May 9, 2008
World Politics Review
Abstract:
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a curious export phenomenon occurred in the countries of Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi. In spite of the fact that none of these countries had major domestic mining operations, their exports of copper, gold, diamonds and coltan jumped drastically. Not coincidentally, these were the exact same minerals found in abundance in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and the jump in mineral exports coincided perfectly with the invasion of DRC by these three countries. While each country justified its invasion based on security concerns, the United Nations found that the battlefields were most commonly centered around areas that held large stocks of valuable minerals....
May 9, 2008
Middle East Institute
Abstract:
The ongoing negotiations between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front regarding the future status of the disputed Western Sahara territory have yet to demonstrate that a seemingly elusive settlement could be a realistic, if distant prospect. With Morocco on the one hand supporting autonomy for the territory within its international border, and Polisario on the other hand advocating the resumption of the stalled UN process leading to a self-determination referendum, the search for a common ground looks to be a near impossible task. Though autonomy in the abstract world (sometimes intersecting with Washington’s short attention span) seems a perfect fit for an international dispute pitting pro-independence and pro-annexation camps, in the volatile North African context, which sets the dispute in complex parameters, reconciling these two opposites seems a stretch. Yet, the debate about the virtues of each position is worth an exercise in clarifying what’s behind and what’s beyond such
eloquent re-statements of interests and objectives....
May 9, 2008
Middle East Institute
Abstract:
Since the early 1990s Morocco has embarked on a political process of "democratization,” which involves the integration of hitherto opposition parties
and figures in the government and parliamentary system. The process had been initiated by former King Hassan II and continued by his son and successor, Muhammad VI. Having lived in Morocco during the critical period of transition from one monarch to another, the author provides historical background to and an examination of the current unfolding of the process of democratization in Morocco, dotted with anecdotal episodes that illuminate certain aspects of his analysis. While Morocco’s path towards greater political transparency and inclusion has resembled those taken by other countries in the Arabic-speaking world (such as Jordan and some of the Persian Gulf emirates), it is also impacted by the Kingdom’s unique history. Of specific importance in this regard are the three and a half centuries of the ‘Alawi Dynasty’s
rule, as well as the multi-party parliamentary system instituted after independence in 1956. Like many other predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East and beyond, one of the greatest challenges which Morocco faces today concerns the integration of Islamist-oriented forces within the legitimate political process. Having recently emerged from a troubled past of repression and human rights violations, Moroccans continue to look mainly to their monarch to ensure stability and a smooth transition to greater democracy....
May 9, 2008
United States Agency for International Development // Complex Emergency Response Transition Initiative
Abstract:
This case study uses the analytical lens of human security to conduct a retrospective analysis of the conflict and humanitarian crisis of the last ten years (1991-2001) in Angola. This study develops a set of indicators to measure rising instability that might be effective for predicting conflict or crises in other settings. The close analysis of the situation in Angola also illustrates how an ex ante human security assessment might have improved the international community’s interpretation and possible response to the shifting conditions on the ground over the last decade
of civil war....
May 9, 2008
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
Pirates hijacked a record number of ships off the Somali coast this year, fighting in Mogadishu has driven hundreds of thousands from the city, and the aid workers that supply critical food and medical supplies to displaced Somalis are now targeted by Islamic insurgents (TIME). Yet perhaps the most telling indicator of Somalia’s deepening crisis is this: Not only has the country’s weak transitional government failed to protect civilians, according to a new report from Amnesty International, it routinely targets them. Somalia’s transitional federal government has tried to legitimize its hold over the country since December 2006, when Ethiopian troops invaded to oust the Islamic Courts Union, a fundamentalist militia. Some eighteen months later, the Ethiopian troops remain, the Islamist insurgency has intensified, and moderate elements of the Islamists that split from the courts are refusing to negotiate with the transitional government. As this Backgrounder describes, the transitional government is an amalgam of warlords vying for power. The United States has backed it in the hopes of eliminating the country’s Islamic extremists, but many experts say that strategy has led to further radicalization....
Africa 
