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Meera Venkatachalam

@meerakat.bsky.social
728 followers 343 following 23 posts

South-South relations; Mobilities; Afro-Asia; India in Africa; Africans in India; West Africa; Voodoo/Vodun. Third Worlder. Cat person.

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Reposted by Meera Venkatachalam
Dr Barnaby Joseph Dye @barnabyjdye.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Want to know why Inida is hosting a high-level political summit with Africa after 11 years, and what to expect? New article for @thediplomat.com does just that. thediplomat.com/2026/05/indi...
thediplomat.com
India Is Hosting the 4th India-Africa Forum Summit: Why Now and What to Expect?
For the first time in 11 years, African leaders and multilateral organizations will convene in the Indian capital.
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Meera Venkatachalam @meerakat.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
As India prepares to host another India-Africa forum summit in a fortnight, we revisit a recent volume which looks at how India's soft power has been imagined/ implemented by the diaspora, government + private sector. www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv...
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Dr Barnaby Joseph Dye @barnabyjdye.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Can a middle powers/internationalist coalition form between the Global North and South? New article for IPQ assess opportunity and limitatoins ip-quarterly.com/en/chances-m... @ipq.bsky.social @dgap.org
ip-quarterly.com
The Chances for a “Middle Powers” Strategic Alignment Don’t Look Good
There are growing calls for the formation of a coalition of middle powers. History suggests, however, that they lack the ideological glue necessary to sustain a deeper and more powerful global movemen...
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Meera Venkatachalam @meerakat.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Just published: an excellent collection of essays on the cultural/material flows and interconnections between West Africa & India in 'Africa: Journal of the International African Institute', (volume 95, issue 3), ed. by Shobana Shankar + Oliver Coates www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Africa: Volume 95 - Issue 3 | Cambridge Core
Cambridge Core - Africa - Volume 95 - Issue 3
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Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
on the topic of dick cheney, one thing i’ve always said is that you shouldn’t kill a million people
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africamultiple.bsky.social @africamultiple.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
We’re excited to announce the release of a publication edited by Ute Fendler and Clarissa Vierke. An essential read for anyone interested in Indian Ocean studies, cultural and literary studies, performance, and transdisciplinary art research. Available now. 👉 www.routledge.com/Transoceanic...
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Meera Venkatachalam @meerakat.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
A short piece on a ongoing project which seeks to understand trajectories of recent African migration to Mumbai, and the contributions of Africans to the city's economic + cultural landscapes. Thanks to @iias.bsky.social + @miasa-ug.bsky.social for support humanitiesacrossborders.org/blogs/africa...
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African Studies Centre Leiden @ascleiden.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
🎉Congratulations to Mayke Kaag! We celebrated her inaugural lecture as Professor of the Anthropology of Politics and Governance in Africa at Leiden University, titled 'Reflections on power, knowledge, and trust. Political dynamics in Africa and beyond'. www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
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Gerard McCann @gezmccann.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
Brand new here and pleased to share news of the publication of our new @degruyterbrill.bsky.social book “Beyond Federation: Ideas and Practices of East African Regionalism in a National and Global Age, 1950–1975". Available for free: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
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Dr Charlie Gardner @charliejgardner.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
"In fact, the best estimate is that we’re emitting carbon perhaps 10 times faster than even the mindless, undirected Siberian volcanoes that brought about the worst mass extinction ever." Read that again.
theguardian.com
‘A climate of unparalleled malevolence’: are we on our way to the sixth major mass extinction?
The long read: Churning quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at the rate we are going could lead the planet to another Great Dying
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africamultiple.bsky.social @africamultiple.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
🎙Hot Off the Mic: Don't Miss Our Latest Episode of Cluster Conversations! In this edition, fellow Dr. Renu Modi talks with her host Prof. Dr. Clarissa Vierke about her recent fellowship with the Cluster of Excellence in Bayreuth. www.africamultiple.uni-bayreuth.de/en/1_4-Publi...
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Alvina Hoffmann @alvinahoffmann.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
On 9 July, the US imposed sanctions on special rapporteur Francesca Albanese. Below I provide a brief context of this unprecedented attack against this body of experts.
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Meera Venkatachalam @meerakat.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
My article which examines India's positionality and relations w/Africa in the Third World turned Global South is now open access. Co-authored w/ @danbanik.bsky.social and published by Third World Quarterly www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
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UNRWA @unrwa.org · 21/07/2025
We are receiving desperate messages of starvation from #Gaza, including from our colleagues. Food prices have increased 40 fold. UNRWA has enough food for the entire population for over three months, stockpiled just outside Gaza. Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale.
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Charles Keener @charleskeener.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
www.counterpunch.org/2025/07/04/v...
counterpunch.org
Ventilation Shutdown is One of the Cruelest Ways to Kill Animals
Ventilation shutdown plus (VSD+) is an incredibly inhumane method of killing lots of animals at once by shutting off the air supply and driving up
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Charles Onyango-Obbo @cobbo3.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
Bubaraye Dakolo, an influential traditional chief and the traditional ruler of Ekpetiama Kingdom in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta, has demanded that Shell pay $12 billion to address environmental damage caused by decades of oil pollution before divesting its onshore assets in the region - AFP /1
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Vincent Duclos @vduclos.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
My book Life at a Distance is now out! Many thanks to colleagues, friends, and the press for the support along the way. www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...
cornellpress.cornell.edu
Life at a Distance by Vincent Duclos | Paperback | Cornell University Press
In Life at a Distance, Vincent Duclos recounts the story of the Pan-African e-Network. Branded as "India's gift to the world," and as a "shining example of South-South cooperation," the Pan-African...
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Meera Venkatachalam @meerakat.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
In a new article w/ @danbanik.bsky.social , I analyse the evolution of India's political relations and development cooperation w/Africa www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Moral geographies: Indian exceptionalism, Africa, and the politics of South–South cooperation
This article seeks to understand the evolution of India’s political relations and development cooperation with Africa, in the context of India’s ambitions of playing a leading role in the Third Wor...
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folukeifejola @folukeifejola.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
#Oldpost. The fiction of an "international community" involves a relationship in which the 'Global North' ignores the African subject in favour of the ‘African project’. This makes it easy for some to take decisions that inevitably result in death for many. folukeafrica.com/for-africa-t...
folukeafrica.com
For Africa, the International Community is a Dangerous Myth
International law ignores the African subject in favour of the ‘African project’
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Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) @miasa-ug.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Invitation to upcoming #MIASA Public lecture by Dr. Stephanie Lämmert on "(Un)silencing #women in the colonial #archive" on 27 May 2025 at 3:00 pm (UTC) at the Univ. of Ghana. Zoom link via: miasa.ug.edu.gh/event/public...
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Evan Osnos @eosnos.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
Around D.C., the new going rate is well-known: $5 million for a one-on-one dinner with Trump, but gov-affairs execs have “no clue where the money is eventually going,” one said. Another told me it’s “outer-borough Mafia sh*t.” My new piece is out @newyorker.com www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
Donald Trump’s Politics of Plunder
The greed of the new Administration has galvanized America’s aspiring oligarchs—and their opponents.
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Ajantha Subramanian @ajanthasubramanian.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
So sickened and enraged.
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Dave Andress @davidandress.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
According to the canonical Star Trek timeline, World War III starts next year, and goes on for the next three decades... Just in case you had any plans...
memory-alpha.fandom.com
World War III
World War III was the last of Earth's three world wars, lasting from approximately 2026 to 2053. The conflict involved nuclear cataclysm as well as genocide and eco-terrorism. The post-atomic horror i...
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Meera Venkatachalam @meerakat.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
In a new article w/ @danbanik.bsky.social , I analyse the evolution of India's political relations and development cooperation w/Africa www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Moral geographies: Indian exceptionalism, Africa, and the politics of South–South cooperation
This article seeks to understand the evolution of India’s political relations and development cooperation with Africa, in the context of India’s ambitions of playing a leading role in the Third Wor...
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Todd Tucker @toddntucker.com · 09/05/2025
"The UN climate change chief Simon Stiell warned on Wednesday the world was “on a trajectory to 3C” above pre-industrial times — a level at which scientists have warned of devastating environmental and human consequences." By @attractamooney.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/f17d...
ft.com
Global warming reaches 1.58C over 12 months
Record heat for almost two years leads to concerns about ‘inevitable’ breach of lower Paris accord target
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Shubranshu شبھرانشو @shubranshu.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Please remember the cost of war, once more, will fall hardest on civilians, especially in Kashmir. This is a moment to stay informed, to resist jingoism, and to call for de-escalation: www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cw...
bbc.co.uk
Pakistan says Indian air strikes killed 26 and vows response, as Delhi says 10 killed by Pakistan shelling - latest
India hit several sites after an attack last month which killed tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.
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IIAS @iias.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Join in-person or online this hybrid seminar “Missionaries, Traders, and Cultural brokers: Africans and the making of modern Mumbai (1750-onwards)” by IIAS fellow Meera Venkatachalam. 01.05 | 10:30 ~ 12:00 Info/registration: tinyurl.com/4y69n5y7 #indianocean #asianstudies @leidenglobal.bsky.social
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Africa Spectrum @africaspectrum.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
📖 Manish Karmwar and Abhinav evaluate "India's Development Diplomacy and Soft Power in Africa" by @meerakat.bsky.social and Kenneth King, dubbing it an extensive effort to map and analyse the complex dynamics in India-Africa relations. ➡️ doi.org/10.1177/0002...
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RFI Afrique @afrique.rfi.fr · 22/04/2025
Le philosophe congolais Valentin-Yves Mudimbe est décédé à l'âge de 83 ans
rfi.my
Le philosophe congolais Valentin-Yves Mudimbe est décédé à l'âge de 83 ans
Il avait signé L'Invention de l'Afrique, un incontournable des études africaines : le philosophe congolais Valentin-Yves Mudimbe est décédé tôt ce 22 avril 2025 à l’âge de 83 ans en Caroline du Nord, aux États-Unis, où il vivait. Il était l'un des intellectuels africains les plus respectés.
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Ana Lucia Araujo @araujohistorian.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
RIP Valentin-Yves Mudimbe (1941-2025) ❤️
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Vindhya Buthpitiya @vindi-b.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
rest in peace. | “How I became an Anthropologist” Prof. Gananath Obeyesekere kathika.lk/2016/12/29/h...
kathika.lk
“How I became an Anthropologist” Prof. Gananath Obeyesekere
The keynote address delivered on sociology day in 2015 at the University of Peradeniya, and elsewhere published as In Praise of Foolishness (with Apologies to Erasmus).In this essay he reflects bac…
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Jason Hickel @jasonhickel.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
In this new piece we show that as the imperial core imposed structural adjustment programs on Africa, Africans were forced to consume less while their surplus resources were transferred instead out to the capitalist world economy effectively *for free*. roape.net/2025/02/28/p...
roape.net
Plundering Africa - Income deflation and unequal ecological exchange under structural adjustment programmes - ROAPE
Presenting new research, Dylan Sullivan and Jason Hickel mount a devastating critique of the impact of structural adjustment in Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. Drawing on recent data on Africa’s materi...
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Charles Keener @charleskeener.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
www.commondreams.org/opinion/ener...
commondreams.org
Energy Transfer Is Putting Free Speech and Climate Activism on Trial | Common Dreams
A lawsuit against Greenpeace in North Dakota threatens the existence of all nonprofits.
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Charles Keener @charleskeener.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
www.commondreams.org/opinion/trum...
commondreams.org
The Trump Admin Is Engaging in Corruption on a Massive Scale to Benefit Big Oil | Common Dreams
By censoring and defunding climate science, Trump and his cronies are trying to erase the link between extreme weather impacts and fossil fuel pollution.
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Patrick Galey @patrickgaley.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
You CANNOT make this up. OEUK, a North Sea oil and gas lobby, is seeking an exemption from emissions standards because... *checks notes* Pollution is its business. I shit you not. The most pampered, subsidised industry on Earth begging for another backhander www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Fossil fuel industry accused of seeking special treatment over oilfield emissions
Lobbyists argued it was unfair for their industry to be treated the same as others as end product – oil and gas – inevitably produced emissions
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Jonathan Hopkin @jonathanhopkin.eurosky.social · 18/02/2025
Tonight at 630pm I’m chairing an LSE public event on Climate Capitalism with @brettchristophers.bsky.social @benbraun.bsky.social and Daniela Gabor. Nothing more important and couldn’t have a more impressive panel to talk about it! www.lse.ac.uk/Events/2025/....
lse.ac.uk
Climate capitalism: can market-based solutions save the planet?
6.30pm Tues 18 Feb | Benjamin Braun, Brett Christophers, Daniela Gabor | Free public event at LSE
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Maya Chhabra @mayachhabra.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
My wife found a map from The Technocracy, the 1930's group Elon Musk's Nazi-sympathizing grandfather was involved in, that explains Trump's desire to take over Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal. Behold the Technate of America. Thread.
Map with caption Technate of America, with North America, Greenland, and the northern parts of South America in red.
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Kim Todzi @kim-todzi.de · 12/02/2025
I was interviewed by Deutsche Welle for a social media feature on the Woermann Group. You can now watch the result here: www.dw.com/en/how-germa...
dw.com
How German merchants shaped Africa's fate – DW – 01/29/2025
German merchants were key players in Africa's colonization, with Hamburg businessman Adolph Woermann at the forefront. His vast shipping empire dominated West African trade, exporting German goods lik...
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Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Trump pulls all aid to South Africa, probably over its ICJ case against Israeli genocide and also maybe because Elon Musk misses apartheid. www.timesofisrael.com/trump-orders...
timesofisrael.com
Trump orders cut to funding for South Africa over land policy, ICJ case against Israel
US president pulls all aid, citing 'genocide' case against Israel and claims that Pretoria is taking land from white people; US aid to South Africa totaled $440 million in 2023
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
JOB Assistant Professor in the History of International Political Thought c.1700 to the Present, University of Cambridge (this is a permanent/tenured position, open to those with a specialism in any period since 1700) www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50242/
jobs.cam.ac.uk
Assistant Professor in the History of International Political Thought c.1700 to the Present - Job Opportunities - University of Cambridge
Assistant Professor in the History of International Political Thought c.1700 to the Present in the Faculty of History at the University of Cambridge.
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Marc Reyes @marcus1984.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Reupping this piece. If you read this essay, you will know vastly more about USAID than the people currently trying to destroy it.
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IIAS @iias.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
📢 Call for applications: Regenerating the Ngong River. A Journey of Riparian Planning, Renewal and Transformation 💧 ISEP 2025: a seven-day intensive in-situ engagement project in the city of Nairobi, Kenya ⚠️ Deadline:7 Febr 2025. ⏰ The in-situ event: 7-14 Sept. 2025 🔗 www.iias.asia/events/regen...
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IIAS @iias.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
[IIAS Call for applications] Professorial Fellowship Chair of Taiwan Studies at Leiden University. DL: 15 Febr 2025 #taiwanstudies #taiwan @unileiden.bsky.social @leidenglobal.bsky.social www.iias.asia/professorial...
Call for applications: Professorial Fellowship for the Chair of Taiwan Studies at Leiden University and IIAS
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Alf Gunvald Nilsen @alfnilsen.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
We're entering a new year which is certain to be shaped by autocratization and popular struggles to reclaim and reimagine democracy, so I'm sharing my interview from last year on the trajectories of postcolonial democracies in the global South. www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_Vd...
youtube.com
Prof Alf Nilsen on South Africa vs India democracy, post-colonialism, Global South, 2024 Elections
YouTube video by Innovation Foundation For Democracy
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Zoe Washburne Rebel Scum @zoewashburne.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
"I don't know what word in the English language—I can't find one—applies to people who are willing to sacrifice the literal existence of organized human life so they can't a few more dollars into their highly stuffed pockets. The word 'evil' doesn't even begin to approach it." —Noam Chomsky
California wildfire
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