As the AU is marking the 50th anniversary of the OAU under the theme ‘Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance’, it is necessary to subject the 50 years journey of the OAU/AU with respect to the question of unity to critical scrutiny.

Read the rest of African unity after 50 years of OAU/AU: A dream deferred? – By Solomon Ayele Dersso »

  The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that have driven the global development agenda, since September 2000, when Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the United Nations, and 191 member states surprised the world by unanimously agreeing and making, the Millennium Declaration. The

Read the rest of The curious case of Africa’s Progress and the missing Millennium Development Goals – By Susana Edjang »

Last week, Somalia’s donors and international partners came together in London to lay down the foundations of post-transitional government in the country.  The London gathering, which brought together over 50 heads of state and hundreds of international organizations, marked a

Read the rest of Can Britain fix Somalia? – By Abdihakim Aynte »

John Young, The Fate of Sudan: The Origins and Consequences of a Flawed Peace Process, London, Zed Books, 2012. One of the truisms about Sudan is that the more you know about the country, the harder it is to write

Read the rest of REVIEW: The Fate of Sudan: The Origins and Consequences of a Flawed Peace Process – By Alex de Waal »

Everyone is so relieved that the Kenyan election this year did not result in a repeat of ethnic violence after the 2007 election, that we seem to have forgotten that both President Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice President William Ruto have

Read the rest of Kenyatta, Ruto and the ICC: major diplomatic earthquake in the offing – By Richard Dowden »

Today, over 40 delegates from many nations and organisations are meeting in London to discuss the future of Somalia’s post transition government. The Somali-led conference, hosted by Britain, will address the reconstruction of the governance system – namely security, Justice and Public

Read the rest of Somalia seeks lasting support from London conference – By Farah Abdulsamed »

As the world gathers in London today to discuss how to secure a stable and prosperous Somalia, it is important to recognize the changing dynamics and critical issues at play in the Horn of Africa. There have been encouraging signs

Read the rest of Djibouti, Democracy and the Horn of Africa – By H.E. Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Djibouti »

“Elections matter in Somaliland. They are not mere formalities, conferring a thin veneer of legitimacy on a permanent incumbent; nor are they conducted solely as a sop to foreign donors insisting on greater democracy; nor is the prime motivation to

Read the rest of After Borama: consensus, representation and parliament in Somaliland – new report from Africa Research Institute »

Harakat Al Shabaab is an organisation that has, for many years, been misunderstood. This is perhaps most clearly illustrated by the frequent predictions concerning its fragmentation and imagined demise. These predictions first occurred in 2008 and have been repeated ever

Read the rest of Somalia: rumours of Al-Shabaab’s death are greatly exaggerated – By Stig Hansen »

Stig Jarle Hansen has written what is undoubtedly the best book on Al-Shabaab – a militant islamist group based in Somalia – currently available. It has received high praise from international Africa commentators as Gerard Prunier, J.Peter Pham and Christopher

Read the rest of REVIEW: Al-Shabaab in Somalia: the history and ideology of a militant islamist group, 2005 – 2012 – By Magnus Taylor »