** CONFERENCE DATES HAVE CHANGED: MARCH 30 - APRIL 1

18th Annual Africa Conference at The University of Texas at Austin - March 30 - April 1, 2018

Welcome to the 2018 Africa Conference held at The University of Texas at Austin. This year's theme is: "Leadership and Institutions in Africa"

The 2018 Africa Conference will critically examine Africa’s political leadership and extant institutions vis-à-vis the continent’s history of underdevelopment, present challenges, and future trajectories within the global political economy. Scholars are invited to interrogate the nature and evolution of leadership and institutions in Africa from the pre-colonial era to contemporary times. Institutions in this context are broadly defined to include formal and informal institutions, including history, traditions and culture of the people. Is it leadership that shapes institutions or do institutions determine the quality of leaders that emerge? How can African states achieve the leadership and institutional transformation necessary to address the perennial development challenges of the continent? Are there lessons that could be drawn from the experiences of the pre-colonial era to inform contemporary issues of leadership? We invite proposals for papers, panel presentations, roundtables and artistic works/performances that would critically examine these and other related issues on Africa’s leadership and institutions.

For the past eighteen years the Africa Conference has encouraged an interdisciplinary dialogue about the African continent for scholars from around the world, and we look forward to hosting a diverse group of scholars once more. 

Please review the Call for Papers link for further information.

We look forward to seeing you from March 30 - April 1, 2018!