Being an American professor living in Africa and teaching international relations, I have been involved in numerous debates about my country and its foreign policy. Obviously you get your mix, some pro-U.S. and some not. To try and make better sense of the situation, I decided to embark on a little pet project in […]
The shale gas debate rages on across Europe, Asia, and North America, but one ponders how the already resource rich Southern Africa fits into this equation. What is there, what is the potential and what could it mean from an economic and geopolitical standpoint? One country already known to possess great potential that can be […]
It started with a simple drink, or more accurately, the inability of Senegalese-born Magatte Wade to find it when she returned to Senegal. In searching for a hibiscus drink she remembered fondly from her childhood, it was nowhere to be seen in Dakar. The reason, she discovered, was that as Senegal’s wealth increased so did […]
Now that the U.S. has been poised to strike Syria militarily, it is helpful to consider the United States’ role in the world. The premise of this documentary is intriguing: what if the United States removed all of its troops and military hardware from the dozens of bases it has all over the world? The […]
After receiving and reviewing an advanced copy of the Organization of Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) 2013 report Aid for Trade at a Glance: Connecting to Value Chains, I am intrigued by the ongoing process of replacing a portion of direct foreign aid with viable bi- and multi-lateral trade agreements that help in economic development, especially […]
Zimbabweans will go to the polls on Wednesday to participate in an election that will be closely monitored by hundreds of foreign observers, mostly from around Africa. One country that will be watching despite Western observer missions not being invited is the United States of America. Relations between Washington and Harare are definitely nowhere near the […]
President Obama’s trip to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania was touted as a commitment to begin a new partnership with the rising continent. Home to 6 of the 10 fasted growing economies, Africa has made great strides – the International Monetary Fund predicts growth of 5.4 percent this year and 5.7 percent next year, but […]
Apparently President Obama has received some criticism over taking the “easy road” in his visit to Africa earlier this week. Instead of drawing attention to more troubled spots on the continent such as Nigeria or Kenya, he choose to visit the relatively safe, stable, and democratically potent (at least in terms of Africa) Tanzania, South […]
Last March, after seeing its nearly 20,000-strong peacekeeping force embarrassed by Congolese rebels in armed clashes outside of Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) second biggest city, the U.N. Security Council decided unanimously to deploy 3,000 troops to act as an “intervention brigade” in the eastern part of the country. The intervention brigade was given […]
As Barack Obama is about to embark on his historic tour of Africa, many South Africans are asking why it should matter to them. There are numerous reasons why a visit from the President of the United States is an historic occasion. First, the U.S. helps save South African lives. Since 2004, Washington has […]
Masai Ujiri took an unconventional route to the pinnacle of National Basketball Association (NBA) team management. Now he is watching his Denver Nuggets’, a team he built in just three seasons as general manager, attempt to make a run at an NBA championship. Ujiri grew up in the central northern region of Nigeria, in the city of Zaria, a city that has […]
It was a story that many people missed. United States president Barack Obama met with four African leaders in Washington in late March 2013: President Sall from Senegal, President Banda from Malawi, President Koroma from Sierra Leone, and Prime Minister Neves from Cape Verde. A positive step in the right direction for America in Africa, […]
In late 2012, vulture funds came to light with the bold seizure of an Argentine naval vessel, the ARA Libertad, in the Ghana port city of Tema. After two-and-a-half months under the control of the U.S.-based vulture fund NML capital — run by billionaire Paul Singer — the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in […]
The debt crisis in Europe, anemic economic growth in the U.S., an uncertain future for NATO’s mission in Afghanistan with the year 2014 drawing closer, and growing cyber security challenges facing Western governments and multi-national corporations are some of the key challenges that deserve serious debate and attention by the public and policy makers. Both […]
With the French military intervention in Mali shifting to a more sustained action, the reality of the long, hard slog in the Mali region has triggered inevitable questions by diplomats, policy planners and many others as to what defines success – and what comes next? Most mouthed answer: “Somalia.” That’s correct. The place […]