Southern Africa Archive

After a decade of Jacob Zuma’s leadership of the African National Congress, or ANC, and more than eight years of him as South Africa’s president, it was hardly surprising that Cyril Ramaphosa’s election to the ANC presidency on Dec. 18 was almost universally welcomed beyond the ranks of the ruling party itself. Zuma’s time in power has been characterized by corruption and dysfunctional governance. However, despite the surge of enthusiasm for Ramaphosa at home and abroad, reflected in an immediate rallying of the rand on global financial markets, the paradox of his election is that it was far from universally […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Four years after South Sudan’s civil war began, leaders signed yet another cease-fire this week, and diplomats expressed cautious optimism that the agreement represented real progress in ending fighting that has killed tens of thousands of people and triggered the largest African refugee crisis since the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The cease-fire is due to come into effect Sunday. It was negotiated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, a regional East African bloc, during talks in Ethiopia […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. After months of tension and fears of widespread violence, Kenya’s political leadership this week took steps that seemed designed to end the year on a more conciliatory note. In late November, President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term, following a rerun presidential vote that was boycotted by his main opposition rival, Raila Odinga. In the days that followed, Odinga’s political coalition broadcast plans to hold an alternative ceremony inaugurating Odinga as the “people’s president.” On Sunday, […]

In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, senior editor, Frederick Deknatel, and associate editor, Omar H. Rahman, discuss North Korea’s latest missile test and why it is so difficult to de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula. For the Report, David Ucko talks with Peter Dörrie about the troubling signs of Islamist radicalization in the multiethnic and multicultural island nation of Mauritius, and what this “rainbow nation” can do to address it. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines, as well as what you’ve seen on WPR, please think about supporting our work by subscribing. We’re […]