Roape
Looking back to move forward
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11904295 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Reginald Cline‐cole (0009-0005-0447-6975, SOAS University of London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 179 |
| Publication date | 2024-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Review of African Political Economy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0305-6244 • E-ISSN: 1740-1720 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.62191/roape-2024-0011 |
| OpenAlex | W4399827369 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 13 |
This issue of the Review of African Political Economy marks a new and significant beginning, but one which, in many ways, is something of a return to ROAPE's origins half a century ago.It also reflects notable elements of the journal's subsequent evolution and continuing preoccupations.In addition to being the first of ROAPE's 50th anniversary year, this issue is the first to be produced in partnership with ScienceOpen, our new publishing platform (Jasini 2023; ROAPE EWG 2023a).ROAPE now returns to independent publishing as part of 'a revolutionary new beginning' (Lawrence 2023b), while remaining solidly anchored in the journal's founding ethos of radical left scholarship and activism (ROAPE EWG 2023b).Issue 181 of the journal will be devoted to a celebration of ROAPE's first 50 years of existence and an assessment of its impact.It will also reflect on its future direction and prospects.Consequently, this editorial serves as something of a prelude to highlight the various ways in which the contributions making up the issue provide ongoing reassurance that textual and other forms of activism in and by ROAPE continue to consolidate and diversify in interesting, productive and impactful ways both in print and online (Cline-Cole and Littlejohn 2014).But to begin, a recap of -and justification for -ROAPE's seemingly 'back to the future' publication strategy and a reminder that this, like all strategic decision-making, is solidly anchored in the journal's founding -and operating -ethos.Peter Lawrence's (2023b) recollections of ROAPE's beginnings, early struggles and ongoing challenges offer an important primer.He makes it clear that while knowledge production was always at the centre of ROAPE's intention to promote a radical political economy in and on Africa, actual dissemination of this knowledge represented a challenging proposition.As he reminds us, increasing production and distribution costs, alongside a steadily increasing demand for more labour power than even committed founder-activist intellectuals and employed workers could continue to provide gratis or at the risk of intensified self-exploitation, made for an increasingly precarious first half of the journal's existence.Undoubtedly, too, as he is at pains to explain, contracting out production of the print journal in 1999 to Carfax (and, subsequently, via acquisitions and mergers amid a far-reaching restructuring of the global publication industry, to Taylor & Francis) was clearly a considered response to a very real existential crisis.It was not a response entirely of what had by this time emerged as the cooperative ROAPE Publications' own choosing.Nonetheless, in the years since, but particularly during the Taylor & Francis era, the ROAPE Collective in pursuit of the journal's
The oligopoly of open access publishing
Connections 3
Connecting people and voices for radical change in Africa
On Roape, historical (dis)continuities and textual activism
Extractive capitalism and hard and soft power in the age of Black Lives Matter
Radical political economy and industrialisation in Africa
Defeating Autocrats from below
Connections 2
Open access publishing - noble intention, flawed reality
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |