The Representation of Cunning Strategies to Maximise the Political Personalisation: Machiavellian Approach to Holding and Retaining Power in Africa (Published)
This study explores the representation of Machiavellian strategies by dictators in Francophone Africa, focusing on their use of cunning discourse to manipulate political actors and the public to consolidate and retain power. Despite extensive scholarship on political manipulation, limited attention has been given to the literary representation of such tactics in contemporary African narratives. By analysing Alimou Sinta’s novel Le sang pour l’alternance (2021), the research examines how rhetoric, deception, and strategic manoeuvring shape authoritarian governance. Using Machiavellian theory and discourse analysis, this study highlights how political personalisation is reinforced through calculated rhetoric and performative governance. The findings contribute to discussions on authoritarian resilience, the instrumentalisation of discourse in power retention, and the intersection of literature and political strategy. By bridging political theory and literary analysis, this research enriches understandings of dictatorship in Francophone Africa and the broader implications of cunning discourse in governance.
Keywords: Discourse Analysis, Francophone Africa, Machiavellianism, authoritarianism, political manipulation, power retention
Ethiopia’ in Selected Lyrics of Tilahun Gessesse and Tewodros Kassahun Songs: A Comparative Analysis (Published)
The purpose of this study was to make a critical discourse analysis on the theme ‘Ethiopia’. Lyrics of selected songs of two prominent artists (Tilahun Gessese and Tewodros Kassahun) were used as corpus for the study. Classical compare and contrast method was employed for analysis; point-by-point and text-by-text organizational schemes were used to compare texts. The results of the study revealed that both artists have shown a remarkably similar approach in their music philosophy. Both singers firmly voiced ‘Ethiopia’ as ‘mother land’ for its people. Both artists discoursed on historical and natural heritage of the country as well as the patriotism sacrificed to preserve these heritages. Finally, the study also disclosed that both singers advocate for unity and love of ‘mother land’ to assure its sovereignty.
Keywords: Classical, Discourse Analysis, Ethiopia, Music, Patriotism, Sovereignty., lyrics, motherland, solidarity