"more than words can wield the matter" Dariga Nazarbaeva, the eldest daughter of Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev, continues to be the most influential word-wielder in Kazakhstan. Ms. Nazarbaeva is the Founder, previous President, and Chairperson for Khabar, Kazakhstan's media conglomerate. According to BBC, Darigha Nazarbaeva and her husband, Rakhat Aliev, own a media empire that […]
Over the course of an interview in the Mail & Guardian Zwelinzima Vavi, the secretary general of the Congress of South African Trade Unions asserted that his organization wants to re-establish itself as a more powerful player within the African National Congress’ tripartite alliance of COSATU, the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the ANC […]
Mongolia Web reports that New York's Lincoln Center Fest will present the Secret History of the Mongols July 22-29, 2007. Nine musicians and storytellers will perform the work at the Clark Studio Theater. This passage is from The Secret History of the Mongols: In time Dobun passed away and after he was gone Alan the Fair, without a […]
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox spoke on a wide range of issues at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas last week. Addressing his disapproval of the U.S. plan to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, Fox took an historical approach, saying that walls “didn't work” in Berlin and China. In addition to immigration […]
President Bush is embarking on a trip to Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Uruguay, and Colombia in an effort to re-engage the region. The visit comes on the heels of newly announced aid to Latin America, but many in the region have concerns about U.S. policy and the direction of U.S.-Latin American relations. Protesters in Brazil, the President's […]
At The Mail & Guardian Virginia Tilley, a chief research specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council, speculates about Africa's, and especially South Africa's, role in a potential war against Iran and in the “War on Terror” generally. Her conclusions are probably not what the Bush administration would want to hear: Renewed crisis in Somalia […]
Swanee Hunt, director of the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and chairwoman of The Initiative for Inclusive Security, published an op-ed piece in today's <i>Boston Globe</i> praising the progress Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, “Ma Ellen,” has made in Liberia in her first year as that country's president: Despite 14 years of […]
The Proteas, South Africa's cricket team, are readying themselves for the World Cup, which starts this month in the West Indies. Although a number of teams see themselves in contention to win the final in late April, the South Africans have been playing well and have a good chance to pull off a victory. If […]
Although the mandate of this blog is primarily to deal with South Africa, I plan to take a catholic view of my responsibilities and will regularly feature news and commentary from the rest of Africa. Consider my approach to represent a coupling of the Pan-Africanist dream with the fact that South Africa does not exist […]
Human rights groups have recently come forward to ask that the European Union (EU) continue to implement sanctions against Uzbekistan in response to the Andijan Massacre of May 12, 2005. The EU met on March 5, 2007, to review the sanctions, which have not thus far borne any positive behavioral results. They called for Uzbekistan […]
Whether you are a neophyte to South Africa or an experienced hand you’ll find this article in The Economist to provide a useful primer on the current state of affairs in South Africa on matters ranging from crime to the economy to the always-fascinating political climate. For links to and analysis of Thabo Mbeki's recent State […]
The pageant's focus now turns again to domestic considerations. As suitable for a seamless transition, the new policies thus borrowed heavily from the old. The new President of Turkmenistan has announced the commissioning of a new statue of Turkmenbashi, to honor in death a man who has had countless statues of himself erected already; raising […]
Saparmurat Niyazov, Leader and Showman, Turkmenbashi the Great and President for Life of Turkmenistan, passed away on December 21, 2006. Turkmenistan's constitutionally-mandated succession was bypassed in favor of the Acting Presidency of Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, the Minister of Health and Pharmaceutical Industries. The legal successor, Ovezgeldy Atayev, the Speaker and Deputy Chairman of the 2,500-member legislature […]
Hello, Central Asia Watchers, and welcome! This quotation comes from the Say It In Kazakh Web page of the Kazakhstan Embassy to the United States and Canada. Click here for a table of Central Asia Flash Facts; go to the “Worth Reading” Page of this blog for a kind of running bibliography of non-Internet source […]
<script type=”text/javascript”> var gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : “http://www.”); document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src=’” + gaJsHost + “google-analytics.com/ga.js’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”)); </script> <script type=”text/javascript”> try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker(“UA-12241540-3”); pageTracker._setDomainName(“.foreignpolicyblogs.com”); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}</script> My name is Derek Catsam and I am thrilled to serve as a blogger and writer for the Foreign Policy Association’s “Great […]