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Open research questions in African Studies and Geopolitics

65 gap statements mined from African Studies and Geopolitics papers in our 4.5M-paper local library, which holds 1,128 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

Choosing where to publish on African Studies and Geopolitics? See the ranked Social Science journals.

What the literature leaves open

  • Putting colonised people’s lived experiences and perceptions of an oppressive energy system centre stage, we further research on the interrelationship between energy infrastructure, citizenship and identity by showing how an energoregime can inadvertently foster a rejection of certain citizenships and national identities in favour of others.

    Oppressive Energopolitics in Africa’s Last Colony: Energy, Subjectivities, and Resistance · 2021 · DOI

  • There is a gap in understanding Camus's earlier views on the Algerian question. Camus's silence on the issue has been widely discussed, but his earlier writings have not been fully analyzed.

    CAMUS AND THE COLONIAL QUESTION IN ALGERIA · 1987 · DOI

  • The paper highlights the need to analyze the role of the press in shaping public opinion and perpetuating tensions.

    The instability of Moroccan Jewry and the Moroccan press in the first decade after independence · 1986 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a need for an alternative to the theory of demographic transition.

    Mode de production et régime démographique · 1985 · DOI

  • There is a lack of reports on how sponsorship determines access to the setting and the researcher's relationship with informants. There is a need for more descriptions of how the political context affects fieldwork.

    Fieldwork in Algeria · 1985 · DOI

  • Studies of the costs and benefits to the BLS countries of membership of SACU have not been conclusive either way, partly because of the many unquantifiable factors, the lack of data and the emotional element.

    The Southern African customs union — an assessment · 1982 · DOI

  • The inheritance system in Southern Corsica has not been studied for the modern period, but it seems to have been one of partible inheritance, excluding daughters, some of whom would be provided with a dowry,176 and property changed hands at death rather than at marriage, though the eldest son might be set up independently when he married.

    Conflict and its causes in Southern Corsica, 1800–35∗ · 1981 · DOI

  • The study highlights the need for an analysis of the historical context and the impact of colonialism on the Tunisian economy.

    Primary capital accumulation in colonial Tunisia · 1979 · DOI

  • For the small towns and villages of the Sahel, this interpretation does not account for fierce antagonisms within the state system and against the appropriation of surplus through taxation by office holders and their allies in that system. The details of this process of accumulation, as it affected the Sahel population, have not been studied.

    On the appropriation of surplus in Tunisia since the nineteenth century · 1979 · DOI

  • There is a lack of understanding of the relationship between the capitalist mode of production and non-capitalist modes of production. The paper aims to fill this gap by studying the case of Algeria.

    Colonial Transformation of Agrarian Society in Algeria · 1978 · DOI

  • The paper does not provide a comprehensive analysis of the economic data. The historical context is limited to the development of the neocolonial state in Mauritania.

    Mauritania: A neocolonial desert · 1978 · DOI

  • The lessons of the Guinean struggle and their wider relevance are by no means clearly understood. There is a need for a thorough analysis of the struggle in Guinea.

    Tribe, class and nation: revolution and the weapon of theory in Guinea-Bissau · 1977 · DOI

  • Formal causal identification of a discrete March 2022 effect could not be established across any of the three designs: COVID-19 in March 2020 is the dominant structural break in every series, and the placebo tests fail at every specification, including the disaggregated land-crossing panels.

    Spain's Maghreb Trilemma · 2026 · DOI

  • Grey zone coercion is designed to be deniable, but its patterns are increasingly legible and open several pathways for future inquiry.

    Spain's Maghreb Trilemma · 2026 · DOI

  • The relationships between tourism, migrations, extractivismo, and climate change have been barely studied. The impact of these factors on local communities in the south has been little explored.

    Turismo y migraciones en un contexto de extractivismo y cambio climático. Análisis comparativo de los casos de Merzouga (Marruecos) y Lompoul (Senegal) · 2026 · DOI

  • The revolt is seen as a response to the corruption and mismanagement of the country.

    Rawlings and the 1979 revolt in Ghana · 1982 · DOI

  • On the side of the Spanish Republic was the tiny and shortlived Basque Republic of Euzkadi, limited to the coastal provinces of Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa where Basque Nationalism had its stronghold; on that of the insurgents were the inland provinces of Álava and Navarre, dominated politically by the ultra-conservative, monarchist and rabidly Catholic Carlists.

    ’The Basque Ulster’: Navarre and the Basque Autonomy Question under the Spanish Second Republic · 1974 · DOI

  • In Algeria, this model remains largely characterized by reinforced concrete structures, extensive glazing, and a strong…

    Negotiating Saharan Heritage and Modernity: An Analysis of Fernand Pouillon’s Hotels in Southern Algeria · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of response from the government to the needs of its citizens - Ongoing colonial extractivist relations - The socioeconomic situation…

    Ghoraba · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of understanding of the chronicity of problems in Zarzis - The need to examine the relationship between the state, colonial extractivist relations, and the socioeconomic situation…

    Ghoraba · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper's solution is hypothetical, - The analysis is based on a limited number of historical sources, - The paper does not provide a definitive answer…

    A TALE OF TWO CITIES? DIFFERENT DATES FOR THE PARTHIAN SECESSION FROM THE SELEUCIDS, AND THE REVOLT OF AN AFRICAN HECATOMPYLUS · 2026 · DOI

  • Further analysis of the economic data to understand the impact of the neocolonial state on the population. Examination of the role of other factors, such as ideology and emotion, in the exploitation of the Mauritanian people.

    Mauritania: A neocolonial desert · 1978 · DOI

  • The paper identifies the challenge of understanding the complexities of African political leadership, - It highlights the need to look beyond institutional frameworks, - The paper also notes the challenge of balancing the interests of different sections…

    Early African leadership: the Copperbelt disturbances of 1935 and 1940 · 1975 · DOI

  • There is a gap in understanding the role of African leadership in the Copperbelt disturbances, - Prior work has not fully examined the significance…

    Early African leadership: the Copperbelt disturbances of 1935 and 1940 · 1975 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in the existing literature on precolonial African socio-economic formations. It argues that the current understanding of these formations underestimates the economic and social role played by captives.

    Long-distance exchange and the formation of the State: the case of the Abron kingdom of Gyaman · 1974 · DOI

Most-cited papers in African Studies and Geopolitics

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) There is a lack of reports on how sponsorship determines access to the setting and the researcher's relationship with informants (“Fieldwork in Algeria”, 1985); (2) Studies of the costs and benefits to the BLS countries of membership of SACU have not been conclusive either way, partly because of the many unquantifiable factors, the lack of data and the emotional element (“The Southern African customs union — an assessment”, 1982); (3) The details of this process of accumulation, as it affected the Sahel population, have not been studied (“On the appropriation of surplus in Tunisia since the nineteenth century”, 1979); (4) There is a lack of understanding of the relationship between the capitalist mode of production and non-capitalist modes of production (“Colonial Transformation of Agrarian Society in Algeria”, 1978); (5) There is a need for a thorough analysis of the struggle in Guinea (“Tribe, class and nation: revolution and the weapon of theory in Guinea-Bissau”, 1977). 65 gap statements have been mined from African Studies and Geopolitics papers in our 4.5M-paper local library, which holds 1,128 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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