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On Zuma, Ramaphosa, and the State of South African Politics

On Zuma, Ramaphosa, and the State of South African Politics

It has been an eventful few weeks in South African politics, as eventful as any since the period from the CODESA negotiations that ended apartheid through the early, heady days of Nelson Mandela’s epochal presidency. The era of Jacob Zuma has finally come to an end, the era of Cyril Ramaphosa, long awaited in some […]

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On the Ground (Indirectly) in Harare

On the Ground (Indirectly) in Harare

  Communicating with friends and colleagues in Harare, I am hearing the following (all quotations are direct from people I have communicated with, but I hope you’ll forgive my granting of anonymity in light of the circumstances): Get out of your minds your 1970s African coup cliches. Most of the streets in suburban Harare (and […]

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Crisis in Zimbabwe: Is Mugabe Finally Out?

Crisis in Zimbabwe: Is Mugabe Finally Out?

What is happening in Zimbabwe? It appears that 93-year old “President for Life” Robert Mugabe might finally be out of power. The military has refused to acknowledge a “coup,” but when the military leadership provide the spokesmen for the government, when generals are asserting who will and will not be acceptable as potential heads of […]

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The Prodigal Son Returns

I’ve missed you even if you did not know that you missed me. From 2007 to 2014 I was at various times the: Blogger/Senior Blogger/Senior Editor for African Affairs here at FPA. Well, I’m back! I’ll mostly be focusing on South Africa, because politics and society in South Africa in the next few months will […]

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2014 African Election Preview

2014 African Election Preview

Millions of citizens of African countries will go to the polls in Presidential, parliamentary/legislative, state/provincial, and local elections in 2014. We will surely cover many of those here at the FPA. Here is an early preview of which elections are happening where (as of January 8) with brief commentary on several of them: Southern Africa:  […]

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South Sudan in Crisis

South Sudan in Crisis

[European Union] South Sudan earned its independence just over two years ago. Yesterday, really. By the standards of international policy most countries had not even begun to think about South Sudan as anything other than a regional roadblock, never mind as its own entity. Hell, I don’t even have a coherent view of South Sudan. […]

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Madiba: Hamba Kahle

Madiba: Hamba Kahle

It happened when I was watching ESPN. I discovered that Madiba had passed. It was like a punch to the gut, even though I knew it was coming. He had been ill since I was in South Africa in June, July, and August, and yet it came from nowhere. And so now I have to […]

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Delivery and South African Politics

Delivery and South African Politics

Recent protests in Cape Town (and an article about those protests in the Mail and Guardian) provide a useful reminder that much of the discontent among South Africans, even those who otherwise would proclaim their fealty to the African National Congress (ANC), comes down to the delivery of services. This phrase is ubiquitous among politically […]

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AFRICOM and US-African Relations

AFRICOM and US-African Relations

What is the United States interest in Africa? What do African leaders and the people they are supposed to serve want from American engagement in their continent and in their countries? If we have a Venn diagram where the answers to these two questions exist as circles, where is the overlap between them that represents […]

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China, Africa, and South African Regional Influence

China, Africa, and South African Regional Influence

This past week South Africa’s Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe attended the fifth South Africa-China bi-national commission (BNC) in Beijing. There is nothing particularly shocking about this. China has worked hard in the last decade or more to establish relationships with African countries. And while we can argue (as myriad academics and journalists have) about the […]

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Sub-Saharan Africa News Roundup

With each passing day it seemed another story crossed my desk that I wanted to write about. Now I have so many tabs open on my computer that it is slowing things down considerably. So without further ado, a roundup of stories that have caught my eye in recent days and weeks with brief commentary […]

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A South African Footnote to “Rush”

A South African Footnote to “Rush”

[Jalopnik/Gawker] So this is kind of cool. Apparently Formula One legend James Hunt, who is the central character in the new Ron Howard movie Rush, was also an ardent and vocal opponent of the Apartheid regime. Of course this seems to go unmentioned in the movie (Yes, I know — expecting substantial political subtext in […]

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People Are Just the Worst (UPDATED)

People Are Just the Worst (UPDATED)

Today’s evidence that people are the absolute worst: Poachers in Zimbabwe have killed more than eighty elephants by putting cyanide in one of their watering holes. UPDATED: Authorities have caught and convicted the perpetrators, who have received fifteen-year prison sentences.

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Hashim Amla, Race, and South African Cricket

Hashim Amla, Race, and South African Cricket

[Hashim Amla. From Africa is a Country.] A few months ago Niren Tolsi had a fantastic piece in The Con that he later allowed to be republished in Africa is a Country (which added useful links within the piece) about South African cricketer Hashim Amla. Tolsi explores race and identity through the intriguing figure of […]

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Robert Mugabe: Sore Winner

Robert Mugabe: Sore Winner

[Robert Mugabe in his Default Setting. ©The Guardian] And in the least surprising news ever, Robert Mugabe proves not to be gracious in victory. He has announced his new government, and the opposition MDC, which has been part of an uncomfortable coalition for the last five years, finds itself on the outside looking in. Mugabe completely […]

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About the Author

Derek Catsam

Derek Catsam is a Professor of history and Kathlyn Cosper Dunagan Professor in the Humanities at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. He is also Senior Research Associate at Rhodes University. Derek writes about race and politics in the United States and Africa, sports, and terrorism. He is currently working on books on bus boycotts in the United States and South Africa in the 1940s and 1950s and on the 1981 South African Springbok rugby team's tour to the US. He is the author of three books, dozens of scholarly articles and reviews, and has published widely on current affairs in African, American, and European publications. He has lived, worked, and travelled extensively throughout southern Africa. He writes about politics, sports, travel, pop culture, and just about anything else that comes to mind.

Areas of Focus:
Africa; Zimbabwe; South Africa; Apartheid

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