International relations academic, Folashadé Soulé-Kohndou, thinks African governments are starting to negotiate better terms with more powerful countries: ‘African governments are increasingly better at avoiding the zero-sum trap (especially when dealing with US-China rivalry) and they are adopting measures that strategically play rivals against each other to get better deals.’
First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing.
Our questions are italicized.
What books or kinds of books did you read growing up?
Growing up in Benin Republic, I mostly read books from francophone African authors. My father who was a journalist travelled a lot across the continent and always brought back at least one book for us to read. Francophone African literature classics from Jean Pliya, Olympe Bhêly Quenum, Ferdinand Oyono and Tidiane Dem amongst others were all part of my upbringing.
Several of these authors’ books were also part of the Beninese school curricula which meant that I had the opportunity to read and analyse them at school as well. Overall, these books provided me with a first window into African lives and traditions before and after independence, but also gender and class dynamics within African societies. I also read French classics and particularly enjoyed Guy de Maupassant’s novels.
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