REGIONAL EYE

Into Africa

Does foreign aid to Africa only make matters worse? Will AIDS wipe out a generation? Can Zimbabwe be saved from Robert Mugabe's misrule? What can stop the genocide in Darfur? How will Africans feed and educate themselves? Does debt relief promote or ultimately hinder economic growth?

RECENT COMMENTARIES

FEATURED COMMENTARIES

The Nigerian Crucible

Ike Okonta Series: Into Africa

2012-02-01

Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan, has allowed his government to loot the treasury, while militant organizations terrorize the populace. Its rich and powerful have already plunged Nigeria into a bloody civil war once, and they appear ready to do it again.... read

Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 5894

Africa’s Stolen History

Juliet Torome Series: Into Africa

2012-01-13

Western museums and private collections are full of artifacts that were pillaged from Africa during the slave trade and colonial periods. Until Africans start to recognize the value of their own history, their cultures' artistic output will continue to be up for grabs.... read

Comments: 11 Recommended: 1 Read: 8362

Parliaments and Pacts

Lindiwe Mazibuko Series: Into Africa

2011-12-26

In the absence of a global Leviathan, stronger domestic legislatures are the key to resolving the world’s collective environmental problems. The less accountable a government is to its people, the less it will do for the world.... read

Comments: 2 Recommended: 1 Read: 5137

Chocolate-Fueled Growth

Kandeh K. Yumkella Series: Into Africa

2011-11-28

An agribusiness development strategy focused on higher-value output and stronger productivity growth throughout the value chain represents one of the best opportunities for rapid and broad-based economic growth and wealth creation in Africa. It also may be one of the few local pathways out of poverty for small farmers.... read

Comments: 1 Recommended: 1 Read: 6937

Democracy in the Congo?

Charles Tannock Series: Into Africa

2011-11-15

Free, fair, and transparent democratic elections are no longer strangers to Africa. But the presidential and parliamentary elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the end of November will likely be Africa’s most daunting electoral challenge so far.... read

Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 8696

A Thousand Fatwas for Somalia

Ken Menkhaus Series: Into Africa

2011-11-02

The latest outrage by the Somali jihadist group al-Shabaab – a truck bombing in Mogadishu that killed more than 100 people – should spur the Islamic world to action. What the Muslims should provide, aside from more aid, is intense pressure on al-Shabaab, in the form of fatwas from every corner of the faith.... read

Comments: 1 Recommended: 0 Read: 4667

The Other Horn of Africa

Ahmed Mohamoud Silyano Series: Into Africa

2011-10-18

Drought, famine, refugees, piracy, and the violence and terrorism endemic to the shattered city of Mogadishu: these are the images that flash through peoples’ minds nowadays when they think of the Horn of Africa. Such perceptions, however, are not only tragically one-sided; they are short-sighted and dangerous.... read

Comments: 4 Recommended: 0 Read: 8109

Nigeria’s Homegrown Terrorists

Ike Okonta Series: Into Africa

2011-10-06

After the sound and fury of Nigeria's recent elections, Africa’s most populous country appears set to face violence and chaos born of deprivation and neglect. Indeed, President Goodluck Jonathan appears indecisive in confronting the terrorist threat posed by the northern-based Islamist sect Boko Haram.... read

Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 8835

The Zambian Candidate

Michael Meyer Series: Into Africa

2011-09-28

Events in Zambia seldom reverberate globally, but Zambia's recent presidential election should. What made the election so important is that, while other African presidents have clung to power by ignoring defeat and repressing opponents, the challenger in Zambia won – and the incumbent conceded gracefully.... read

Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 5645

The Horn of Africa’s Last Famine?	Sam Dryden
With more than 13 million people facing starvation in the Horn of Africa, the international community must do much more to meet the immediate needs of this famine’s victims. But we should also be thinking about long-term solutions to prevent food crises on this scale from happening in the first place.... read

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The Rising Sons of North Africa

Wolfram Lacher Series: Into Africa

2009-12-24

Across north Africa - in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia - preparations for dynastic successions appear to be underway. But none of these countries rulers, or their heirs apparent, will admit it, fearing public opposition and, more apparently, resistance from rivals who have much to lose.... read

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Keeping Africa's Turnaround on Track

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Series: Into Africa

2009-07-04

MONROVIA – For more than a decade, much of Africa has been moving forward. Economic growth is rising, poverty is falling and democratic governance is spreading. But the global financial crisis threatens to undo this progress by reducing investment, exports and aid just as they should be expanding to build on these successes. ... read

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Sacred Promises

Desmond Tutu Series: Into Africa

2009-07-04

It is an act of grace and great leadership when we keep our promises to the poor, which is why those G-8 countries that are leading the charge for the poorest, especially in Africa, deserve much credit. But we must also be prepared to censure countries like Italy and France for not meeting the pledges they made at the G-8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, four years ago. ... read

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The Domestic Wars of Hosni Mubarak

Saad Eddin Ibrahim Series: Into Africa

2006-06-01

The decision by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s government to try two senior judges for blowing the whistle on vote rigging in last autumn’s parliamentary elections has rocked the country. Massive crowds have gathered to support the judges – and have caught Mubarak’s regime completely unaware. ... read

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Justice Is Reconciliation

Desmond Tutu Series: Into Africa

2006-01-16

In South Africa, indeed around the world, we are raised on a strict diet of justice as retribution. With violent crimes on a shocking upsurge, with the hideous crimes of child rape and abuse on the increase, there are nowadays frequent calls – backed by wide public support – to restore capital punishment. Mercifully, South Africa’s Constitutional Court has ruled that the death penalty – which South Africans eliminated at the same time we were liberated from apartheid – is unconstitutional. ... read

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The Ghost of Biafra

Ike Okonta Series: Into Africa

2005-01-26

When Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo made his surprise announcement on 13 January to begin a nationwide dialogue to discuss constitutional reform, he was bowing to the inevitable. The clamor by disaffected politicians and human rights activists for such a conference had reached a crescendo. ... read

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Can Global Companies Save Africa?

Paul Lewis Series: Into Africa

2005-11-03

Multinational companies were a driving force in Eastern Europe’s postcommunist transition, bringing new skills, technology, training, and better working conditions. They saved the banking systems, modernized telecommunications networks, rebuilt ailing industries, raised the quality of goods, and undermined the cozy vested interests that had robbed ordinary citizens for decades.... read

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Market Solutions, the Environment, and Morocco

Travis Lybbert, Christopher Barrett and Hamid Narjisse Series: Into Africa

2003-01-31

Experiments with market_based mechanisms -- for example, eco-tourism or the trading of factory emissions -- have multiplied over the past decade. Across Africa, these approaches often aim for a "win_win" outcome: the poor benefit and resources are conserved. But the actual net effects of these programs are poorly understood. ... read

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How the French Plunder Africa

Sanou Mbaye Series: Into Africa

2004-01-02

France's unchallenged political, economic, and military domination of its former sub-Saharan African colonies is rooted in a currency, the CFA franc. Created in 1948 to help France control the destiny of its colonies, fourteen countries--Benin, Burkina-Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Bissau Guinea, and Chad--maintained the franc zone even after they gained independence decades ago. ... read

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The Secret World of Female Circumcision	Juliet Torome
As a girl growing up in rural Kenya, the author was swayed by talk of friends and elders about how once a girl undergoes “the cut,” she gains respect and grown men consider her suitable for marriage. The she watched as one of her schoolmates was mutilated.... read
Keeping Africa's Turnaround on Track	Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
MONROVIA – For more than a decade, much of Africa has been moving forward. Economic growth is rising, poverty is falling and democratic governance is spreading. But the global financial crisis threatens to undo this progress by reducing investment, exports and aid just as they should be expanding to build on these successes. ... read

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REGIONAL EYE

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PROJECT SYNDICATE

REGIONAL EYE

Into Africa

The Nigerian Crucible

Africa’s Stolen History

Parliaments and Pacts

Chocolate-Fueled Growth

Democracy in the Congo?

A Thousand Fatwas for Somalia

The Other Horn of Africa

Nigeria’s Homegrown Terrorists

The Zambian Candidate

The Rising Sons of North Africa

Keeping Africa's Turnaround on Track

Sacred Promises

The Domestic Wars of Hosni Mubarak

Justice Is Reconciliation

The Ghost of Biafra

Can Global Companies Save Africa?

Market Solutions, the Environment, and Morocco

How the French Plunder Africa

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