Uganda moving toward ‘dictatorship light’?
Like many African leaders, Yoweri Museveni preached democracy even as he was seizing power through the barrel of a gun, writes FT analyst David Pilling: In his stirring inaugural speech… Read more »
Category: Africa
Liberal world order may rest on five rising democracies
The world appears under siege from dark forces of violence, xenophobia, corruption, and conflict, writes Brookings analyst Ted Piccone. The latest reporting from watchdogs like Freedom House, Transparency International and… Read more »
Militancy, Border Security, and Democracy in the Sahel
The permeability of borders, along with political vacuums and economic marginalization in the hinterlands, has transformed border communities in the Maghreb-Sahel into epicenters of identity-driven politics, militancy, violent conflict, and… Read more »
South Africa heading for crisis, collapse and ‘regime change’?
Amid heckling from the opposition, the South African president used his State of the Nation speech to try and redeem himself following a spending scandal. But calls for him to… Read more »
Angola in crisis: transparency, human rights & civil society
Current events suggest that Angola today faces an economic and political crisis. The global collapse of oil prices, a series of anti-NGO regulations, repressed protests, and the trial of… Read more »
‘Great Surge’ marks end of the Third World
The assertion that democracy is better than autocracy at facilitating the move into prosperity butts up against the theory that authoritarianism is more conducive to rapid economic growth (as… Read more »
Autocrats’ bag of tricks for staying in power
Excluding hereditary monarchies, there are close to 40 countries around the world in which the national leader has been in power for 10 or more years, writes Freedom House analyst… Read more »
Burkina Faso and the Sahel: Turning Points in Elections and Security
Sub-Saharan Africa was long seen as relatively immune to the call of Islamist militancy because of its unorthodox religious practices — rooted in Sufism, a more mystical mode of Islam… Read more »
Rule of Law in Areas of Limited Statehood
The Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus regions are increasingly characterized by Areas of Limited Statehood (ALS): ALS are territories where governments lack the ability or will to implement… Read more »
DRC shutters two private news channels
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have ordered the closure of two privately-owned news channels. The decision was condemned by media rights groups and officials should allow the… Read more »