The point of no return in Ethiopia
Whatever we make of the Ethiopian government’s prevarication, the Irreechaa Massacre was a point of no return for the people.
Politics
Profits and bleeding hearts
We speak to an aid worker and trade unionist at the forefront of campaigns to halt the transnational corporate education reform movement.
The idea of a mass pullout of African states from the ICC
Why is South Africa withdrawing from the International Criminal Court? And why now? And what does it mean for African states' participation in the court.
On the brink of peace
Colombia needs to be able to envision another country beyond the reincarnation of our memories of war.
What Kenya means to Barack Obama
Throughout Barack Obama’s presidency, his personal links to Kenya have been weaponized by the U.S.'s Right’s as a slur. But there's more to his relationship with his father's country.
The paradoxes of soft dictatorship
The longevity of the Gabonese political system also lies in the many channels of redistribution that connect politicians (known colloquially as “les Grands”) to ordinary citizens.
Enter the bulldozer
The legacy of Julius Nyerere’s state and state-run economy in Tanzania is a government (and ruling party) that values decree over debate, and control over entrepreneurship. John Magufuli is a model student of this system in its ideal form.
What Would Julius Nyerere Do?
Recent and current leaders in Tanzania like to be compared to Mwalimu Nyerere. Take current president, John Magufuli. He has been working hard to claim Nyerere’s mantle.
My people them dey stay for poor surroundings
For Nigeria, the World Bank reported that as of 2015, 48% of the total population (estimated at more than 180 million) reside in urban centers.
Congo blues
Until Joseph Kabila publicly recuses himself from running for a third term, many Congolese will be suspicious of any dialogue proposed by the government.
The Upright Man, Thomas Sankara
Burkina Faso is finally beginning to do right by the memory of revuolutionary leader, Thomas Sankara.
What next for Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe is going through an evolution, not a revolution. Over the past few weeks, pundits and analysts alike have debated about the future of the country’s nascent citizen movement. In a widely circulated post, the academic Blessings Miles Tendi cautioned against premature optimism, and listed the lack of a united opposition movement, the limited activist […]
Budgets, bureaucracy and realpolitik trump human rights advocacy
The year 2015 was El Salvador’s deadliest since the end of that country’s civil war in 1992. According to police records, more than six thousand people were murdered. Elsewhere, in Honduras, Brazil and Colombia, dozens of environmental activists are under attack. And in the Dominican Republic, thousands of Dominicans of Haitian ancestry are on the […]
Why western economists get Africa wrong
It is worth revisiting economic historian Morten Jerven's book "Africa: Why Economists Get It Wrong" (2015), a refreshing contribution to the debate about development scholarship on Africa.
Mind Your Own Business
Dan Magaziner gets to shake the hand of Paul Kagame, a man many consider a dictator at best and a war criminal at worst.
‘Til death do us part
The Bongo family has ruled the central African country of Gabon uninterrupted for 49 years. This past August, President Ali Bongo – whose father, Omar, was in power from 1967 to 2009 when Ali took over – secured a second seven-year term in presidential elections. Since the announcement of official election results, violent clashes have […]
The health of African presidents
The physical and mental health of a head of state, one assumes, is a basic requirement as to whether they can perform their job adequately. Not in some parts of Africa.
Anti-racism without race
Italy also lacks a fully developed movement against racism led by people of color. It doesn't help that white activists prefers to racism as xenophobia.
What do the Portuguese make of Cristiano Ronaldo?
With the passing of the legendary Mozambican-born Eusébio in 2014, Ronaldo is now the undisputed face of Portuguese soccer.
Corporate tax is a feminist matter
Across Africa, the working poor often end up carrying the burden of raising tax revenue while the multinationals go scot-free. And women bear the brunt of it.