Essays present critical analysis and debate on a pressing issue in African peacebuilding.
Just a few weeks ago on May 2 and 3, events celebrating the 25th World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) were held in Accra, Ghana—attended by more than nine hundred participants from around the world. Convened by UNESCO, many of the proceedings highlighted the numerous dangers those who bring news and information to the world continue […]
Gang violence continues unabated in South Africa, particularly in impoverished black and “coloured” communities. This essay focuses on black communities. We reveal how young men living in majority Xhosa-speaking black townships become part of a gang and how the gang relationship is forged and sustained over time. We pay attention to how the gang relationship […]
The liberal peacebuilding framework has been extensively critiqued and increasing attention is being given to “the local” in peacebuilding. What “local” means, though, still needs to be more deeply understood. What are the norms, values, and power dynamics, for example, that characterize diverse local contexts? An ongoing research project in Southern and Central Africa provides […]
There is a discernible behavioral shift in some of Africa’s ruling parties, particularly those that emerged out of national liberation movements. Two events signpost the unfolding political era. First, the “nine presidential lives” of Jacob Zuma recently came to an end with his resignation on February 14, and second, Hailemariam Desalegn’s sudden resignation in the […]
Considering that former President Robert Mugabe was a long-time ally of the Zimbabwean military, no one expected that he would be overthrown by the military. Mugabe had favored the military as one of the bulwarks against challenges to his regime, so why would they then turn against a man who had for more than four […]
The political impasse in Kenya Kenya needs national healing and reconciliation. This can be attributed to the protracted and hotly contested 2017 elections that re-opened ethnic divisions and tensions. Elections in Kenya since the return to multipartyism in 1991 have deepened divisions in the country, often resulting in ethnic clashes. The August 8, 2017 presidential […]
African women have much to celebrate. We have historic and recent examples of women’s leadership at the highest levels of the state and international organizations. Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria is the current deputy secretary-general of the United Nations (UN). She succeeded Asha-Rose Migiro of Tanzania in that role. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka of South Africa is the current executive director of UN […]
“The Nile constitutes a common destiny; we either sink or swim together, and we chose to swim together.” Ethiopia’s Former Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, Speech at Egypt’s Economic Conference, March 13, 2015. “I invite you to write a new chapter in the history of Egyptian-Ethiopian relationships… We have the opportunity today to set a new […]
The recent escalation in violence in the farmer-herder conflict poses a serious threat to peace and security across Nigeria. These incidents have claimed an estimated annual average of two thousand lives between 2011 and 2016, led to massive destruction of property, and tens of thousands of displaced persons. The attacks are reportedly carried out by militant pastoralists […]
Sierra Leone’s fourth post-war presidential, parliamentary, and local elections, scheduled for March 7, 2018, will be the litmus test to assess whether democratic principles are entrenched in the country’s post-conflict electoral politics. This is because the upcoming elections are the first to be organized solely by the government since the end of the civil strife in January […]
