The latest developments in Zimbabwe fall into the grimly familiar narrative. There are signs of hope that there will finally be a breakthrough — in this case Thabo Mbeki, who still represents the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Zim talks, and South African President Kgalema Motlanthe touch down in Zimbabwe in hopes of kick-starting talks. […]
So it appears that Ukraine and Russia have finally come to terms on a Gas Transportation deal that will allow the former Soviet state to receive gas and send it on to Western Europe. This is just the latest in a long line of dramas involving the transport and ownership of energy reserves between the […]
in an article for World Defense Review (via the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies) J. Peter Pham wonders whether Ghana's elections represent new hopes for Africa. Pham is ordinarily an Afropessimist, so his cautious optimism over the Ghana situation is noteworthy.
Evidently change and hope don't have quite the same resonance in a war zone. Arab Americans and Mona Eltahawy demonstrate a bit more optimism. Amir Taheri advocates taking a strong – but diplomatic – line immediately, as apparently showing weakness will mean squandering the brief window the now-President has to implement his agenda. Presumably, since […]
The United States and the UAE now have an agreement wherein the UAE can utilize nuclear power reactors as a civilian energy source, but will import and export nuclear material and waste. Hmm. This means that the UAE is the first Arab state to develop nuclear capabilities. The NY editorial board points out the obvious: […]
… and its potential to change the world at Goodreads.com (if you join, then we can be friends and you can see all the books I am reading). Dr.Nafisi is the author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and now her memoir, Things I’ve Been Silent About.
South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, one of the country's most widely respected public figures, has made clear that the global financial crisis has hit Africa hard and warns that it will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future. How South Africa might fare will likely become clearer on February 11, when Manuel […]
Last week dissident rebels declared an end to conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Despite optimism from many quarters, few believed the declaration, and rightfully so, as today Rwandan troops crossed into the DRC in order to disarm Hutu rebels.
Today I had the chance to watch history unfold in Washington, DC as Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. Washington was jam-packed with people from all over. President Obama's speech inspired the crowd in Washington and will lead to a worldwide outpouring of support. For foreign policy, […]
Some early, perhaps scattered, thoughts:Throughout today's monumental, historic, inspiring, and emotional events, my thoughts have continued to wander back to two individuals other, of course, than Barack Obama. I have written thousands of words about both and probably exhausted nearly as many hours thinking about them. One is Congressman John Lewis. The other, bizarrely, perhaps, […]
We usually don't link to articles easily found on the web (unless written by FPA contributor Nate Field) but this Haaretz piece about Egyptian Intel Chief Omar Suleiman is tooooo much. Here's my favorite line: “We met some years ago with CIA representatives in the lobby of a hotel,” recalled an Israeli intelligence man, “and […]
I hope you will forgive the naked self-promotion. In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the University Press of Kentucky is having a special week-long sale on civil rights-related books. Included among these is my brand new book, Freedom's Main Line: The Journey of Reconciliation and the Freedom Rides, which is also available at […]
Anyone who has read this blog or many of my other writings for any length of time knows that I do not buy into the Afro-pessimism narrative, particularly when it comes to the African National Congress. Unlike some of the most intemperate critics, I do not see the ANC as going down the path of […]
Eurasianet writer Joshua Kucera reported on an interesting story involving former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's new foundation, which focuses on the Central Asian region. Kucera starts out skeptical of Rumsfeld and his foundation's motivations at first, neoconservative policy pushers?, but his research seems to lead him to conclude that their goals are of a […]
It appears that the inauguration of Barack Obama is about to usher in a new era of good feelings toward America. Nowhere will Obama's ascension to the Oval Office mean more than in Kenya, where people feel a very real, if not particularly deep, connection with the President-Elect. In my own travels throughout the world, […]