The European Union has extended most of the sanctions against Zimbabwe for another year, citing the lack of progress on negotiating for a new government. It is hard to argue the lack of progress part, but I am just not sure that continuing sanctions is part of the solution rather than part of the problem. The sanctions are clearly aimed at Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF. But the problem is that Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC, with whom Mugabe and ZANU-PF are supposed to be negotiating, nonetheless oppose continuing the sanctions, and it would seem that Tsvangirai’s wishes should have some heft in this discussion. No one knows more than the (de facto) opposition how ruthless Mugabe and his people are, yet they want the EU to loosen the slack on their country. Furthermore, it is difficult to imagine that some of these sanctions will have any negative impact on Mugabe and his cronies and thus any privation will flood down to the masses.
UPDATE: SW Radio Africa’s “Hot Seat Programme” conducted interviews with Zimbabweans asking their opinions on the (partial) continuation of sanctions.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
