A sultanistic system does not respond to appeals to shared values or long-standing agreements. It responds to leverage, personal relationships with the ruler and transactional incentives.
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Illegal mining has ravaged Ghana’s water bodies and forests.
Why do so many Americans share the concern that success and integrity are in conflict, as if one comes at the expense of the other?
Newly elected Philippines president Bongbong Marcos faces huge challenges, and a backdrop of his father’s dictatorship.
The resistance during this election cycle is even more passionate than in recent years.
Author shows how politicians intent on settling problems by physically eliminating opponents tap into a ready source of assassins from within the taxi industry.
For democracy to work in Kenya the country needs good leadership. Politicians must uphold the constitution to infuse trust and confidence in state institutions.
Moeketsi Majoro’s installation as Prime Minister is welcome. But it does not guarantee much needed political stability in an era of complex coalition politics.
The election of Port Elizabeth’s first black mayor in 1995 signalled that the democratic change that had started in 1994 was irreversible. But problems lay ahead.
As the rich get richer in India, many voters seem willing to overlook their everyday struggles, hoping that the trickle-down effect of a “business friendly” government will help the overall economy.
The single greatest failure of current punditry is the refusal to recognise that context matters. A one-size-fits-all approach to solving Zimbabwe’s complex set of problems simply won’t help.
Democracy resulted in a sea change in the governing ANC. In the past, only highly committed idealists joined the party. Today’s splits and factions are about patronage and clientelism.
Malawi appears to have learnt nothing from the biggest state corruption scandal that rocked the country two years ago, leading to donors withdrawing their support. The same conditions still remain.
South Africa’s inequality levels are stark. The rich are super rich, the poor very poor. There’s a gaping hole in the middle and this is the greatest threat to stability.
How realistic are expectations about Africa’s economic prospects? There are several reasons why we should be both optimistic and cautious about the continent’s future economic performance.
Top contributors
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Senior Lecturer in Media, Communication and Cultural Studies, University of Malawi
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Political Scientist, University of the Western Cape
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Professor of Economics & Business, Allegheny College
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Professor of the Practice of International Development, Johns Hopkins University
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Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria., University of Pretoria
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Senior Research Fellow New South Institute, Emeritus Professor at The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town
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International Relations Scholar, University of the Witwatersrand
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Economist, SRM University
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Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Johannesburg
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Consultant / Researcher, Burgundy School of Business
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Professor of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand
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Associate Researcher, Arnold Bergstraesser Institute
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Lecturer, Culture and Media department, Birkbeck, University of London
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Associate Professor of American Literature, University of North Georgia
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Associate Professor in International Relations & Academic Director of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, University of Portsmouth