Sudan and China have enjoyed cordial relations for decades, developing a fruitful economic and political partnership dating back to their mutual estrangement from the West in the late 1980s and early 1990s. But Sudan’s 2011 partition has presented China with a new set of challenges. Namely, Beijing will be challenged to advance its interests in the Sudans while upholding its foreign policy principle of non-intervention in other states’ affairs.
Algeria intended to send a message to the United States and France that Algeria can handle domestic terrorism.
The French-led military offensive in its former colony of Mali has pushed back radical Islamists and allied militias from some of the country’s northern cities, freeing the local population from repressive Taliban-style totalitarian rule. However, despite these initial victories, it raises concerns as to what unforeseen consequences may lay down the road.
Discontent with President Isaias Afewerki reached a breaking point last week when rogue soldiers seized the Eritrean Information Ministry.
Somalia is, on paper, a sovereign state. But for the past two decades, beset by endless civil strife, secessionism, and regionalism, it has been anything but. The international community has acted as a de-facto caretaker of Somali affairs in the absence of a credible central government, with troops from African states continuing to provide security assistance. But this has begun to change.
The NPT — a treaty in name only.
Africa will no longer accept being treated like a second-class continent.
Northern Mali stands poised to provide the working definition of a quagmire.
The solution in Mali must be a multi-pronged approach involving more than just military measures. The challenge ahead is complex and treacherous. One longs for the heyday of ancient Timbuktu, when African scholars pored studiously over learned manuscripts in quiet libraries.
“There cannot be a military solution to this crisis in Mali,” said Emira Woods, co-director of Foreign Policy in Focus at IPS. “The crisis has its roots in political and also economic processes.”