In The News

China Seeks Solutions to Darfur Crisis

Howard W. French January 30, 2007
President Hu Jintao’s visit to Sudan in early February is viewed by many analysts as the latest effort by the Chinese government to expand its diplomatic influence. Eager to sustain economic growth and play a leading role in international affairs, China presses for a peaceful solution to the Darfur crisis while protecting its oil interests in Sudan. Some welcome the decision as a turning point...

Africans Ponder Globalization Pros and Cons

Stephen Mbogo January 24, 2007
A debate is underway among anti-globalization activists attending the annual World Social Forum, held this year in Nairobi. The activists have traditionally expressed concern about how unrestricted trade and development can disrupt environmental protection, education, health care or culture in developing nations. But global interactions also provide opportunity and innovation, argue Africans who...

African Search for Peace Throws Court into Crisis

Chris McGreal January 11, 2007
The International Criminal Court’s first indictment was against the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) of Uganda, Joseph Kony and four other commanders. The Ugandan government requested that the ICC investigate the matter, expecting that neighboring governments would withdraw support of the LRA. But the Ugandan government has reversed itself, now asking the ICC to drop the indictments if...

A Fleeting Victory in Somalia

Jonathan Stevenson January 9, 2007
Somalia’s government re-took control of the capital from Islamist Courts Council. If the internationally recognized government, with the help from its US and Ethiopian supporters, does not quickly restore stability, “the conflict could become a regional war and a new field of jihad,” warns US Naval War College professor Jonathan Stevenson in an essay for “The New York Times.” The US has since...

Theologians Battle Female Circumcision

Amira El Ahl December 19, 2006
The World Health Organization estimates that up to 140 million women worldwide are circumcised, most living in Africa, with some also in Asia and the Middle East. Some cultures – mostly in Africa, but also in Asia – have embraced female circumcision for thousands of years, expecting it to decrease sexual desire in women. The practice is common in Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia, but not in Iraq,...

China Filling Void Left by West in UN Peacekeeping

Colum Lynch November 27, 2006
Joining the UN in 1971, modern China did not become active in peacekeeping efforts until after the conclusion of the Cold War. But as a rising economic power, China increasingly contributes to more UN peacekeeping efforts, particularly in Africa, a center for Chinese trade deals and foreign investment. The Chinese ambassador to the UN took the lead in criticizing major powers during summer 2006...

Beijing’s African Summit: Why China Is Wooing the Dark Continent

Eric S. Margolis November 17, 2006
China recently gave a grand welcome to 48 leaders from Africa and passed out $10 billion in aid. As a country that gets about one-third of its oil from Africa, China refuses to criticize human-rights violations that are common throughout the continent. In embracing diplomacy and resisting military action, China has built up an ample trade surplus and more than $1 trillion cash reserves. With such...