In this week's Heritage in Focus podcast, Morgan Roach discusses the developing situation in Somalia, and other upheavals in Africa. David Weinberger hosts. To get regular updates on Heritage in Focus podcasts, visit our RSS feed or subscribe on iTunes. To listen to more Heritage Foundation… Read more
Abstract: South Africa is one of the world’s largest exporters of precious metals used in a multitude of industrial and commercial applications. Continued access to this vast mineral wealth is vital for the economic security of the West.… Read more
This summer, the Horn of Africa confronted its worst drought in decades. Estimates indicate that more than 12 million people across the region are vulnerable to starvation. Somalia, lacking a credible government and beset by internal instability and conflict, has been particularly hard hit, and the United Nations has formally… Read more
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum, more formally known as U.S.-Sub-Saharan African Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, commemorates its 10-year milestone in Zambia on June 9–10. The forum is at its critical juncture as Africa’s place in the world has been rapidly changing. Despite some setbacks caused by… Read more
Last week White House Press Secretary Jay Carney promised the President would soon make a major address “on the Middle East and U.S. policy in the Middle East...to a broader audience than just the Arab world.” It is long past time for President Barack Obama to lay out a plan… Read more
Abstract: Despite the comprehensive peace agreement on Sudan signed on January 9, 2005, several key issues have not been resolved: important political and economic issues, principally the future of Abyei; five contested border areas that were identified in 2005; citizenship; debt relief; and the… Read more
In late March, as many as 1,000 people were killed in Duékoué, Côte d’Ivoire, it was recently discovered. The victims “were mainly men who had been shot and left where they fell . . . either alone or in small groups dotted around the town, which lies at the heart of Ivory Coast’s economically crucial… Read more
It was recently discovered that as many as 1,000 people in Duekoue, Cote d’Ivoire, were killed between March 27–29.[1] It is unclear who is responsible for the killings. The U.N. claims that forces loyal to former President Laurent Gbagbo—who lost the recent election but has refused to leave… Read more
Peter Brookes discusses American military involvement in Libya. … Read more
Michael Gonzalez habla de la politica exterior de Obama. … Read more
Nigeria is a case study in oil-based wealth being squandered by poor governance and internal strife. Instability in Nigeria merits U.S. attention because it is a major non-Middle Eastern oil producer (accounting for 3 percent of global oil production in 2001) and was America's fifth largest (9.6 percent) source of crude oil… Read more
I would like to thank the Foundation for Democracy in Africa and the government of Mauritius for organizing and hosting this important event. Listening to the panels this week, I have heard many references to "development" and "sustainable development," and how the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and other trade… Read more
On January 9, southern Sudanese voted for their independence from the government in Khartoum. In the days leading up to the referendum, the international community feared delay, bloodshed, or the complete breakdown of the peace process. Few expected the referendum to take place on time and as peacefully as it… Read more
(Archived document, may contain errors) The End of African Socialism? By George B.N. Ayittey In most places in Africa, telephones don't work; they bite back. What are called "roads" are cartways truncated with crevasses large enough to swallow a truck. Vehicles move in a crab-like fashion: pointing sideways but moving perfe c tly straight. These,… Read more
The United States is facing increasing international pressure to play a more prominent role on the world's most troubled continent. The continuing civil wars in Liberia and the Congo, the specter of tyranny and man-made famine in Zimbabwe, the global spread of infectious diseases, and the rising threat of international terrorism in East… Read more
Delivered on February 9, 2007 Amid festering concerns about China's burgeoning global power, Beijing has firmly set its sights on expanding its influence in Africa. In a throwback to the Maoist revolutionary days of the 1960s and 1970s and the Cold War, Beijing has once again identified the African continent as an area of strategic… Read more
When Somali pirates seized the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama, taking the ship's captain hostage, resulting news coverage focused U.S. public attention on piracy and lawlessness in Somalia. Piracy is a growing problem that benefits from the instability in Somalia. In the near term, effectively safeguarding maritime traffic requires a balanced public/private effort with the use of force limited… Read more
The United States and human rights NGOs have sought to raise international awareness of the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan and spur international action to address the situation. This effort is warranted but should not distract from the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe, which has also caused great suffering and a large refugee population. In… Read more
Libya’s increasingly bloody conflict has inspired more calls for U.S. military intervention, with many clamoring for the imposition of a no-fly zone over the North African country. Imposing a no-fly zone could raise the morale of “rebel” forces, back Colonel Muammar Qadhafi into a tighter corner… Read more
The Obama Administration must avoid wishful thinking about an “easy button” policy for liberating Libya from the oppressive and murderous Qadhafi dictatorship. The hope that a quick Western intervention through imposing a no-fly zone would ensure the toppling of the regime, reassert American leadership in the “fight for freedom,” or… Read more
For weeks, the winner of Côte d’Ivoire’s presidential election, Alassane Ouattara, has barricaded himself in a hotel. Meanwhile, Ouattara’s opponent, incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, clings to office despite demands from the African Union and other governments to relinquish power. The United States has emphasized that this crisis… Read more
Ending genocide and massive human rights abuses in Sudan and preventing it from becoming a hotbed of terrorism are key U.S. policy objectives in Africa. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama criticized the Bush Administration's policy for inaction and promised to confront Khartoum. Since entering office, however, his Administration has primarily engaged in… Read more
Yesterday, Heritage’s 2012 Index of Economic Freedom was released, and Africa features prominently. With an average...… Read more
Although Libya has rid itself of the Muammar Qadhafi regime, it faces an uncertain future endangered by radical Islamist...… Read more
Since South Sudan gained independence last January, the world’s newest country has many challenges to face. The...… Read more
A screen grab made on October 21, 2010 in Kano from a video allegedly released by the Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram...… Read more
Libya’s interim government gradually is taking shape. On Monday the Transitional National Council (TNC) announced that...… Read more
[caption id="attachment_83145" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Somalia government soldiers secure the scene of a...… Read more
[caption id="attachment_82431" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Tunis, Tunisia - Announcement of results of...… Read more
Russia is bemoaning the passing of Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi, an old friend and client of the Soviet Union and a...… Read more
That indigenous forces backed by Western military power could overthrow an odious unpopular regime backed by a...… Read more
[caption id="attachment_79137" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Demonstrators rally to protest over the lack of...… Read more
Jay Kingham Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs
Senior Policy Analyst