Ep. 54: A conversation with Jaimie Bleck on elections in Africa, music in Mali, and more

This week's episode begins with conversation about the Congolese elections, Laurent Gbagbo's acquittal in the International Criminal Court, and political jostling between the president and deputy president in Kenya. Our guest this week is Jaimie Bleck, an Associate Professor of Political Science and Faculty Fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. In this week’s episode, we talk about her latest book, written with Nicolas van de Walle, Electoral Politics in Africa Since 1990: Continuity in Change. From her new book, we learn about common trends among African candidates, African voters' priorities, and the issues candidates campaign on in African elections. She also tells us about an exciting project she worked on with Malian musicians live-scoring a silent film, "The Passion of Joan of Arc" at Notre Dame. Tune in to her segment at 9:09. Find the books, links, and articles we mentioned in this episode on our website, ufahamuafrica.com.