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Africa

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Middle East dispatch: MBS purge, dam dispute, refugees in jeopardy

Vulnerable cases Early efforts to contain Covid-19 focused on quarantining those travelling by air, leaving the impression of coronavirus as a disease mostly affecting stable and industrialised nations with busy transport networks. Of course, the danger was always more widespread, particularly in

By Lauren Williams

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The tiny African country making a big case against Myanmar

Last month, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague announced a decision ordering that Myanmar’s Rohingya people be protected from further atrocities. Myanmar rejected the ruling on the very same day. Never mind that in September the United Nations–backed International Independent

By Antje Missbach, Franzisca Zanker

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In Africa, the US plays catch-up with China

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced his first trip to Africa, 15–19 February, with stops in Senegal, Ethiopia, and Angola. The choice of these three countries demonstrates that the US remains focused on security and economic investment issues in Africa, and, in the case of Angola, is

By Cornelia Tremann

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Diego Garcia: Unnerving neighbours and raising ghosts

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a non-binding decision in February 2019 supporting Mauritius’s claim to the UK-administered Chagos Archipelago, which includes Diego Garcia. Subsequently the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution in May 2019 endorsing the ICJ

By Ashton Robinson

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Australia’s stance on Diego Garcia dispute is increasingly untenable

The US base on the island of Diego Garcia, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, is among the most important US military facilities in the world, and is the foundation stone of the US presence in the Indian Ocean region. It’s been a vital element in Australia’s strategic position in the region for

By David Brewster

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Diego Garcia: The costs of defending an Indian Ocean outpost

On 22 November, the United Kingdom failed to comply with UN Resolution 73/295 passed in May, which demanded the UK “withdraw its colonial administration from the Chagos Archipelago unconditionally within a period of no more than six months”. Australia was one of only six states to vote against

By Samuel Bashfield

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Russia’s southern strategy

“Valiant breaks London–Cape record by 54 mins”, led the 9 July 1959 edition of the Cape Argus. The arrival of the sleek, white-painted, and still highly classified long-range British nuclear bomber, which represented the cutting edge of Britain’s new Cold War airborne nuclear deterrent, drew

By Allan du Toit

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How Africa is breaking China’s neo-colonial shackles

If there’s any indication of how Africa is moving up on everyone’s agenda, look no further than the first edition of the Russia-Africa Summit, which saw 43 African heads of state converging last week on Sochi. Beyond the fact that the summit reflects the brisk trade Moscow does with the

By Wenyuan Wu

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The withering of Robert Mugabe, as told by Australia’s Prime Ministers

The way incessant talk of China’s rivalry with the United States dominates the present turbulent world, it’s hard to conceive of an earlier time when Australia’s prime ministers devoted hours upon hours to the fate of far-off Zimbabwe. But the death on Friday of African independence hero-

By Daniel Flitton

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Can Japan catch up in the economic scramble for Africa?

Recently, China entered the market as an exporter of used cars overseas. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce revealed the populous African nation of Nigeria as one of the destinations for 300 cars in the first batch of freight. The vehicles included brands such as Land Rover, Toyota, Hyundai,

By Anthony Maliki

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Congo’s Ebola outbreak: sounding a global alarm

As the one year anniversary of the ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province draws near, the World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has sounded the global alarm about this most recent outbreak of the deadly virus. Over 2500 cases and

By Jesse Schnall

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Belt and Road: colonialism with Chinese characteristics

Although China’s top-ranking diplomat Yang Jiechi has repeatedly assured the world that his country’s supreme foreign policy project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), “does not play little geopolitical games”, many governments believe this is exactly what it does. The second BRI

By Anthony Kleven

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Remembering Rwanda: small mercy from the horror of Kibeho

What you don’t expect to see when you arrive at Kibeho are the eucalyptus trees. When Belgium ruled Rwanda, gum trees were planted across the colony to provide firewood. A small country in central Africa, Rwanda is mainly populated by two ethnic groups: the minority Tutsi and the majority Hutu.

By John Connor

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The strategic consequence of the Chagos Islands legal dispute

At the end of last month, the African archipelago nation of Mauritius secured an important legal victory in its territorial and maritime disputes against its former coloniser, the United Kingdom. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) produce an advisory opinion that rejected the UK’s claims

By Bec Strating

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The new US Africa strategy is not about Africa. It’s about China

President Donald Trump’s national security advisor John Bolton outlined the US administration’s new Africa strategy in a speech last week at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, DC. The main tenets of the strategy, including the prioritisation of trade and

By Cornelia Tremann

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America builds on development aid

In the biggest reform of US foreign aid policy in recent history, the US Senate this month passed the Better Utilization of Investment Leading to Development, or the BUILD Act. This legislation, signed into law by President Donald Trump on 5 October, will create the new US International

By Cornelia Tremann

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China’s aid: the image boost

Mounting accusations of Chinese debt traps, trade imbalances, and neocolonialism in Africa made for a heady backdrop to this month’s meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. China’s Xi Jinping made clear he was having none of it. In his keynote speech to African leaders gathered in

By Cornelia Tremann

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China’s arms trade: a rival for global influence?

Against the backdrop of the recent China-Africa Defence and Security Forum, numerous articles have been written questioning the rationale behind the conference and the potential ramifications of a closer Sino-African relationship. The fall in export of Russian made weapons to Africa

By Nan Tian

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A life in fear: violence against adolescent girls

The escalating violence by Boko Haram in Nigeria in 2014 sparked widespread international condemnation, but the fighting triggered a regional crisis in neighbouring countries of northern central Africa that continues to this day. While the roots of the problem are complex – involving inequality

By Eleanor Gordon, Hannah Jay

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Xi Jinping, Senegal, and China’s West Africa drive

Xi Jinping’s choice of Senegal for a state visit on 20–21 July, his first visit to West Africa, en route to the BRICS summit in South Africa, suggests that China seeks to deepen cooperation in a region that has seen comparatively less Chinese engagements than elsewhere in Africa. In using

By Cornelia Tremann

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“Poor old” China meets “poor young” Africa

The success of China’s reform and opening program across 40 years has shifted the nation from backwater to the centre of global growth, lifting 800 million people from poverty in the process. A largely complementary economic relationship has meant Australia has enjoyed a record-breaking prosperity

By Lauren A. Johnston

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Africa

Middle East dispatch: MBS purge, dam dispute, refugees in jeopardy

The tiny African country making a big case against Myanmar

In Africa, the US plays catch-up with China

Diego Garcia: Unnerving neighbours and raising ghosts

Australia’s stance on Diego Garcia dispute is increasingly untenable

Diego Garcia: The costs of defending an Indian Ocean outpost

Russia’s southern strategy

How Africa is breaking China’s neo-colonial shackles

The withering of Robert Mugabe, as told by Australia’s Prime Ministers

Can Japan catch up in the economic scramble for Africa?

Congo’s Ebola outbreak: sounding a global alarm

Belt and Road: colonialism with Chinese characteristics

Remembering Rwanda: small mercy from the horror of Kibeho

The strategic consequence of the Chagos Islands legal dispute

The new US Africa strategy is not about Africa. It’s about China

America builds on development aid

China’s aid: the image boost

China’s arms trade: a rival for global influence?

A life in fear: violence against adolescent girls

Xi Jinping, Senegal, and China’s West Africa drive

“Poor old” China meets “poor young” Africa

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