Renaissance Disclosed: African Leadership in the Ebola Crisis of 2014

Abstract

Two questions form the foundation of this study:

• 1. How do Africans lead in times of crisis?

• 2. Does African crisis leadership reflect the principles of the African Renaissance?

The Ebola Crisis of 2014 offered an opportunity to disclose African leadership in a time of crisis. Thabo Mbeki’s The African Renaissance Statement (ARS) is one of the most important sources for discerning the principles of the African Renaissance. An application of Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutic arc discloses the principles of the African Renaissance contained in the ARS. The continuing analysis compares and contrasts African leadership behaviours in the Ebola crisis to the disclosed African Renaissance principles. The analysis reveals two simultaneous streams of response: official and organic. Often at odds, these streams eventually converge to uphold the central theme of the ARS: moving from barbarism to a humane civilization by means of Africans solving Africa’s problems.