Month: March 2012

• Three Takeaways from Last Week’s Coup in Mali

  March 27, 2012

  Libya, Mali, MNLA, Tuareg

  Last week in Mali, mid-level military officers led by Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo declared themselves the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State (CNRDR) and deposed democratically-elected president Amadou Toumani Touré in a bloodless coup. Known as the “soldier of democracy” Touré had himself launched a coup in 1991 against the military regime… Read.

• Lasting Solutions Elusive for South Sudan’s Militia Problem

  March 17, 2012

  South Sudan

  (Originally published in World Politics Review on March 12, 2012) Since the spring of 2010, South Sudan has been facing an onslaught of militia activity in Unity, Upper Nile and Jonglei states. For the most part, the government has pursued an “amnesty and integration” policy toward these militias, whereby members are offered amnesty for their… Read.

• From Diplomacy to Invasion: Will Kenya be the Next Country That Fails to Stabilize Somalia?

  March 14, 2012

  Kenya, Somalia

  (Originally published in the Journal of International Peace Operations, Volume 7, Number 5 – March-April 2012) SINCE the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991, Kenya has opted to pursue a multilateral and primarily diplomatic approach to addressing the many problems in Somalia. Yet by the fall of 2011, the persistent instability emanating from Somalia… Read.