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Working Paper CEsA/ISEG Research No. 207/2025 examines TICAD’s contribution to South–South and Triangular Cooperation in Africa
The Working Paper CEsA/ISEG Research No. 207/2025, entitled The Historical Constraints of Africa South–South Cooperation: 30 Years of TICAD through the Lenses of South-South-Triangular Cooperation, analyses the three decades since the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) and its role in ending Africa’s marginalization and exit aid dependency
The legacy of TICAD and its contribution to promoting structural changes in African development through South-South and Triangular Cooperation are the main conclusions of the new Working Paper CEsA/ISEG Research No. 207/2025, entitled The Historical Constraints of Africa South–South Cooperation: 30 Years of TICAD through the Lenses of South-South-Triangular Cooperation.
Authored by Pedro Miguel Amakasu Raposo de Medeiros Carvalho, full professor at Kansai University (Osaka, Japan) and associated researcher at CEsA/ISEG Research, the research article adopts a qualitative and chronological approach, with a cross-analysis of OECD reports, TICAD documents, UN and OAU historical resolutions, and secondary literature covering approximately 1960–2022, to understand the conceptual significance of South-South and Triangular Cooperation, explore the historical reasons why this modality has not advanced in Africa, and examine its contribution over three decades of TICAD in reducing Africa’s marginalisation and dependency on aid.
The Working Paper No. 207/2025 can be downloaded at the following link: https://cesa.rc.iseg.ulisboa.pt/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Working-Paper_207-2025_Final.pdf
Abstract:
Placing emphasis on the concepts of self-reliance and self-help, this paper contributes to the broad literature on South-South and Triangular cooperation, first, to understand its conceptual significance to south-south cooperation; second, to understand why from an historical perspective south-south cooperation has not advanced in Africa; and third, drawing on three decades of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, to understand the extent of TICAD contribution to promoting Africa’s self-reliance, essential to ending Africa’s marginalization and exit aid dependency. Based on insights from cross-analysis OECD reports, TICAD documents, UN and OAU historical resolutions, and secondary literature, through a qualitative and chronological approach, roughly from 1960 to 2022, we find that the role of TICAD through SS-TrC not only has contributed to structural development changes in Africa, but also redefined the paradigm of development assistance based on country ownership and equal partnership, thus becoming part of the Global Agenda for Development.
About the Author:
Pedro Miguel Amakasu Raposo de Medeiros Carvalho is full professor at Kansai University (Osaka, Japan) and associate researcher at CEsA/ISEG Research.
Click here to explore the full collection of CEsA Working Papers
Author: CEsA Communication Team (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
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CEsA/ISEG Research Working Paper No. 206/2025 proposes a model to understand the dependency among actors involved in the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy
The CEsA/ISEG Research Working Paper No. 206/2025, entitled Multiplexing Corporate Power: Navigating corporate autonomy in the EU Global Gateway, presents the conceptual framework of “geoeconomic force multiplexing”, which explains how corporations process public inputs across geographical, sectoral, temporal, and network dimensions.
The dynamics of dependency between corporations and the various actors involved in the European Union’s Global Gateway initiative, as well as the impact of these relations on achieving geoeconomic objectives, are the focus of the new CEsA/ISEG Research Working Paper No. 206/2025, entitled Multiplexing Corporate Power: Navigating corporate autonomy in the EU Global Gateway.
Authored by Luís Pais Bernardo, researcher at CEsA/ISEG Research, the study analyses three flagship projects — the Lobito Corridor (Angola), Dakar BRT (Senegal), and Lumut Maritime Industrial City (Malaysia) — through which it develops an innovative conceptual framework explaining how corporations process public inputs across multiple dimensions: geographical, sectoral, temporal, and network.
Based on these interactions, the author identifies four “multiplexer profiles”: autonomous (high leverage, low dependence), directed (high leverage, high dependence), bounded (low leverage, high dependence), and opportunistic (low leverage, low dependence). The study further demonstrates that, by delegating the implementation of the initiative to corporate actors, the EU creates path-dependent lock-ins that may redirect or undermine the original objectives of the Global Gateway.
The Working Paper No. 206/2025 is available for download here https://cesa.rc.iseg.ulisboa.pt/publicacoes/working-paper-206-2025-multiplexing-corporate-power-navigating-corporate-autonomy-in-the-eu-global-gateway/
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Abstract:
The EU’s Global Gateway initiative relies on corporations to achieve geoeconomic goals, creating structural dependence on actors with autonomous transformation capacity. By analyzing official documents and three flagship projects (Lobito Corridor (Angola), Dakar BRT (Senegal), and Lumut Maritime Industrial City (Malaysia)) I develop a “geoeconomic force multiplexing” framework explaining how corporations process public inputs across geographic, sectoral, temporal, and network dimensions. Four “multiplexer profiles” emerge from the interaction of leverage and patron dependence: autonomous (high leverage, low dependence), directed (high leverage, high dependence), bounded (low leverage, high dependence), and opportunistic (low leverage, low dependence). The EU faces inherent tension: channeling priorities through high-leverage corporations invites lower steerability, while more dependent actors lack transformative capacity. Delegating implementation to corporate actors creates path-dependent lock-ins that may redirect or undermine original objectives.
About the author:
Luís Pais Bernardo is an associate researcher at CEsA/ISEG Research. He works in the areas of Social Sciences with an emphasis on Political Science.
Click here to explore the full collection of CEsA Working Papers
Author: CEsA Communication Team (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
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Save the Date: 4th Conference of Young Researchers of the CPLP-Africa to be held in March 2026, in Mozambique, under the theme “Cultural Diversity, Digital Innovation and Ancestral Knowledge”
The 4th Conference of Young Researchers of the CPLP-Africa will take place from 25 to 27 March 2026, in Maputo, Mozambique, under the theme “Cultural Diversity, Digital Innovation and Ancestral Knowledge: Building Sustainable Futures in Africa”. The event aims to foster dialogue between cultural heritage and contemporary thought, connecting areas such as cultural diversity, emerging technologies, traditional knowledge, and public policies for sustainable development, in alignment with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Over these three days, young researchers, academics, policymakers, artists, and civil society representatives will gather in plenary sessions, thematic panels, capacity-building workshops, and cultural activities. Promoting the exchange of ideas and experiences, the conference ensures broad and inclusive participation, with particular emphasis on advancing youth leadership and African scientific excellence.
Among the expected outcomes are the establishment of an Ancestral Innovation Incubator, a South–South Public Policy Laboratory, and the “Reimagined Africanness” Cultural Diplomacy Residency Programme — initiatives that consolidate the transformative legacy of EJICPLP.
Call for Papers
Submissions are now open for the Call for Papers of the 4th Conference of Young Researchers of the CPLP-Africa. Young researchers aged between 18 and 45 are invited to submit their paper proposals in the form of an abstract by 3 January 2026. All information is available in Portuguese on the official event page (click here).
About the Conference of Young Researchers of the CPLP-Africa
The conference is an international initiative that seeks to strengthen scientific excellence and foster youth leadership within the CPLP space. It marks a milestone in consolidating a young, creative, and collaborative scientific community, promoting critical, innovative, and socially relevant research, and reinforcing scientific and cultural cooperation for sustainable and inclusive development.
Following two editions held in Portugal (at the Lisbon School of Economics and Management – ISEG, University of Lisbon, in 2021 and 2022) and one in Angola (at the Luanda Science Centre, in 2024), the Conference now returns to the African continent, in Maputo, Mozambique, from 25 to 27 March 2026, maintaining its hybrid and itinerant format to celebrate dialogue between tradition, innovation, and sustainability.
The EJICPLP Africa Association, in co-organisation with UNESCO, Eduardo Mondlane University, and Felcos Umbria, and in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Culture of Mozambique, CESA – Centre for African Studies, University of Lisbon, OWSD, Joaquim Chissano University, the Catholic University of Mozambique, among other academic and cultural institutions from the CPLP, work together to ensure that this edition reinforces the commitment to valuing African voices, South–South scientific cooperation, and the recognition of local knowledge as foundations for building equitable and sustainable futures.
Read more on the official event website: IV CONFERÊNCIA
Author: CEsA Communication (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt), with information from the Conference of Young Researchers of the CPLP-Africa
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Isabel Castro Henriques moderates the roundtable “Contemporary challenges in Post-colonial Times” on 12 November at the National Museum of Ethnology
Museus e Monumentos de Portugal, the National Museum of Ethnology, CEsA – Centre for African and Development Studies (ISEG RESEARCH/ISEG/Universidade de Lisboa) are pleased to invite you to the Roundtable Contemporary challenges in Post-colonial Times, which will be held on 12 November 2025, at 6 p.m., at the National Museum of Ethnology (Av. da Ilha da Madeira – Lisbon). The session will be moderated by Professor Isabel Castro Henriques (CEsA/ISEG Research), featuring presentations by Gonçalo de Carvalho Amaro, Inocência Mata, Margarida Calafate Ribeiro, Ana Paula Tavares, and Lívio de Morais.
The exhibition Deconstructing Colonialism, Decolonising the Imagination. Portuguese Colonialism in Africa: Myths and Realities, open to the public until 30 November, 2025, at the National Museum of Ethnology, was conceived and coordinated by historian Isabel Castro Henriques with contributions from around 30 researchers who delve into the various themes explored in the exhibition. The exhibition aims to present key aspects of Portuguese colonialism in Africa during the 19th and 20th centuries. Its objectives are to dismantle the myths created by colonial ideology, decolonize Portuguese imaginations, and contribute—through an accessible and educational approach—to a renewed understanding of Portuguese colonialism.
Author: CEsA Communication Team (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt) with information from the Communication Teams of the National Museum of Ethnology
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Development Studies Seminars 2025-2026 | From the ‘Marxist-Leninist’ One-Party System to the Neoliberal Hegemonic Party: Fifty Years of Authoritarian Paternalism in Angola and Mozambique
The Development Studies Seminars are an initiative that, since 1991, promotes research carried out in the areas of study of the Masters in Development and International Cooperation (MCDI) of ISEG and the PhD Programme in Development Studies of the University of Lisbon
Development Studies Seminars 2025-2026
Topic: From the ‘Marxist-Leninist’ One-Party System to the Neoliberal Hegemonic Party: Fifty Years of Authoritarian Paternalism in Angola and Mozambique (original title: Do Partido Único ‘Marxista-Leninista’ ao Partido Hegemónico Neoliberal: Cinquenta anos de paternalismo autoritário em Angola e Moçambique)
Presenter: Professor Michel Cahen (CNRS-LAM/Science Po Bordeaux, France, & CEsA/ISEG Research/ISEG-Universidade de Lisboa)
Date: 11 November 2025 (Tuesday)
Time: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Venue: Novo Banco Room, 4th Floor Quelhas Building, ISEG (Access by Rua do Quelhas 6 1200-731, Lisbon, Portugal)
Free admission, in person event. Lecture in English.
About the presenter
Michel Cahen is Emeritus Director of Research of the CNRS at the “Les Afriques dans le monde” Center, at the Institut D’études Politiques de Bordeaux (or “Sciences Po Bordeaux”). Historiator, he is a specialist on contemporary Portuguese colonial history in Africa and a political analyst of the PALOPs. He also works on the relations between Portugal, Brazil and Africa, on the ideology of lusophony and luso-tropicalism, on coloniality and the postcolonial/decolonial, on creolizations. He has also worked on the connection between fascism and colonialism.
Note on the processing of personal data in the context of this event:
Photographs and/or audiovisual images, individual or collective, can be taken and/or broadcast live during the event. Photographs and videos can be published either on the CEsA or ISEG website, in the media and social networks, as well as on the online platforms of partner organizations. Photographs and videos can be reproduced in various media, including CEsA and ISEG publications, social networks and the press, within the scope of a specific event, or for other institutional purposes, as well as for promotional activities.
Author: CEsA Communication (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
Images: CEsA/Reproduction
CEsA/ISEG Research Working Paper No. 205/2025 investigates the reasons behind the low level of investment by US pension funds in African entities
The CEsA/ISEG Research Working Paper No. 205/2025, entitled Obstacles to US Pension Fund Investment in Africa, seeks to identify the reasons behind the lack of investment in the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a multilateral financial institution
Despite its success in attracting capital from a diverse range of institutional investors, the AFC has not achieved the same outcome with US pension funds. This paper combines a case study of the AFC, consultations with senior professionals and experts, and a review of academic literature and industry reports, with the aim of identifying the reasons for the absence of investment in the AFC and, more broadly, the limited share of US pension fund investments in African entities.
The CEsA/ISEG Research Working Paper No. 205/2025, entitled Obstacles to US Pension Fund Investment in Africa, indicates institutional obstacles in the US pension fund investment ecosystem are mostly responsible for US pension funds forgoing investment in the AFC. More broadly, the research suggests inadequate returns, elevated risks, limited investment opportunities, and poor liquidity are impeding investment in Africa. The paper is authored by Daniel Preston, Professor at Indiana University Bloomington and a PhD student in Development Studies at ISEG.
Working Paper No. 205/2025 can be downloaded at the following link: https://cesa.rc.iseg.ulisboa.pt/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Working-Paper-205_2025.pdf
Abstract:
The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has been unable to raise capital from US pension funds despite its success in attracting investment from a diverse range of institutional investors. This article combines a case study of the AFC, consultations with senior-level professionals and experts, and a review of academic literature and industry reports to identify the reasons for the lack of investment in the AFC and the overall small share of investments in African entities by US pension funds. The research indicates institutional obstacles in the US pension fund investment ecosystem are mostly responsible for US pension funds forgoing investment in the AFC. More broadly, the research suggests inadequate returns, elevated risks, unsuitable investment characteristics, limited investment opportunities, higher costs, and poor liquidity are impeding investment in Africa. Efforts by development organizations and governments to accelerate capital market development, improve political and macroeconomic stability, and grow their capacity to deploy risk- sharing mechanisms could help increase US pension fund investment in Africa. US pension funds could benefit from reevaluating their investment policies, considering a larger allocation to fixed income investments abroad, and incentivizing investment consulting firms to build their capacity to provide investment advice for African markets.
About the author:
Daniel Preston is a Clinical Professor and Director of the Master of International Affairs programme at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Bloomington. He is also pursuing a PhD in Development Studies at ISEG.
Click here to explore the full collection of CEsA Working Papers
Author: CEsA Communication Team (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
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Development Studies Book Club on African Literatures | O testamento do Sr. Napumoceno da Silva Araújo
Development Studies Book Club on African Literatures
Book: O testamento do Sr. Napumoceno da Silva Araújo, by Germano Almeida (Cape Verde)
NEW DATE: 20 November 2025 (Thursday)
Hour: 6:30 p.m.
Venue: Room F1-209, ISEG
O testamento do Sr. Napumoceno da Silva Araújo, by Germano Almeida (Cape Verde)
When he died, Mr Napumoceno was a respected merchant in Mindelo. The reputation of his trading house matched his personal reputation perfectly — good, upright, serious, free of vice, wealthy and esteemed. However, the reading of the hundreds of pages of his will “shed new light on the life and character of the illustrious deceased.” Page by page, the reader witnesses the gradual construction of a fascinating, rich, complex and contradictory character, firmly set against the backdrop of Cape Verdean society.
This novel by Germano Almeida was adapted for the cinema by Francisco Manso in the film The Last Will and Testament of Mr Napumoceno.
Preface by Paula Tavares
About the Development Studies Book Club
The project aims to create an open and creative space for dialogue among those interested in exploring, deepening their knowledge, and discussing perspectives on African Literatures. The idea is to focus on literature produced in Portuguese within the CPLP countries, with the possibility of eventually expanding to other African and Latin American authors.
The club is coordinated by researcher Susana Brissos (CEsA/ISEG RESEARCH/ISEG/University of Lisbon) and supported by CEsA (ISEG RESEARCH/ISEG/University of Lisbon).
Author: CEsA Communication (comunicacao@cesa.iseg.ulisboa.pt)
Images: CEsA/Reproduction
Interview with Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster for Afrolink: “Film is politics. We want to support a movement where Afro-descendants do not beg to be seen.”
Watch part of the interview with filmmakers Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster, conducted by journalist Paula Cardoso, from the Afrolink portal. The conversation with the award-winning documentary makers took place as part of the “Democracy in Action” (DiA) project, developed by a European consortium that includes, in Portugal, CEsA/ISEG Research/ISEG, University of Lisbon.
In Lisbon, more than simply showcasing their work — screened at the Centro Cultural Cabo Verde and Mbongi 67 — Michèle and Joe led an intensive documentary filmmaking training course exclusively for African and Afro-descendant videomakers. Closely followed by Afrolink as a DiA partner, the initiative fulfils one of the filmmakers’ key goals: to support emerging Black creators and their projects, both locally and globally.
Watch part of the interview below
Continue reading on Afrolink (in Portuguese only): https://www.afrolink.pt/historias/michele-stephenson-e-joe-brewster-querem-apoiar-movimento-afrodescendente-no-cinema
CEsA joins new research project on representations of Islam in Mozambican literature and visual arts
The CEsA – Centre for African and Development Studies (ISEG Research/ISEG, Universidade de Lisboa) is joining a research project in partnership with the CEA – Centre for African Studies at Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique). Entitled O Oceano Índico como Horizonte Criativo: Representações do islã na literatura e nas artes visuais de Moçambique (The Indian Ocean as a Creative Horizon: Representations of Islam in Mozambican Literature and Visual Arts, in English) the project will be carried out by Dr Fernanda Gallo (CEsA/ISEG Research) as part of her postdoctoral research, under the supervision of Professor Dr Chapane Mutiua (CEA/UEM). This research is part of the Public Call MCTI/CNPq no. 16/2024 – Support for International Scientific, Technological and Innovation Research Projects (Track 2: Individual Project).
The Indian Ocean as a Creative Horizon seeks to map and analyse literary and visual works produced in Mozambique in the post-independence period, whose creative processes engage with an Indic perspective and, in particular, evoke representations of Islam – understood as a millennial catalyst of cultural, commercial and religious exchanges on the East African coast (Dasgupta and Pearson, 1987; Hofmeyr, 2018) – including the dissemination of transregional circuits of non-European language writing (Bonat, 2016; Mutiua, 2014, 2015; Mutiua and Vierke, 2020, 2022). Although Islam is practised by around 45% of the African population and 18% of Mozambicans, its literary and artistic representations remain largely under-researched, functioning as a kind of “hidden embroidery” (Leite, 2020), thereby opening a field for academic exploration. The proposed research thus seeks to engage with ongoing discussions on the Indian Ocean as a “unit of analysis” (Bose, 1998), a “site of world-making and topography of memory” (Leite, 2018), a “visual metaphor” (Fendler, 2018), and a “liquid archive” (Vergès, 2003; Falconi, 2013; Brugioni, 2019).
CEsA’s participation in this project reinforces the centre’s commitment to internationalising partnerships with other leading institutions in African studies and contributes to scientific innovation in the field.
Read more:
CEsA joins new research project on architecture, colonialism, and labour in Africa
Authorship: CEsA Communications (CEsA/CSG/ISEG/ULisboa) with information by Dr Fernanda Gallo
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#DemocracyinAction: African and afro-descendant videomakers take part in intensive workshop on Storytelling, Narratives and Power
The official website of the international project #DemocracyinAction: Grassroots Culture, Arts and Cultural Spaces for Political Participation and Expression Online and Offline in a Resilient Europe has been launched. The project is coordinated by Sara Brandellero (Leiden University) and Kamila Krakowska Rodrigues (Leiden University and CEsA) and funded by the Horizon Europe programme with an amount of 3 million euros, under the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society Cluster. CEsA, under the coordination of Iolanda Évora and Jessica Falconi, will lead the Work Package on Race, Ethnicity and Civic Participation, focusing on the cultural and artistic productions and on the spaces created by Afro-diasporic communities identified by their ethnic-racial belonging. Using Afro-diasporic experiences as a case study, the research will also include the cultural productions of the Roma community in Portugal and the community of Morocco origin in Spain.
