Slowly but surely, Zimbabwe is showing signs of life. A unity government that married the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF was finally created earlier this year. And though a bitter and crippling power struggle continues, often publicly, there is one profound… Read more

Morgan Tsvangirai of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has been inaugurated as the prime minister of Zimbabwe, but many remain pessimistic about the country's prospects for political stability or economic recovery. If the power-sharing deal brokered by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is going to help average Zimbabweans, the international donor community… Read more

Deadly clashes resumed in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) just one day before the African Union-sponsored Nairobi summit aimed at ending the crisis was convened. The shaky cease-fire declared by the renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda and his National Congress for the Defense… Read more

The ascendancy of Africa in U.S. foreign policy reflects not only the continent's growing importance to U.S. national interests but also President George W. Bush's determination to join compassion with resources. U.S. accomplishments with its African part­ners are undeniably positive and will be a central theme in the Bush Administration's overall legacy. The 2008 presidential election… Read more

South African President Thabo Mbeki has finally been ousted by his political rivals in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), and for many the move comes none too soon. Mbeki leaves a less than stellar legacy: He is perceived broadly as an arrogant pseudo-intellectual who endangered the country's… Read more

The news emanating this past weekend from Zimbabwe--that opposition candidate and first round presidential election winner Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party was forced to pull out of the June 27 presidential run-off--is distressing.[1] Tsvangirai's decision to withdraw from the election is… Read more

The second round of Zimbabwe's presidential elections will be held on June 27 according to Zimbabwe's Electoral Commission. The runoff pits the first round winner, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai, against President Robert Mugabe. Mounting state-sponsored political violence leads even Mugabe's staunchest supporters to question whether… Read more

The U.S. has shown important leadership during Kenya's political crisis, and now it must go further to act as guarantor of the accord signed between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga on February 28. Kenya is an anchor for the region and for U.S. interests. Its… Read more

Zimbabwe's economic meltdown and political repression just keep accelerating. Four million Zimbabweans have now fled the country, and most of the 8 million remaining there face extreme hardship. Since 1994, average life expectancy in the beleaguered nation has plummeted from 57 years to 34 years for… Read more