Fifty years ago, ROAPE arose as a journal dedicated to critically analysing the intertwined politics and economics of Africa. More than any other publications in this field, ROAPE has devoted special attention to the theory and practice of imperialism and anti-imperialism in Africa. Its contributions regularly focus on monopoly capitalism, dependency theory, world systems theory, colonialism, neo-colonialism, exploitation, class struggles and socialist and communist movements. In these respects, ROAPE has filled a vital gap in the interdisciplinary fields of African Studies and Political Economy.
Although ROAPE has disseminated a broad range of theoretical perspectives over the years, the centrality of Marxism has stood out. By deploying the theories of Marx and Engels, Marxist contributors of various stripes have illuminated the political economy of the African continent.
It is only natural that Marxism should have emerged as the dominant theoretical approach. Marxism provides a scientific understanding of society, one that is founded on a rigorous philosophy: dialectical and historical materialism; a rigorous economic framework, rooted in the labour theory of value; and a comprehensive political theory, one that centres a class analysis. Marxism has provided an unparalleled insight into the dynamics of imperialism in Africa and how capitalism is the root cause of crisis on and in the continent. Capitalism needs to constantly accumulate capital to survive, and so Western imperialist powers invaded Africa to expand their markets, exploit the continent and its people, and enable their own capitalist development. Marxism also identified revolutionary anti-imperialist struggles and the construction of communism as the solution to imperialism. Marxist researchers have used these profound insights to deepen scholarly understandings of political and economic power relations in Africa. Crucially, ROAPE has blazed a trail in disseminating these understandings. Since its inception, the journal has been the pre-eminent outlet for publishing cutting-edge Marxist approaches to African political economy.
This is not to suggest that ROAPE has an impeccable record in encouraging Marxist studies. Marxism is a broad church, and the journal has at times fallen short of reflecting this diversity adequately. Most notably, some (though not all!) contributions to ROAPE have displayed an overly critical and one-sided approach to African Marxism-Leninism. During the Cold War, several Marxist-Leninist governments arose in Africa, including the People’s Republic of Mozambique (1975–90), the People’s Republic of the Congo (1969–92), the People’s Republic of Angola (1975–92), the People’s Republic of Benin (1975–90), and the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1974–91). Under the banner of Marxism-Leninism, these revolutionary governments toppled imperialist regimes and embarked on ambitious programmes of socialist transformation, including agricultural collectivisation, the nationalisation of industry, the construction of a planned economy, public service expansion and the establishment of vanguard Leninist parties. Although these Marxist-Leninist governments made some serious mistakes, they also made impressive strides in opposing colonialism in Africa and in providing a concrete programme for a socialist future. Several contributors to ROAPE failed to offer nuance and balance in the analyses of these governments. Some writers unfairly and uniformly denounced African Marxism-Leninism as an authoritarian and dogmatic system of tyranny, mass murder and oppression, governed by a repressive and corrupt military clique. Such perspectives, whether intended or not, supported the US-led Cold War against communism and provided an unhelpful, unscientific and misleading appraisal of African Marxism-Leninism. To this day, the Cold War bias against Marxist-Leninist theory and practice is in urgent need of a comprehensive challenge. As the leading journal on imperialism in Africa, ROAPE can and should lead the way in offering such a challenge.
These shortcomings do not overshadow ROAPE’s achievements. The journal has led the way in critically illuminating African political economy. It has done so by providing the most fertile ground for Marxist analyses of the continent. Perhaps most impressively, ROAPE has maintained this environment during the various waves of scholarly anti-Marxism, which have sought to smear and denounce its scientific insights. It is well known that Marxism is routinely and periodically denounced as a Western-centric, Eurocentric and orientalist ideology, one that both marginalises and misconstrues Africa. These unjustified postcolonial narratives have achieved unprecedented prominence since the rise of Black Lives Matter and the attendant campaign to ‘decolonise’ academia. Whereas many other journals have jumped on the anti-Marxist bandwagon, typically by giving precedence to anti- or non-Marxist research, ROAPE has consistently published many contributions that utilise the theories of Marx and Engels. At the same time, ROAPE has always provided room for constructive criticism, debate and dialogue on even the most fundamental principles of Marxism. In this way, the journal has stayed true to Marx’s commitment to ‘a ruthless criticism of everything’.
When this is understood, something else becomes evident: ROAPE’s recent decision to depart from the publisher Taylor & Francis was the logical culmination of its Marxist credentials. Why? In the final analysis, Taylor & Francis is a capitalist company. Its ultimate objective is profit, and not the broad dissemination of high-quality scholarly research. To maximise profit, Taylor & Francis maintains a policy of monetising academia, typically by gatekeeping journals and publications behind expensive paywall subscriptions, which only some individuals and institutions can afford. Such an exclusive system is antithetical to Marxism, which is committed to realising the public ownership of and access to knowledge.
By switching to ScienceOpen, an open-access platform, ROAPE has ushered in a new era for the journal, one in which every person with an internet connection has free access to the journal’s outstanding Marxist research. The scientific insights of Marxism, the revolutionary ideology of the working class, will spread further among the public, including the proletariat. This is a necessary step in understanding and defeating imperialism in Africa.
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