archive

Africa’s forever wars

From Africa Spectrum, a special issue on Power-Sharing in Africa. Jeffrey Gettleman on Africa's Forever Wars: Why the continent's conflicts never end. Sahelian vice squad: Niger's coup is wildly popular, but is it a harbinger of democracy and prosperity? Inside a dictator's secret police: Eight years ago, Reed Brody stumbled upon the records of one of Africa's most brutal leaders, Chad's Hissene Habre. Without democratic reforms in Chad, peace is impossible in Darfur. Is Nigeria finally cleaning up its crooked ways? How to cut inflation by 230 million percent: Zimbabwe, the world's most free-fall economy, today is almost normal. A review of The Other Side of Idi Amin Dada by Christopher Colombus Sembuya. The transition to democracy in Guinea-Conakry is both a lesson and a warning to those who would wield rape as an instrument of terror — whether in war or in peace. African ability: Mali makes mileage of being in the middle of the continent. Blood and treasure: Why one of the world's richest countries is also one of its poorest (and more). After decades of international aid and global trade, many African farmers are still only one step ahead of starvation. Congo ignored, not forgotten: When 5 million dead aren’t worth two stories a year. We don’t talk about the genocide in places like the Congo because we can’t face up to who’s really responsible for the rape and slaughter. Cause Celeb: How Africa became the hottest continent for celebrity do-gooders and PR-seekers (and more). Who is to blame for the Rwanda genocide? A review of From Genocide to Continental War by Gerard Prunier. From Afrik, an article on Arabization and a history of Black-African marginalization in Mauritania (and more and more and more on Arabization).