Africa

May 2007
Sub-Saharan Small Arms: The Damage Continues
by Rachel Stohl and Rhea Myerscough
"The small arms trade—both legal and illicit—is having continuing negative consequences in both conflict and post-conflict zones. . . ."

May 2007
Zimbabwe: The Case for Intervention
by R. W. Johnson
Zimbabwe: The Case for Intervention

May 2006
The Politics of Death in Darfur
by GÉRARD PRUNIER
"'Genocide' is big because it carries the Nazi label, which sells well. . . . But simply killing is boring, especially in Africa."

May 2006
The Roots of African Corruption
by STEPHEN ELLIS
"In broad swaths of Africa many types of corrupt practice are not the deviant behavior of a small minority—they are a standard mode of transacting political and financial business."

May 2006
South Africa on Trial
by ANDREW MELDRUM
"Angry demonstrations surrounding the trial of Jacob Zuma highlight the fact that significant numbers of black South Africans are becoming frustrated with their lack of progress."

May 2006
Zimbabwe after Mugabe
by GIDEON MALTZ
"If Mugabe's coming exit offers the first genuine opportunity for political change in Zimbabwe, it also threatens to drive the country deeper into despair."

May 2006
China’s Africa Strategy
by JOSHUA EISENMAN and JOSHUA KURLANTZICK
"Beijing has enjoyed considerable success in Africa, building close ties with countries from Sudan to South Africa, becoming a vital aid donor . . . , and developing military relationships with many of the continent's powers."

May 2006
Can Somalia Salvage Itself?
by MATT BRYDEN
"Unless Somali leaders act soon to rescue their transitional government, it may prove impossible to reverse their country's agonizing decline."

May 2006
Rebuilding the Liberian State
by ROBERT LLOYD
"Can a very poor country, scarred by decades of fighting and slowly rebuilding a collapsed state, democratize? The answer is not yet clear."

May 2006
Nigeria’s Defining Moment
by CHINWE ESIMAI
"Nigeria's upcoming vote . . . could mark either a solid step away from the military past into a democratic future, or a descent into national disintegration."

May 2005
Sudan's Darfur: Is It Genocide?
by Nelson Kasfir
"In causing civilian atrocities on such a massive scale, has the Sudanese government adopted a policy of cultural annihilation, or has it decided to crush a rebellion to protect its dominance?"

May 2005
Nigeria: Chronicle of a Dying State
by Ike Okonta
"The ruling party is the state, the regime, and the government melded into a seamless whole, sustained by violence and deploying violence to eviscerate all obstacles to its endless trips to the oil wells."

May 2005
Kenya's Antipolitics
by Frank Holmquist
"For reform to succeed, the range of effective interests with a voice at the table must extend beyond those of the political class-made up of top politicians and civil servants with remarkable staying power. . . ."

May 2005
Africa's Democratization: A Work in Progress
by Jennifer Widner
"Real, sustained efforts are being made across the continent to deepen democracy and reap the benefits of accountable governance. The success of these efforts has been mixed, but it is far too soon to write them off as failures."

May 2005
Development in Africa: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
by Carol Lancaster
"Whether HIV/AIDS and civil conflict are tamed or left unrestrained is primarily in the hands of Africans and, above all, African leaders-and so is the region's future economic performance."

May 2005
Sovereignty Reconsidered
by Letitia Lawson and Donald RothchildTest
Africans "have begun moving away from colonially designed juridical statehood to fashion empirical formulas that respond to the messiness of their current realities. Only time will reveal whether these new, flexible structures prove an effective response to . . . state weakness."

May 2004
The New South Africa, a Decade Later
by Antoinette Handley
"What has changed has been unexpected: the politics of the country have stabilized with astonishing speed...; [the ANC government] has implemented a conservative macroeconomic policy; and an epidemic has emerged as the single greatest threat to stability and prosperity."

May 2004
Ten Years After, Rwanda Tries Reconciliation
by Lyn S. Graybill
"Rwanda's resurrection of a traditional method of resolving conflict may serve as an example to other traumatized societies in Africa that are wrestling with the question of how to live with former enemies."

May 2004
Killing For Christ? The Lord's Resistance Army of Uganda
by Kevin C. Dunn
"The LRA's war in Uganda, like many conflicts in Africa, may appear illogical to the outsider (and especially to the Western media), but it contains an internal logic that makes it rational to the participants."

May 2004
Killing For Christ? The Lord's Resistance Army of Uganda
by Kevin C. Dunn
"The LRA's war in Uganda, like many conflicts in Africa, may appear illogical to the outsider (and especially to the Western media), but it contains an internal logic that makes it rational to the participants."