Political dynamics across the African continent are becoming very tense and one is forced to begin to question the democratic credentials of many African countries in this regard. Given the centrality of the political process to the overall development of nations, the growing nervy nature of this process in many countries is a serious cause for concern. Democracy has unraveled immensely across the continent with serious democratic reversals. This is demonstrated in the return of military coups in West African countries of Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger. This development raised serious regional tensions in West Africa, shaking the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to its roots and causing unprecedented diplomatic face-offs between member states. The fact that most of these coups are popular among the citizens of the affected countries raises fundamental questions about the quality of leadership emerging from democracy in Africa.

In the same vein, insecurity and its many associated ills are on the rise on the continent. Along with the monstrous incidence and magnitude of terrorism in the Sahel region of the continent, the situation in Central and East Africa is also raising concerns. The recent conflagration in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda is a huge setback in the attempts to foster peace in the Region. The ensuing diplomatic faceoff between Rwanda and South Africa has also brought the need to rethink security and peacekeeping missions in Africa.

The recent gory political developments in Africa bring ideals of the African Renaissance to the fore as the leading academic platform to discuss emerging issues in African politics. In keeping with its tradition of intellectual excellence, this present issue brings many of the old and emerging issues in African politics and their dynamics to the fore. Some of the themes in African politics featured in this issue of African Renaissance include democracy, security and insecurity, migration, racial tensions, elections, peacekeeping, education, human rights and its various issues and manifestations, decolonization, civil unrest, political violence and African integration, among others. These themes were well-researched and expertly analyzed, thereby leading to the emergence of practical policy recommendations that are critical to the continent’s overall development.

This is to acknowledge the contributions of the players involved in the publication process of this issue of African Renaissance, chief of which, are the reviewers. Their detailed reviews are critical to maintaining the culture of publication excellence of the journal. The authors are also commended for their efforts in attending to the several issues raised by the reviewers over several stages. Your interest in publishing your articles in the journal is acknowledged and appreciated. It is a huge pleasure to be invited to be Guest Editor of a leading journal such as African Renaissance. Hence, the Editorial team is appreciated for the honour. This issue of the African Renaissance surely contributes to the body of knowledge of African politics in important ways.