Meanings and implications of love: review of the scholarship of love with a sub-Saharan focus

Love, as a fundamental human emotion, shapes social interactions and power dynamics. This review examines the scholarship on love, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, to understand its multifaceted meanings and implications for sustainability, gender relations, and resource management. The authors identify four core types of love: contextual love (influenced by culture, space, and time); romantic and compassionate love; transactional love (linking love and material provision); and post-humanist perspectives emphasizing harmony with nature. The review also analyzes love's relationship to power, emotions, and gendered interactions, demonstrating its significance for well-being, resource use, gender equality, and sustainable development.

Karin Steen, Alice Antoniou, Lehnke Lindemann, Anne Jerneck