ISN Insights has published my latest piece, “ANC: Historical Irony on the Horizon?”, in which I wonder whether or not Jacob Zuma might face a fate similar to that Thabo Mbeki confronted in 2007 and 2008.
I’ve been quiet as epochal events have developed in Libya. Suffice it to say that I am cautiously optimistic — Moammar Gaddafi has been bad for Libya, bad for North Africa (ask Chadians about what Libya has meant to them over the year) and especially bad for Pan Africanism, a creed he embraced only after […]
Two days ago a mob of villagers stoned to death a Taliban commander and his body guard in the Nawa District of Helmand Province. The news had gone under-reported for some time even though the New York Times picked it up. Today a few more outlets ran the news. No doubt the Pentagon and the […]
Moody’s downgraded Japan’s credit rating one step to AA3 Wednesday, citing the country’s massive debt, weak growth prospects and constant political uncertainty. The downgrade came as no surprise to analysts, and bond markets remained relatively calm. A rating of AA3 is regarded as a very low risk, but somewhat susceptible to long-term risks. Standard & […]
Addressing his cabinet yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu said that Israel does not want a war in Gaza. One of Netanyahu’s aides said, “There’s a sensitive situation in the Middle East, which is one big boiling pot; there’s the international arena; [and] there’s the Palestinian move in the United Nations in September… On […]
Yes, you heard it right, the AU’s Peace and Security Council reportedly failed on Monday to agree on a common position on Libya. Instead the body has deferred the decision to a Friday meeting of the AU’s heads of states’ leadership meeting. Frankly, I am not surprised and do not expect the 15 heads of […]
All for one, one for all! Such is the musketeer oath logic behind a growing chorus of voices calling for an expansion of the bailout fund, launching a Eurobond, or even an outright transfer of money to debt-stricken nations. Only through debt mutualization will the euro (read the EU) be saved, say the musketeers. The […]
Despite all that the Arctic countries have done to try to make the region safer for transportation, deadly accidents still tragically happen. On Saturday, First Air flight 6560, en route from Yellowknife to Resolute Bay, crashed, killing 12 people on board and injuring three others. Visibility was approximately three miles at the time of the […]
Ever since the failure of their reform agenda and their subsequent marginalization by the coming to power of Ahmadinejad, Iran’s reformists have been in near constant search of a well-articulated stance on their role in the country’s political future. The reform agenda by Iranian reformists was crystallized in the two-term presidency of Mohammad Khatami, a […]
American Vice President Joe Biden, near the end of his Asian tour, met with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan for an hour Tuesday. Biden is the highest ranking U.S. official to visit Japan since the March 11 quake and tsunami. “I am honored and truly humbled to have an opportunity to visit this place, to […]
Author’s Note: Ruchir Sharma, head of emerging markets at Morgan Stanley, recently penned a piece in TIME asserting that Brazil is “the un-China.” That comparison inspired this post. Mexico Today, a public-private enterprise of which I am a paid contributor, provided some data. Mexico’s technocrats have been seething at comparisons with Brazil for years. Who […]
What does the Euro crisis mean for Europe? Will the Euro crisis lead to the end of Europe as we know it? Is Europe on the edge of being reduced to a simple historical moment only existing in history books? These questions were fostered during an excellent conversation on NPR led by Tom Ashbrook with […]
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