Africa Is a Country

Not to be confused with Africa Is Not a Country.
Africa Is a Country
Screenshot on 21 August 2025
Type of site
Opinion and analysis
Founded2009
FounderSean Jacobs
URLafricasacountry.com
Content license
CC BY 4.0

Africa Is a Country (AIAC) is an opinion and analysis website covering African politics, society, and culture. It was founded in 2009 by South African scholar of international affairs Sean Jacobs.

History

Sean Jacobs first founded his blog Leo Africanus in 2005, which was named after the Moroccan-Andalusi geographer of the same name.[1] Jacobs, who is a South African[1] scholar of international affairs,[2] started the blog with the purpose to correct misconceptions of Africa, similar to Africanus' book Description of Africa.[1][3] After running the website alone for four years, he got "bored" and changed the name to Africa is A Country,[4] which is considered the founding year of the website.[5]

Content

Africa Is a Country is an opinion and analysis website[6] with a stated purpose of correcting misrepresentations about the African continent in the Western media[7] from a leftist perspective informed by the experiences of the historical anti-Apartheid movement.[3] The blog features diverse perspectives,[2] including many young African diaspora authors, which discuss issues regarding the media, culture, politics, and society of Africa.[7] Original content on the website is freely provided under a Creative Commons license.[2] The title of the website is an ironic reference to the misconception that the continent of Africa is a single country,[8] with an asterisked note reading "Not a continent with 55 countries".[9]

Affiliations

AIAC receives funding from the Shuttleworth Foundation and Open Society Foundation, as well as logistical support from the Jacobin Foundation, a leftist media organization.[2] The website is a member of the Progressive International's "Wire coalition".[10]

Reception

According to communication scholar Toussaint Nothias, AIAC is "a leading avenue in the African digital sphere" and has impacted media coverage of the continent.[7] Lindsay Semel of Brittle Paper described the blog as "characterized by rigorous and lively writing, intentional web design, and a sharp social consciousness".[2] Social researcher Yusuf Serenkuma likened AIAC to Binyavanga Wainaina's 2005 essay "How to Write About Africa".[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Merid, Feven (2021-10-18). "Q&A: Sean Jacobs on Africa Is A Country". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2025-10-15.
  2. ^ a b c d e Semel, Lindsay (2020-09-17). "Africa is a Country: A Digital Town Square for Intellectual Debate and Critique". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 2025-10-15.
  3. ^ a b Ekpe 2017, p. 114.
  4. ^ Sosibo, Kwanele (2014-02-27). "Out of Africa: The tales that wag the blog". Mail & Guardian. Archived from the original on 2024-08-15. Retrieved 2025-10-16.
  5. ^ a b Serunkuma, Yusuf (2023-06-05). "When Africa is actually a country". Pan African Review. Retrieved 2025-10-15.
  6. ^ Marx Knoetze 2020, p. 132.
  7. ^ a b c Nothias 2020, p. 19.
  8. ^ Vokes, Richard (2017-11-15). Media and Development. Routledge. p. 123. ISBN 978-1-317-75469-5.
  9. ^ Falola, Toyin; Yacob-Haliso, Olajumoke (2025-05-22). Women in Africa. Taylor & Francis. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-040-34607-5.
  10. ^ "Africa Is a Country". Progressive International. Retrieved 2025-10-15.

Bibliography

Further reading

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