I’d like to apologize for the paucity of posting. The Foreign Policy Association has been upgrading its blog server and there have been some glitches, but it looks like we’re back up and running. Thanks for your patience.
The Council on Foreign Relations has a feature on how some think South Africa is underachieving in its role as a regional power. I’ve written that South Africa has to walk a tightrope in its role as a regional superpower. And it seems that much of the western consternation exists at least in part because South Africa taking a stronger role allows the west to abdicate a stronger role in the region. but it is nonetheless true that South Africa appears to have lost the plot with regard to its foreign affairs. Where once Mbeki preached a vibrant and engaging vision of Pan Africanism, now he appears content to traffic in platitudes and to operate out of narrow self interest. Of course there is a certain irony to the west complaining about South Africa placing self interest first in the queue, but that does not in and of itself mean that some of the criticisms going pretoria's way are not warranted.
For my American readers, have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
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 […]
