On South Africa
June 28, 2018 4 min. read

I first visited South Africa in 2008, when Thabo Mbeki was being outmaneuvered by Jacob Zuma, who forced out Mbeki and ascended to the presidency in spite of sexual assault and corruption charges. No one then understood how catastrophic Zuma’s eight years in power would be—but a report the other weekend demonstrates how he undermined critical democratic […]

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On Zuma, Ramaphosa, and the State of South African Politics
March 5, 2018 4 min. read

It has been an eventful few weeks in South African politics, as eventful as any since the period from the CODESA negotiations that ended apartheid through the early, heady days of Nelson Mandela’s epochal presidency. The era of Jacob Zuma has finally come to an end, the era of Cyril Ramaphosa, long awaited in some […]

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Crisis in Zimbabwe: Is Mugabe Finally Out?
November 16, 2017 3 min. read

What is happening in Zimbabwe? It appears that 93-year old “President for Life” Robert Mugabe might finally be out of power. The military has refused to acknowledge a “coup,” but when the military leadership provide the spokesmen for the government, when generals are asserting who will and will not be acceptable as potential heads of […]

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Delivery and South African Politics
December 2, 2013 3 min. read

Recent protests in Cape Town (and an article about those protests in the Mail and Guardian) provide a useful reminder that much of the discontent among South Africans, even those who otherwise would proclaim their fealty to the African National Congress (ANC), comes down to the delivery of services. This phrase is ubiquitous among politically […]

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What shale gas could mean for Southern Africa
October 2, 2013 6 min. read

The shale gas debate rages on across Europe, Asia, and North America, but one ponders how the already resource rich Southern Africa fits into this equation. What is there, what is the potential and what could it mean from an economic and geopolitical standpoint? One country already known to possess great potential that can be […]

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A South African Footnote to “Rush”
September 27, 2013 1 min. read

[Jalopnik/Gawker] So this is kind of cool. Apparently Formula One legend James Hunt, who is the central character in the new Ron Howard movie Rush, was also an ardent and vocal opponent of the Apartheid regime. Of course this seems to go unmentioned in the movie (Yes, I know — expecting substantial political subtext in […]

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People Are Just the Worst (UPDATED)
September 25, 2013 1 min. read

Today’s evidence that people are the absolute worst: Poachers in Zimbabwe have killed more than eighty elephants by putting cyanide in one of their watering holes. UPDATED: Authorities have caught and convicted the perpetrators, who have received fifteen-year prison sentences.

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Hashim Amla, Race, and South African Cricket
September 15, 2013 1 min. read

[Hashim Amla. From Africa is a Country.] A few months ago Niren Tolsi had a fantastic piece in The Con that he later allowed to be republished in Africa is a Country (which added useful links within the piece) about South African cricketer Hashim Amla. Tolsi explores race and identity through the intriguing figure of […]

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Robert Mugabe: Sore Winner
September 12, 2013 1 min. read

[Robert Mugabe in his Default Setting. ©The Guardian] And in the least surprising news ever, Robert Mugabe proves not to be gracious in victory. He has announced his new government, and the opposition MDC, which has been part of an uncomfortable coalition for the last five years, finds itself on the outside looking in. Mugabe completely […]

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“Only thing left for Zim voters is hope” (Self Indulgence Alert)
July 31, 2013 1 min. read

This past weekend South Africa’s Sunday Independent published a lengthy (by op-ed standards) piece of mine on the Zim elections, which are taking place today. It continues one of my prevailing themes in the last few weeks, and indeed represents an attempt to synthesize my last month’s writing on Zim here at the FPA and […]

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Uncle Sam, Uncle Bob and elections in Zimbabwe
July 29, 2013 5 min. read

Zimbabweans will go to the polls on Wednesday to participate in an election that will be closely monitored by hundreds of foreign observers, mostly from around Africa. One country that will be watching despite Western observer missions not being invited is the United States of America. Relations between Washington and Harare are definitely nowhere near the […]

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Zimbabwe Election Countdown
July 21, 2013 3 min. read

In ten days Zimbabweans will go to the polls. This much we know. And it is just about all we know. There are glimmers of hope for the opposition. Some are reading murky tea leaves, coming to the conclusion that Morgan Tsvangirai and his wing of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC, or, as some […]

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