The Extraversion of African Academic Journals: Donors, Dependencies, and Multinational Publishers

Abstract

Since the 1990s, donors and multinational publishers have entrenched an extraverted academic publishing economy across Africa. Postcolonial optimism around independent African publishing was extinguished by two decades of structural adjustment, austerity, and higher education cuts. Then came the so-called “book famine.” Recognising the severity of the crisis, the International African Institute sought donor funding to support endogenous African journals. A new set of publishing NGOs launched, including the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) and African Journals Online (AJOL). This marked a shift from academic patronage to short-term dependence on donor aid. The digital revolution led these NGOs to prioritise access to “international” journals over support for publishing, undermining theeconomic sustainbility of African journals. Instead, journals published by the multinationals attract ever more African submissions. Calls to “decolonise” African studies amount to little without understanding the history of this extraverted publishing economy.