escalating rift with his predecessor and former mentor Sambi. The long-existing frictions between the three islands of the ‘Union des Comores’ and their political elites continued unchanged, but caused no immediate problems. A compromise was found on the disputed issue of a harmonised election cycle, while key political parties showed signs of internal disarray. The contentious Mayotte issue and ambivalent relations with France continued to dominate the foreign front. Further progress on debt cancellation was made and there was a moderate general improvement in the economic situation, while structural reforms of key parastatal enterprises remained stalled.
Throughout the year, the political scene was dominated by the run-up to expected triple elections (National Assembly, island councils, local communities), which were eventually postponed to early 2015 as a result of severe preparation problems. Various political alliances were already gearing up for the next presidential elections in 2016. President Dhoinine’s camp was mainly confronted by the renewed presidential ambitions of his predecessor and former mentor, Sambi. Despite some signs of a possible re-emergence of the vicious political confrontations that had long characterised the country during its often turbulent past, 2014 turned out to be another year of relatively calm political normalcy without any major upheavals. The long-existing frictions between the three islands of the ‘Union des Comores’ and their political elites continued unchanged, but caused no immediate problems. A rare ioc summit was held in Moroni, but this international highlight did not bring about any change in the ambivalent relationship with France, given the enduring contentious Mayotte issue. Economically, it was a difficult year, with recurring power and water outages and the return of salary arrears in the public sector. The government’s socioeconomic performance was considered rather unsatisfactory.
Somewhat delayed triple elections in early 2015 set the political scene for the ensuing year. Newly-forged political alliances were subsequently gearing up for the next presidential and gubernatorial elections in early 2016. President Dhoinine’s ruling camp was mainly confronted by the renewed presidential ambitions of his predecessor and former mentor, Sambi, but the latter’s constitutional eligibility as a candidate remained a strong bone of contention. Despite some signs of a possible re-emergence of the vicious political confrontations that had characterised the country during its often turbulent past, 2015 turned out to be another year of relatively calm political normalcy with no major upheavals. The long-standing frictions between the three ‘autonomous’ islands of the ‘Union des Comores’ and their political elites were still in evidence, but caused no tangible problems. The ambivalent relationship with France remained unchanged, given the enduring contentious Mayotte issue. Economically, it was another difficult year with slow growth, continuing power and water outages, accumulated salary arrears in the public sector and several strikes. The government’s socioeconomic performance was considered rather unsatisfactory.
The year was dominated by presidential and gubernatorial elections. In particular, Colonel Azali Assoumani’s return as president after ten years witnessed the comeback of a soldier-politician, former coup leader and architect of Comoros’ existing rotating presidency, or ‘présidence tournante’, system. Under his predecessor, Ikililou Dhoinine, the country’s economy had continued to underperform, with gdp falling from a growth rate of 3.5% in 2013 to 1% in 2015. Unemployment remained high and shortages of food, water, fuel and power were common. However, given its history of coups, mutinies and secession, the relative political stability of the country under Dhoinine’s leadership marked out his time in office as a qualified success. The conclusion of his mandate also completed the first cycle of the rotating presidency system, the constitutional and electoral arrangement devised to check secessionist pressures in the two less populous islands of Nzwani and Mwali, and to ensure power sharing at a federal level within the Union of Comoros.
In his first full year in office since being re-elected president, Colonel Azali Assoumani drew on his political experience to consolidate his rule at home and renew relationships with bilateral partners and international organisations. A former coup leader, he had previously served as president of the Committee of State between 1999 and 2002, and then as president of the Union of Comoros between 2002 and 2006. Beyond short-term policies to drive down the high cost of living, the new government determined that Comoros should aim to become an ‘emerging economy’. This goal influenced both domestic and foreign policy. Assoumani indicated that his government would be willing to consider revising the constitutional mechanism of the rotating presidency that he had introduced in 2002. In terms of foreign relations, Assoumani prioritised cooperation with France, whilst cementing relations with Saudi Arabia as Comoros’s principal partner in the Islamic world.
The year was politically significant for Comoros. The replacement of a single-term electoral system by a two-term system was confirmed by a controversial and disputed referendum. The revised constitution potentially allows president Azali Assoumani to stand in two further presidential elections, rather than step down in 2021. The revision to the constitution was fiercely contested by the opposition, especially on the islands of Mwali and Nzwani, where there was a short, limited uprising against the government. Assoumani was accused of adopting authoritarian measures to neutralise rivals during the referendum campaign and ahead of a presidential election in early 2019. The year also saw a major diplomatic row with France when the long-standing dispute over the sovereignty of Mayotte escalated into the most serious rift between the two countries for many years.
President Azali Assoumani consolidated his hold on power by winning a snap presidential election in March. Opposition candidates denounced the authoritarian and restrictive conditions under which the campaign took place. Citing irregularities, an international observer mission declined to validate the conduct of the election. The opposition established a National Transition Council in an effort to have the election nullified. Its first president, Colonel Soilihi Mohamed was arrested and then co-opted. However, with his presidency widely recognised by the international community, Assoumani ignored the Council’s demands that he step down. In April, the islands were hit by Cyclone Kenneth, which caused widespread damage to infrastructure and devastated much of the agricultural sector. The imf coordinated an international relief and rebuilding effort. The World Bank recategorised Comoros as a ‘middle income country’ from its previous categorisation as a ‘least developed country’. At the end of the year, a conference of international investors, hosted by the French government and designed to finance the Emerging Comoros Plan, resulted in pledges of investment amounting to $ 4.3 bn.
While, the year was dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the health implications of the virus for the populations of the three islands of the Union of the Comoros were limited throughout the year. The main effects of the pandemic were the economic, social, and external consequences of the preventative and control measures imposed by the government of President Azali Assoumani. Curfews and transport restrictions in and out of the country meant that most projects funded by the World Bank, the imf, and the private sector intended to generate growth under the Emerging Comoros Plan (Plan Comores Emergent, pce) were unable to start. Likewise, the same anti-Covid measures undermined the infrastructural projects that were part of the Cyclone Kenneth recovery plan. The usual amount of activity between Comoros and its international partners also diminished as a result of travel restrictions and the Comoros’ limited capacity to transfer its diplomacy online. An exception was increased communication with the World Bank and imf, which were forced to incorporate the challenges of Covid-19 with the existing planning for regeneration after Cyclone Kenneth. The major political event at the start of the year was the legislative elections, brought forward three months by the government. When they were boycotted by the opposition, the inevitable result was a landslide for the government party and its allies. The strategy of forcing the government into a position where it controlled all the levers of state in order to demonstrate its illegitimacy to the wider world was explicitly adopted by a new anti-Assoumani platform – styling itself a resistance rather than an opposition – the Front Commun des Forces Vives Comoriennes.
Increasing public sector expenditure and the public health emergency continued to affect economic performance, albeit less severely than in the first year of the pandemic. Growth projections for 2022 were 0.4% up, from 2.4% recorded economic growth in 2021. While the country opened to tourism, a return to pre-pandemic growth figures remained subject to the recovery of the industry. Political trajectories were still shaped by the controversial 2018 referendum and the 2019 presidential elections, which put president Azali Assoumani into power until 2024. The space for the opposition and free speech remained limited, including growing restrictions on press freedom. While the number of Covid-related casualties in the small island state remained comparatively low, public health protocols affected the livelihoods of poor households lastingly. Migration, maritime security, and the threat of climate change defined Comoro’s foreign policy agenda.