Category: Uncategorized

  • Trump’s Short-Sighted Reengagement With the Sahel’s Juntas

    President Donald Trump has become “coup curious” when it comes to the military-led governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Since Trump’s return to the White House in January, the National Security Council and State Department have resumed high-level diplomatic engagements that had been suspended under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, while encouraging U.S. energy and mining Read.

  • Gen Z Uprisings Underscore a Crisis of Legitimacy in African Democracies

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    From Antananarivo to Rabat, young demonstrators have taken to the streets carrying a message that the social contract has been broken and their patience has run out. Over the past 18 months, youth-led protests have rattled Morocco’s constitutional monarchy, forced Kenyan President William Ruto to withdraw a controversial tax hike, and toppled the government of Andry Rajoelina in Madagascar. Like their Asian Read.

  • The Death of Odinga, a Consummate Dealmaker, Upends Kenyan Politics

    In life, Raila Amolo Odinga was both kingmaker and perennial challenger, as well as a practitioner of political dealmaking who repeatedly reshaped Kenya’s democratic landscape through strategic alliances. His death last week at the age of 80 complicates incumbent President William Ruto’s path to a second term in the 2027 elections due to Odinga’s key role in Read.

  • From ‘Defending the Defenders’ to Diplomatic Desertion

    With recent popular protests in Kenya and Togo and election-like events on the docket in Cameroon and Uganda in the coming months, I wrote about how we used to tactically use the USG’s moral and diplomatic support to ‘defend the defenders’ of democracy and human rights in Africa when I was on the Hill. It Read.

  • The Disintegration of the Military Integration Process in South Sudan (2006–2013)

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    Originally published by Stability: International Journal of Security and Development on September 27, 2016) Abstract: This article argues that military integration served a critical purpose in 2006, arguably preventing large-scale conflict within South Sudan and ensuring a level of stability prior to the CPA-mandated referendum on self-determination in 2011. Nonetheless, integration was poorly-conceived and implemented, and received limited Read.

  • Lesley on Africa loves #ThingsILoveAboutSouthSudan

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    I may have had a liberal relationship with the truth when I said I was in Twitter exile. Over the past few days, it appears that the hashtag  #ThingsILoveAboutSouthSudan has been trending, as those who have spent time in South Sudan share their positive experiences of the country and its people. Earlier this week, BBC Read.

  • Don’t read too much into U.S. evacuating AmCits from South Sudan (w/correction note)

    Correction: After I posted this, a colleague corrected my references below to a Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations (NEO) from South Sudan. Apparently, what happened was not technically classified as a NEO, since ALL personnel depart  in a NEO (as opposed to South Sudan where the Embassy still has essential staff), and it usually has more military involvement. Read.

  • The time when Salva Kiir nuked his large tent

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    Today, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir sacked his Vice President Riek Machar and dissolved the government, leaving undersecretaries of various ministries to run said ministries until further notice. Although there had been a few recent indications of internal fissures within the ruling Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the cold war between Salva and Riek Read.

Official White House Photo by Polly Irungu