New Libyan Prime Minister Faces Major Challenges
Libya’s interim government gradually is taking shape. On Monday the Transitional National Council (TNC) announced that it had elected a new Prime Minister, Abdurraheem el-Keib,… Read More
Suicide Blast in Somalia Raising Concerns at Home
Following a devastating suicide blast earlier in the week in Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu, leaders from the regional terror group al Shabaab issued a… Read More
Tunisian Elections Dominated by the Islamist Al-Nahda Party
The Al-Nahda (“Renaissance”) Party, a long-banned Islamist movement that was legalized after the ouster of Tunisia’s autocratic President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in January, is… Read More
Russia’s African Expansion Boosted by New BRICS Stock Market
Russia is bemoaning the passing of Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi, an old friend and client of the Soviet Union and a reliable customer for Russian… Read More
Lessons of Libya
That indigenous forces backed by Western military power could overthrow an odious unpopular regime backed by a second-rate military ought to come as no surprise…. Read More
Tunisia’s Hizb Al-Nahda: A Nightmare for Some and a Blessing for Others
Next month, Tunisians will go to the polls for the first time since former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country last January…. Read More
Qadhafi’s Friends in Africa: A Challenge for the TNC
While the Libyan rebels continue their search for deposed dictator Muammar Qadhafi, rumors abound as to where the former despot could be hiding. Some believe… Read More
Obama’s Top Ten Errors on Libya
When in November 1942 the British Army broke and routed Rommel, and sent him fleeing through Libya, Winston Churchill recognized that it was not the… Read More
News
Boko Haram Broadens Attacks, Strikes U.N. Headquarters
On Friday, a suicide bomber launched an attack against the U.N. headquarters in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja. The Islamist sect Boko Haram (translated: “education… Read More
Morning Bell: The Right Strategy to Fight Terrorism
In what has been described as an “act of international terrorism,” news agencies report that a suicide car bomb struck the United Nations building in Abuja, Nigeria’s… Read More
Social Entrepreneurship: Businesses that Help the Poor
Foreign aid as a development tool has been tried and found wanting. Decades of handouts from developed countries to developing countries have done little more… Read More
Morning Bell: What’s Next in Libya
All across the world, leaders are hailing the news that Libyan rebels have advanced into the capital city of Tripoli, poised to bring to an… Read More
From East to West: Piracy in Africa
At the beginning of the month, Lloyd’s of London, the world’s leading marine insurance market, designated Nigeria and Benin as “war-risk” zones due to an… Read More
President Obama Jumps the Gun on Praising African Leaders
Last week President Barack Obama praised Presidents Yayi of Benin, Condé of Guinea, Issoufou of Niger and Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire as models of Africa’s… Read More
Obama Administration (Sort of) Goes to Bat for Free Trade Agreements
The Obama Administration recently made its strongest statement yet in support of free trade agreements. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commented on the challenges of… Read More
White House Invites Gabonese Tyrant into the Oval Office
President Obama has kept at least one campaign promise: agreeing to meet with nefarious world leaders. Yesterday, President Ali Bongo Ondimba from Gabon added his… Read More
Why Are Deadlines OK for Afghanistan but Not for Libya?
At yesterday’s joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Barack Obama ruled out any deadline for ending NATO’s air assault in Libya…. Read More
Wave of Protests Continues Across North Africa and the Middle East
In January, Heritage Senior Research Fellow Jim Phillips predicted that Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution would spark uprisings throughout the Arab world. Four months later, North Africa… Read More
Nigerian Presidential Election: Religious Tensions Threaten Democratic Progress
Almost immediately after it was announced that President Goodluck Jonathan won Nigeria’s presidential election this past weekend, violence erupted in many northern states. This post-election… Read More
After Months of Bloodshed, Côte D’Ivoire’s Dictator Falls
Early this morning, former president of Côte D’Ivoire Laurent Gbagbo was finally forced out of power. Seeking refuge in the bunker of his Abidjan residence,… Read More
On Economic Freedom, Africa Should Be More Strategic Than China
African Union chairman Jean Ping’s recent op-ed espouses China as the model of economic excellence to which African countries should aspire. Ping praises China’s globalization,… Read More
Jubilant Celebrations Mask Difficult Tasks for Southern Sudan
The ballots have been tallied and the results are in: Southern Sudanese voted overwhelmingly for independence from the government in Khartoum. With a total turnout… Read More
Sudan: Charting the Course Ahead
“You know, my people told me I should never meet with you,” Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir told Richard Williamson, former U.S. special envoy to Sudan,… Read More
Risky Business: Sudan’s Referendum for Independence
In the months leading up to the referendum in southern Sudan, scheduled for January 9, the United States and its international partners have been scrambling… Read More
Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement: Bush’s Legacy in Africa
Contributing to the peace and development of Africa, Sudan in particular, was a major priority for the Bush Administration and now looms as the single… Read More
The Fight to Restore Democracy in Côte D’Ivoire
Achieving stable and mature democracy in sub-Saharan Africa remains a work in progress, as illustrated by the November 28 elections in Côte D’Ivoire. A once… Read More
News
Why Good Governance Matters More in Africa Than Aid
Heads of state from across the developing world arrived in New York last week for the annual United Nations meetings. Heading up the agenda this… Read More
No Link Between Global Warming and Civil Wars
Proponents of domestic and international global warming regulations like to argue that human-induced climate change could affect the safety of not only the U.S. but… Read More
China’s Military Is Playing for Keeps: Will the U.S. Remain a Contender?
After a very protracted gestation and calls from Congress for its release, DOD today finally unveiled the latest report on China’s military capabilities, as called… Read More
Obama’s Mugabe Problem: Time to Bring Our Ambassador Home
Like Presidents Clinton and Bush before him, Obama now has a Robert Mugabe problem. Foreign Policy Magazine recently awarded Mugabe, president of failed Zimbabwe, the… Read More
