Since November 2016, the African nation of Cameroon has been embroiled in civil unrest marked by demonstrations and boycotts against the Francophone-dominated government of President Paul Biya. Recent news reports point to many civilian deaths through police action, while others, including journalists, lawyers, and civil society leaders, have been arrested and placed on trial. The Cameroon administration…
Beyond academic and diplomatic circles, many have not heard of the International Crisis Group or Crisis Group. The Brussels-based non-governmental organization, tracks and warns of the potential of conflict in nations around the world. The group is highly respected and often quoted in news reports due to their thorough research. Just before the Arab Spring…
Earlier during the U.S. primary elections, a prelude to the general election process, I said that with Donald Trump, the U.S. may be experiencing the bitter taste of its own democracy medicine. As you may know, with that democracy comes freedom of expression, freedom of choice, and assembly, all ingredients that make for a free…
As Colorado’s African community grows, the needs of the community have increased as well. It may be time for an African Radio in Colorado, focused on the needs of the community. We’ve seen how American local governments, city councils, and municipalities around the area address these challenges of growth, from boosting road infrastructure expenditures to…
The idea of being one another’s keeper, which many Democrats talked about during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Philadelphia, PA leads me to Cory Booker. The senator from New Jersey received lots of praise after he spoke so eloquently during the event. He is often considered a star in the Democratic Party. He was a…
The Republican (GOP) and Democratic national political conventions were interesting. Of equal interest was the near absence of anything African in them. More broadly—while the conventions illuminated the vast differences between Democrats and Republicans in America, at least with an unusual nominee on the GOP side, they spelled out where both parties would like to take…
For the seven years or so that he’s been in office, U.S. President, Barack Obama has focused on the African continent. This is something that is not talked about much, despite such accomplishments as holding the first US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in 2014. Before him, President George W. Bush was praised for his Africa policy. Since the…
The very brutal politics to elect the next U.S. president has left millions of people in the U.S. and around the world spelled bound. It’s been especially rough on the battlefield where the Republicans (GOP), and Democrats to a lesser extent, are waging a new kind of politics. Also, it’s been said that this is…
As the 2016 United States presidential primary elections continue, there are a lot of things on everyone’s mind: issues such as health care, terrorism, immigration reform, and taxes; as well as questions about how to support a particular candidate. This election season has been particularly chaotic, sometimes stressful, and full of opinion, information, misinformation, and…
This past week Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe celebrated his 92nd birthday. In the midst of a severe drought and mass starvation, Mugabe spent a little over $800,000 with students singing, and with multiple politicians attending the event. Writing for Quartz Africa, Tanashe Mushakavanhu states that “To outside observers, it can be hard to reconcile how Mugabe…