Welcome to the third issue of The Africa Governance Papers. This issue offers a range of topics, emphasising considerations relating to China’s presence in Africa and its influence on the continent.

The contributions to this issue include research on Chinese media in Africa, the pedagogical challenges of teaching and learning Chinese for Africans, Chinese companies’ approach to social responsibility, the activities of Chinese vloggers in Africa, and China’s influence on African attempts to ensure digital sovereignty. Other articles explore the views of NGO staff members in several countries around the continent on the effectiveness of the African Peer Review Mechanism, and the link between population density, developmental outcomes, and perceptions of governance in sub-Saharan Africa. We also review a reconsideration of a classic of African studies and a recent book that asks whether politics corrupts or whether politics attracts the corrupt. The issue concludes with a detailed study of the ethnic composition of Rwanda’s civil service.

The issue of China’s influence in Africa raises the question of the continent’s relationships with the hegemonic powers of our age more generally. The editorial reflects on the question of sovereignty in an emerging multipolar age. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought the relevance of sovereignty in contemporary international relations to the fore, and it is arguable that a multipolar world involving the predominance of several great powers presents challenges for other countries that will require careful evaluation.