It’s Africa Day. Under South Africa’s presidency, the African Union has been focused on economic growth and the “silencing the guns” programme. These two concerns point to the key challenges facing Africans; struggling economies, and insurgency. History would tell us that the origins of the economic woes are based on the pillaging of colonialists, while the insurgency was given the space to breathe by post-colonial powers. So where do African nations fit into this, and what needs to be done to develop beyond these obstacles?

NRA spoke with Professor of International Relations at Wits University, and Director of the Wits-based African Centre for the Study of the United States, Professor Gilbert Khadiagala…