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Future Perfect | Futur Antérieur
Future Perfect | Futur Antérieur sheds light on individual and collective actions across Europe, Africa and the Americas to defend racial equality and justice. Our guests - scholars, activists, artists - share their practice with us, highlighting both the forms that historical and contemporary racial violence takes in these different contexts, and examples of possible reforms and mobilizations. Through their experiences fighting against racism, we draw the contours of racial justice efforts today. Future Perfect | Futur Antérieur is hosted by Liliane Umubyeyi and Amah Edoh, co-founders and co-directors of the African Futures Lab (AfaLab). A new episode is published every two weeks, and episodes alternate between French and English. Production credits: Production: Amah Edoh; Liliane Umubyeyi; Matt Dann; Recording and editing: Matt Dann; Music: “African Dreams,” written and composed by Seun Anikulapo Kuti; Artwork: Amélie Umuhererezi
Future Perfect | Futur Antérieur
S5E1: Understanding historical foundations of systemic extraction
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How did centuries of colonial exploitation directly shape Africa’s modern sovereign debt crisis?
In this premiere episode, we lay the groundwork for our joint miniseries by unpacking the deep historical links between colonial extraction, land dispossession, and contemporary financial dependency in Africa. Drawing on key insights from AFRODAD’s landmark paper, “The political economy of debt and reparation in Africa: Building a united front to advance the cause of debt justice and reparation in Africa and diaspora,” we move past surface-level economic analyses to examine how today's debt traps are rooted in long-standing structural inequalities.
Join us as we explore what it means to anchor an African-led reparative justice agenda—one that links debt cancellation to complete structural transformation, global financial reform, and true economic sovereignty.
In this episode, we cover:
- The root cause: How pre- and post-colonial systems of extraction created postcolonial financial dependency.
- Beyond debt relief: Why modern sovereign debt operates as a continuation of historical exploitation.
- African agency: Building a unified front across Africa and the diaspora to demand reparative justice and global governance reform.
Featured guest
Dr. Marie Louise Aren — International economic lawyer, expert in sovereign debt, trade, and tax law, and author of The political economy of debt and reparation in Africa.
Moderated by Catherine Mithia - Policy Research & Advocacy Officer - Sovereign Debt Management at AFRODAD
Resources & further reading:
The Political Economy of Debt and Reparation in Africa: Building a United Front to Advance the Cause of Debt Justice and Reparations in Africa
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This podcast season is a collaboration between the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) and African Futures Lab (Afalab).
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