Category: South Africa

• Lesley on Africa practices small talk

  April 17, 2016

  Health, South Africa, South Sudan, Travel

  On my About Me page, I alluded to the possibility of writing about my experience traveling in Africa – to add an entertaining counterweight to my more analytical rants and musings on the events unfolding on the continent. The following is a story about my attempt to bridge the gap between my previous work on conflict and Read.

• The time I got acronymed into submission

  February 22, 2016

  Health, Security Cooperation, South Africa

  Apologies for my unscheduled blogging hiatus. In addition to dissertating, I’ve been learning more about U.S.-Africa relations outside of security assistance and trying to find linkages to what I know best. Like the time I suggested that assistance to health systems should also be harmonized to address infectious disease among trans-border populations based on my Read.

• Catching up on CAR, trying to avoid clichés

  January 27, 2014

  Central African Republic, Chad, France, Libya, South Africa

  If you’ve been following the news on the Central African Republic (CAR) over the past 13 months, you have probably seen many references to the country’s abundant mineral wealth, chronic instability, crushing poverty, sectarian (Christian vs. Muslim) strife, and allegations of genocide. Some of the recent analysis and media reporting goes beyond these clichés, so I thought I’d Read.

• Comments on President Obama’s Africa trip & US-Africa relations published in Think Africa Press

  June 26, 2013

  Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, U.S. Africa Strategy

  Today, President Obama kicks off his second visit to Africa as since becoming president, and will be visiting Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania over the course of the next week. Accordingly, Thomas Tieku, Mwangi Kimenyi, Cobus van Staden, Witney Schneidman, and I are featured in Think Africa Press’ Experts Weekly: What Next for US-Africa Relations? Read.

• South Africa inspires a “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” in the CAR

  March 27, 2013

  Central African Republic, South Africa

  South Africa has found itself in a situation where it looks more like an Executive Outcomes B-team than a regional power seeking to contribute to peace and stability on the continent. Over the weekend, approximately 200 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) troops were involved in a nine-hour battle with Séléka rebels in the Central Read.