Election fever grips West African nation of Senegal in presidential polls Incumbent president Abdoulaye Wade fails to emerge victorious in the first round against 13 other challengers Run-off vote expected before 1 April between Wade and former protégé, Macky Sall

Read the rest of Senegal Presidential Polls Thus Far: No Condition is Permanent – By Kissy Agyeman-Togobo, Songhai Advisory »

At first glance today, things in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern North Kivu province seem far calmer than in years past. As recently as 2008, a rebel group, the Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP) under the

Read the rest of DR Congo: North Kivu’s False Peace – By Michael Deibert »

Pastoralism is the dominant economic activity of South Sudan’s conflict-prone Jonglei State. It is so critical to livelihoods that it has shaped cultural practices throughout much of South Sudan. Though violence is not new to these areas, a striking feature

Read the rest of Jonglei State Intercommunal violence: from restitution to revenge – By Adam Hyde »

The recent Tuareg uprising in Mali under the banner of the MNLA has raised concerns over stability and safety in the region, with much attention focussed on the Libya and AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) ‘connections’. The framing

Read the rest of The Tuareg: between armed uprising and drought – Baz Lecocq and Nadia Belalimat »

Contrary to popular myths, Africa’s migration is overwhelmingly regional – much more of a cross-border affair than a cross-Atlantic one. In truth, though, we need to unravel “the diaspora” – the term implies a homogeneity of actors, motivations and life-stages,

Read the rest of What’s Diaspora got to do with it? Three home truths – By Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie »

At first I withheld judgment on the British government’s decision to hold a major international conference on Somalia. It was so good to hear the government at last taking an interest in this battered country, so I thought it would

Read the rest of Somalia and the London Conference: the wrong route to peace – By Richard Dowden »

On 26th February Senegal will experience one of the most controversial and hotly contested presidential elections of its relatively long democratic history. Since the first presidential elections in 1978 only the 1988 contest was marred by such tension and violence.

Read the rest of Whither Senegalese democracy? – By Carlos Oya »

On the occasion of  his eighty-eighth birthday, President Mugabe gave what appears to be two separate interviews where he talked on matters to do with his political and personal reflections. The first interview which appeared in the Sunday Mail seemed

Read the rest of President Mugabe’s ‘ambiguous revolution by political default’ — by Takura Zhangazha »

Senegal has long been regarded by many observers as a democratic example in Africa. Despite the country being led by one political party – the Socialist Party – since independence, transfers of power have generally taken place in a relatively

Read the rest of Elections in Senegal: a critical historical juncture – By Alpha Diedhiou »

The current situation in Libya can be best characterized as a struggle pitting the ‘centre’ that controls national institutions, the flow of oil, and billions in unfrozen assets against a marginalized ‘periphery’ that can challenge the centre’s legitimacy via its

Read the rest of Libya: NTC must exercise authority and tackle militias – By Jason Pack »