Change is the Only Constant in Life

With this issue (1/2022), my time as co-editor-in-chief of Africa Spectrum comes to an end after almost 4 years. I look back fondly on the fruitful cooperation with our team of dedicated associate editors, with the editorial advisory board, and – last but not least – with my co-editor-in-chief Leonardo Arriola. Leonardo's and my collaboration was always rewarding, as it was based on mutual trust, respect, and a shared sense of humour as we figured out how to best navigate the journal through the pandemic. Despite our many editorial duties and the skyrocketing number of submissions to which we sought to do justice, our busy meetings were always full of interesting conversation and laughter. It was a privilege to work closely with someone who shares not only my passion for multidisciplinary research on Africa that employs different theoretical and methodological approaches, but also my conviction that fully open access publishing constitutes an important piece in the puzzle of addressing global asymmetries in knowledge production. I would also like to thank Petra Brandt, who supported us tirelessly as the journal's editorial manager. Her professionalism, conscientious work, and good spirits made my life as co-editor-in-chief much easier.

Over the past four years, Africa Spectrum has flourished: The journal has doubled its impact factor, while the number of submissions has nearly tripled. We are indebted to all the authors and reviewers, whose efforts have proven indispensable to this accomplishment. But even more importantly, I take pride that our efforts to provide more space both for scholars based on the continent and for vital debates about the state of African Studies from a variety of perspectives have borne fruit. In October 2021 we hosted the first of a series of publishing workshops for African scholars, jointly organised with the Contemporary Journal of African Studies published by the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, and funded by the Maria Sibylla Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa. Our esteemed editorial advisory board includes more African and female scholars than ever before in the history of the journal. Every single issue has featured important publications by (young) African scholars, and the special issues have addressed key debates such as ‘Exploring Africa's Agency in International Politics’. In this issue, we are delighted to publish two discussion pieces that reflect on challenges in African Studies. Juliana Tappe Ortiz and Lynda Iroulo trace how coloniality is visible in fieldwork, publishing, teaching, and academic hiring in their intervention ‘Dear German Academia: What Is Your Role in African Knowledge Production?’ Relatedly, Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Rüdiger Seesemann, and Christine Vogt-William discuss the need for an epistemic turn towards decoloniality in theory and research practice in their piece ‘African Studies in Distress: German Scholarship on Africa and the Neglected Challenge of Decoloniality’.

As I move on, the journal is in excellent hands: the whole team is set to remain on board, and Leonardo Arriola will be sharing duties with my esteemed colleague Tim Glawion, whom the GIGA has appointed as Africa Spectrum's new co-editor-in-chief. Tim will take up the position with a high level of competence and an unparalleled enthusiasm for multifaceted research on sub-Saharan Africa. I wish him and the entire team the very best for the future, and I would like to once again thank all those who have accompanied me along the way.