Ghana — Citizenship for descendants of those once taken away
In 2019, Ghana invited descendants of those once enslaved to return, and granted citizenship to some of them. S…
Côte d'Ivoire — Where a concept of "who is native" led to civil war
In the 1990s, a doctrine of "nativeness" was introduced into Côte d'Ivoire politics, excluding millions of people of immigrant descent…
Benin — A country opening citizenship to descendants of people once taken in the slave trade
Benin has passed a law allowing people of African descent whose ancestors were taken in the transatlantic slave trade to apply for citizenship…
Gambia — Africa's smallest continental nation, and the country that brought the Rohingya case to the International Court of Justice
Gambia has over two million inhabitants and is Africa's smallest continental nation. This country itself sued Myanmar at the International Court of…
Burkina Faso — The country that renamed itself to "land of the upright people"
In 1984, Upper Volta changed its name to Burkina Faso — a blended name from TWO different local languages, intentionally neutral…
Cabo Verde — An archipelago where more people have left than stayed, for over a century
Cabo Verdeans have migrated since the 19th century, earlier than most other African migration flows — and many of them went on…
Togo — A narrow strip of land surviving through one port, and lessons in transshipment services
Togo is less than 120 km wide at its widest point, and the Port of Lomé is one of West Africa's most important deep-water ports. This is a clear example of…
Niger — Where a law turned transporting people within the country itself into a criminal offense
In 2015, Niger criminalized the transportation of migrants across the desert — including on domestic routes that were previously legal. This…
Senegal — Gorée Island, and the country about to enter the same oil test as Guyana
Senegal has the island of Gorée — a symbol of the transatlantic slave trade — and since 2024 has begun producing oil and gas. Fur…
Guinea-Bissau — When a Small Country Becomes a Transit Hub for Others
Guinea-Bissau is described by international agencies as a drug transit point between South America and Europe. This is the clearest example of…
Mali — What happens to your passport when your country leaves a visa-free bloc
Mali along with Burkina Faso and Niger have withdrawn from the West African economic bloc ECOWAS. This is a rare instance in this library of a country…
Nigeria — Africa's most populous country, where dual citizenship is only for those born as citizens
Nigeria allows citizens by birth to hold additional citizenship, but naturalized citizens must renounce. This is the first model…
Liberia — The only country in the world still recording race as a criterion for citizenship acquisition
Liberia's constitution limits citizenship to people of "African descent". It is the only country still maintaining such a criterion, and the reason…
Guinea — The only country that said NO, and the price paid instantly
In 1958, Guinea was the ONLY French colony to vote against, choosing immediate independence. France withdrew within weeks, taking …
Sierra Leone — Where diamonds once paid for war, and the certification system born from it
Conflicts in Sierra Leone in the 1990s were funded by diamonds, and from that very conflict the world established a certification system…
Mauritania — The last country in the world to abolish slavery, and people pushed across borders without documents
Mauritania abolished slavery in 1981 — the latest in the world — and criminalized it in 2007. During that same period, dozens of…