The nation of Mali, and much of Sahelian West Africa, has long standing moderate Muslim practices dating back to the 9th century. This broadminded intellectual, spiritual and cultural tradition is being undermined by a new wave of religious colonialism emanating from outside of the region, an especially violent and intolerant form of fundamentalist Islam. The […] … learn more→

GABORONE, BOTSWANA. You wouldn’t know there’s a food crisis in Botswana, one of Africa’s wealthiest and most stable countries, because it’s a silent one. This is not the doom and gloom Africa that we often hear sensationalized in the media as a place of coups, famines and corruption. No, Botswana is a model African state […] … learn more→

GABORONE, BOTSWANA. While I am an American, I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment that it is inappropriate for the United States to have a strangle hold on the World Bank Presidency. I also sympathize with the frustrations of many Africans that one of their own, highly qualified Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was not […] … learn more→

On April 6, Tuareg rebels in the West African city of Timbuktu unilaterally declared their independence from Mali and announced the birth of a new nation called Azawad. The declaration was widely ignored or condemned by neighboring African states and the international community. However, considering the arbitrary nature of many national borders in Africa which […] … learn more→

This was no act of heroism to save a country from a despotic dictator, but rather an emotional outbreak by a disgruntled group of military officers that thoughtlessly ended 20 years of democratic rule. … learn more→

Far from destabilizing democratic institutions, polarization can play a vital role for opposition political parties. That’s the eye-opening conclusion American University School of Public Affairs professor Adrienne LeBas draws in her new book, From Protest to Parties: Party-Building and Democratization in Africa (2011: OUP). LeBas’s work studying opposition parties in the hybrid democracies of Zimbabwe, […] … learn more→

New requirements on beef exports could have a negative ecological impact on the country. … learn more→

The glacial pace of international efforts to curb climate change continued at the UN climate talks in Durban, South Africa last week. Governments concluded that by 2015 they should agree on legally binding targets for greenhouse gas emissions that involve all major nations — including China, India and the United States. But they also agreed […] … learn more→

The Chinese agricultural success story is not only distorted, but it is being misapplied in Africa. As Sub-Saharan Africa grapples with high food prices in some regions and famine in others, many experts argue that increasing food production through a program of hybrid seeds and chemical inputs is the way to go. This approach, marketed […] … learn more→

100 U.S. troops were sent to Africa to help end the reign of terror of the monstrous Joseph Kony and his Lord\’s resistance army. According to the Los Angeles Times, President Obama has sent about 100 “combat-equipped” special ops troops to Africa targeting the leadership of the Lord’s Resistance Army, which has been committing atrocities […] … learn more→