Regions

This might be a bit too insiderish, but here goes: At his blog Easily Distracted, Swarthmore College Africanist has a post exploring “What’s Distinctive About Africanist Historiography.” Burke is a thoughtful and serious thinker and his remarks are very much worth considering. I am, however, always wary of “distinctiveness” arguments, which strike me as one […]

With the White House in the midst of meetings with the Middle East’s leaders, some notable changes in posture occurred likely as a result of the discussions. Mere days following the first meeting between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli government dismantled a small settlement consisting of seven huts. The gesture […]

Rakhat Aliev, President Nazarbayev’s son-in-law, has been living in Vienna, Austria since 2007 after a public split with Nazarbayev. Ever since, he has been denigrating the Kazakh leadership. He has finally put it all in a book, published in German and Russian, called The Godfather-in-Law. It is available in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The book […]

The votes from an election with massive turnout are still being counted in Malawi’s too close to call (but apparently getting closer to resolution) national elections. While there are already some disputes over the tallies, there is a distinct likelihood that women could find themselves with greater representation at the highest ranks of Malawi’s politics […]

In the below one question daily briefing by the US State Department, Spokesman Ian Kelly attempts to describe the ongoing process of the so-called civilian surge in Afghanistan. Though the ‘people surge’ is considered an integral part of the Obama administration’s Afghan strategy, many have wondered where exactly they were going to obtain the necessary […]

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke candidly with Al-Jazeera following Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House earlier this week. She restated the Obama Administration’s commitment to a two-state solution and clarified the U.S. stance on settlements, even declaring the need for an immediate end to ‘natural growth.’ Netanyahu repeatedly stated that settlements […]

Alon Pinkas, a former advisor to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, discusses the three peace processes currently relevant to the the  new Israeli administration in an interview with Middle East Progress. He evaluates the Israel-Palestine track, the Israel-Syria track, and proposals to secure peace between Israel and all the Arab countries. He concludes that an all-encompassing […]

Hopes about China recovery premature? The World Bank sees hopes about an economic recovery in China as “premature”, according to David Dollar, country director for China. The main reason for the World Bank’s doubts about China’s recovery is low private investment. While stimulus measures have helped boosting fixed-asset investment and stabilizing the Chinese economy, private […]

Less than three weeks before the Lebanese parliamentary elections, Israel is stirring up trouble from the south. Israel has announced that it will be conducting large scale military training maneuvers the week before the  Lebanese elections. Also, a network of Israeli spies has been slowly uncovered in Lebanon over the past few weeks. To date, […]

It is awful to hear that some political parties, especially those who don’t have any representation in the parliament have come out, once again, in opposition to the plan to wipe out terrorists, otherwise known as the Taliban in Swat and other areas of Pakistan. These parties who are now convening press conferences to voice […]

I recently returned from a few days in Oxford, and as a consequence some stories have piled up that I otherwise might have given greater attention to but that at least warrant links: The Nigerian government is pretty serious about cracking down on the militants in the Niger Delta. Expect a response. This is not […]

Well, Helen Zille, you wanted power. You wanted to challenge the ANC, to show that there is a better way, and that the Democratic Alliance could pave that way forward in South African politics. By gaining control of the Western Cape (and strengthening your slot as the official opposition to the ANC) you got what […]