Proposal for a special issue of Modern Africa: Politics, History and Society

TITLE: African Justice Between History, Transition, and Its Current role in the Establishment of the Rule of Law

 

PROPONENTS: Luca Bussotti (Federal University of Espírito Santo, Brazil); Laura António Nhaueleque (Higher Don Bosco Institute, Mozambique)

The role of justice in Africa has always been fundamental. Community justice, restorative justice, popular justice, social justice, and formal justice linked to the classical liberal division of powers – these and other forms of justice have always accompanied the public life of Africans, in every era and in every level. Today, following the transitions of the 1990s, which saw almost all African countries move from single-party models to democratic systems, justice is under attack, revealing a deep crisis in African institutional structures. This call for papers aims to bring together contributions from scholars who have developed research on justice and its management, both from a historical perspective and from the perspective of contemporary legal, political and sociological analysis. In particular, we are interested in understanding the transition processes and their management, with a focus on the analysis of judicial systems in modern African democracies, while still welcoming articles on other forms of justice, from those relating to the socialist experiences of various African countries to post-conflict restorative justice, as in the case of Rwanda or post-apartheid South Africa, and the most recent transitions in the Sahel region. The proper functioning of the judicial system, including electoral justice, is now central to the affirmation of democratic principles and respect for human rights in Africa. Thus, the analysis of the role of the public prosecutor's office, lawyers, the relationship between the judicial and executive powers, and the access to justice for all citizens are the central themes of this dossier. Both theoretical and, above all, empirical contributions based on single or comparative case studies will be accepted, providing a critical snapshot of the current state of the justice system across African countries. Cross-continental collaboration, as well as submissions from African female researchers will be particularly welcome.

Dates to remember:

Abstract submission: 28 February 2026

Notification of acceptance: 15 March 2026

Final article submission: 31 August 2026

Send your abstract to: labromoz@gmail.com and/or lauranhaweleke@outlook.com.