President Malam Bacai Sanha of Guinea-Bissau died today in Paris after a lengthy hospitalization and illness. He has only been in power for two years and was the first elected president following the 2009 assassination of former President Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira. National Assembly leader, Raimundo Pereira, is expected to rule until elections can be held as required by the constitution within 90 days. Pereira had previously assumed control of the government following the assassination of Vieira.
The recent attempted coup (Dec 2011) that resulted in the arrest of Rear-Admiral José Americo Bubo Na Tchuto threatens a peaceful change of power in Guinea-Bissau. Bubo Na Tchuto was identified by the US Government as a drug king-pin who had used navy boats to transport drugs. Bubo Na Tchuto was recently reappointed the chief of Navy after fleeing following his participating in a 2008 coup attempt. Guinea-Bissau is a major drug transit point between South America and Europe and the government and military of Guinea-Bissau have been accused of assisting drug trafficking. In 2010, the US accused both Bubo Na Tchuto and Air Force Chief of Staff Ibraima Pap Camara of assisting drug trafficking. Colombian drug lords were also accused of orchestrating the assassination of the former president in 2009 and Army Chief.
National radio: Guinea-Bissau president dies
Navy chief held in Guinea-Bissau after alleged coup attempt
US concern over G Bissau's 'drugs kingpin' appointment
U.S. Government Names African Military Official A Drug 'Kingpin'
Monday, January 9, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
African Conferences
I got an invitation to attend the International Conference on Democracy, Governance and Curbing Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa at Cheyney University 8-10 August 2012. Sounds like an interesting topic and its tempting to write a paper for it, but what other conferences on Africa are out there that I should consider? I want to attend this one, but what are my other options?
Thursday, January 5, 2012
2012 African Elections
Here are the key elections I will be following in 2012 in Sub-Saharan Africa:
a. Senegal- 26 Feb 2012. President Abdoulaye Wade is running for a third term claiming that the constitutional limitation of two terms does not apply to him since his first term was already underway when the restriction went into effect. The Senegalese opposition has not coalesced behind a single candidate and more significant candidates announce their candidacy each week. A recent shoot-out at a nightclub resulted in the arrest and incarceration of an opposition leader who claimed he was acting in self-defense when attacked by PDS. If the opposition can’t solidify behind a single candidate or create a coalition like Wade did when he came to power in 2000, then Wade will win a third term. Many Senegalese have threatened riots if Wade wins.
b. Angola- Sometime 2012. MPLA has controlled Angola since independence and President dos Santos took power upon the death of the first president Augustino Neto in 1979. Last elections were held in Sept 2008 and are scheduled again in September 2012. Voter registration is currently underway and scheduled to conclude 15 April 2012.
c. Kenya- 14 Aug 2012. The 2010 constitution abolished the position of prime minister and established a bicameral legislature. The new constitution also requires a second round of voting if no candidate achieved more than 50% of the vote which may be necessary as current President Mwai Kibaki is ending the second of his two allowed presidential terms. Kibaki was first elected in 2002 and relected to his second five-year term in 2007.
d. Mali- 29 Apr 2012. President Amadou Toumani Touré was first elected in 2002 and reelected to his second and constitutionally final five-year term in 2007. In 2007 Touré won 71.2% of the vote running as an independent, but still widely supported by the Alliance for Democracy in Mali (ADEMA). Touré was able to run as an independent based on his popularity from his 1991 coup where he led a group that deposed a military government and surrendered power to civilian authorities the following year. An ADEMA candidate is likely to succeed Touré as they are the most popular party in the country and control 51 seats and the majority of parliament.
e. Ghana- 7 Dec 2012. President John Evans Atta Mills narrowly defeated Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in a runoff election in Jan 2009 and will run for a second and final term in Dec 2012. Popular candidates include the daughter of Nkrumah, Samia Nkrumah and former first lady Nana Konadu Agymang Rawlings. Elections in Ghana have been generally free and fair and hopefully will be in 2012 as well.
f. Sierra Leone- August 2012. President Ernest Bai Koroma (APC) was elected to his first five-year term in September 2007 and will run for his second and final term in 2012. Julius Maada Bio is the candidate for the largest opposition party (SLPP). The 2007 elections were generally considered free and fair although there were some irregularities.
g. Zimbabwe- 2012? President Robert Mugabe isn’t happy with his powersharing agreement with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in place since the 2008 presidential elections. Tsvangirai won the majority in the first round of elections but withdrew before the runoff vote due to violence against his supporters. The next round of elections should be held in 2013 but Mugabe has been trying to move up elections to end the tense powersharing relationship.
a. Senegal- 26 Feb 2012. President Abdoulaye Wade is running for a third term claiming that the constitutional limitation of two terms does not apply to him since his first term was already underway when the restriction went into effect. The Senegalese opposition has not coalesced behind a single candidate and more significant candidates announce their candidacy each week. A recent shoot-out at a nightclub resulted in the arrest and incarceration of an opposition leader who claimed he was acting in self-defense when attacked by PDS. If the opposition can’t solidify behind a single candidate or create a coalition like Wade did when he came to power in 2000, then Wade will win a third term. Many Senegalese have threatened riots if Wade wins.
b. Angola- Sometime 2012. MPLA has controlled Angola since independence and President dos Santos took power upon the death of the first president Augustino Neto in 1979. Last elections were held in Sept 2008 and are scheduled again in September 2012. Voter registration is currently underway and scheduled to conclude 15 April 2012.
c. Kenya- 14 Aug 2012. The 2010 constitution abolished the position of prime minister and established a bicameral legislature. The new constitution also requires a second round of voting if no candidate achieved more than 50% of the vote which may be necessary as current President Mwai Kibaki is ending the second of his two allowed presidential terms. Kibaki was first elected in 2002 and relected to his second five-year term in 2007.
d. Mali- 29 Apr 2012. President Amadou Toumani Touré was first elected in 2002 and reelected to his second and constitutionally final five-year term in 2007. In 2007 Touré won 71.2% of the vote running as an independent, but still widely supported by the Alliance for Democracy in Mali (ADEMA). Touré was able to run as an independent based on his popularity from his 1991 coup where he led a group that deposed a military government and surrendered power to civilian authorities the following year. An ADEMA candidate is likely to succeed Touré as they are the most popular party in the country and control 51 seats and the majority of parliament.
e. Ghana- 7 Dec 2012. President John Evans Atta Mills narrowly defeated Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in a runoff election in Jan 2009 and will run for a second and final term in Dec 2012. Popular candidates include the daughter of Nkrumah, Samia Nkrumah and former first lady Nana Konadu Agymang Rawlings. Elections in Ghana have been generally free and fair and hopefully will be in 2012 as well.
f. Sierra Leone- August 2012. President Ernest Bai Koroma (APC) was elected to his first five-year term in September 2007 and will run for his second and final term in 2012. Julius Maada Bio is the candidate for the largest opposition party (SLPP). The 2007 elections were generally considered free and fair although there were some irregularities.
g. Zimbabwe- 2012? President Robert Mugabe isn’t happy with his powersharing agreement with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in place since the 2008 presidential elections. Tsvangirai won the majority in the first round of elections but withdrew before the runoff vote due to violence against his supporters. The next round of elections should be held in 2013 but Mugabe has been trying to move up elections to end the tense powersharing relationship.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Spring Textbooks
Its time to order books for Spring Semester at BU. Requred texts for the next semester are:
-Classical & Modern Thoughts on International Relations by Robert Jackson
-Just & Unjust Wars by Michael Walzer
-Ethics and International Affairs by Joel Rozenthal
-The International Monetary Fund by James Vreeland
-Globalizing Capital by Barry Eichengreen
-How Markets Fail by John Cassidy
-States & Powers in Africa by Jeffery Herbst
-The Fate of Africa by Martin Meredith
Last semester I used the Herbst and Meredith texts so I can save a couple bucks on books. Another professor said no texts would be required as he would use materials from journals and current events in the news during the course. Buying through Amazon and getting some Kindle editions I can get the books for about $150.
-Classical & Modern Thoughts on International Relations by Robert Jackson
-Just & Unjust Wars by Michael Walzer
-Ethics and International Affairs by Joel Rozenthal
-The International Monetary Fund by James Vreeland
-Globalizing Capital by Barry Eichengreen
-How Markets Fail by John Cassidy
-States & Powers in Africa by Jeffery Herbst
-The Fate of Africa by Martin Meredith
Last semester I used the Herbst and Meredith texts so I can save a couple bucks on books. Another professor said no texts would be required as he would use materials from journals and current events in the news during the course. Buying through Amazon and getting some Kindle editions I can get the books for about $150.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Passed first semester at BU!
After hearing a lot about grade deflation at BU I was worried about passing my classes this past semester. Turns out I did pretty well with a 3.75 GPA and my lowest grade was a B+. Now I am looking forward to Spring semester and starting to write my thesis. Potential thesis subjects are writing on Liberia or Uganda. I was able to visit Liberia in the fall of 2010 and interviewed people at the UN, US Embassy, and at some private organizations. But I have also been invited to travel to Uganda this coming summer and have the opportunity to interview people and conduct research there as well...
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Classes next semester
Next semester I am registered for the following classes:
-Ethics and International Relations
-International Development and Finance
-Problems and Issues in Contemporary Africa
-Conflicts and State Building in Africa
-Tennis & Golf
While living in Africa I often wondered why people did what they did or if there we different ethical standards, so the ethics class should be interesting. IMF and World Bank have featured prominently in classes on African history and I figured I should learn more. One of the main reasons I chose BU for grad school is the variety of Africa focused classes offered and I am looking forward to classes this spring discussing Truth & Reconciliation Commissions and conflict resolution in post-conflict societies. Tennis should be fun- every embassy I visited in Africa had a tennis court so I am looking forward to learning how to play. I played a couple rounds of golf in Kenya & Cameroon and could always work on my swing- why not?
-Ethics and International Relations
-International Development and Finance
-Problems and Issues in Contemporary Africa
-Conflicts and State Building in Africa
-Tennis & Golf
While living in Africa I often wondered why people did what they did or if there we different ethical standards, so the ethics class should be interesting. IMF and World Bank have featured prominently in classes on African history and I figured I should learn more. One of the main reasons I chose BU for grad school is the variety of Africa focused classes offered and I am looking forward to classes this spring discussing Truth & Reconciliation Commissions and conflict resolution in post-conflict societies. Tennis should be fun- every embassy I visited in Africa had a tennis court so I am looking forward to learning how to play. I played a couple rounds of golf in Kenya & Cameroon and could always work on my swing- why not?
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Done with Finals!
Turned in my last final yesterday which gave an overview of politics in Africa, the current situation in Senegal, and policy recommendations for the government of Senegal. The political situation in Senegal is getting interesting with more demonstrations and people setting fires in roadblocks around the university. There are just over 60 days until the elections on 26 Feb 2012. I hope it all goes well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)