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The G-20 Meeting in Washington November 14-15 2008
On the eve of the G20 meeting in Washington, SAIIA is releasing a Policy Briefing entitled "Towards a new ‘Washington consensus'? South Africa, the G20 leaders' summit, and the financial crisis" by Peter Draper.
China-Africa Trade and the Global Financial Crisis
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The spectacular growth of emerging economies, especially China and India, had brought major hope among commentators/analysts that the developing world's growth prospects would not be severely affected by the current financial crisis in the US and most of the developed world. Sino-Africa trade had reached $72 billion in the first eight months of 2008, a 62% increase from the previous year.
Economic Partnership Agreements and Intellectual Property Rights protection: challenges for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region
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The negotiations for Economic Partnerships Agreements (EPAs) between African Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) and the European Union (EU) were launched in 2000.These negotiations were carried out in terms of the Cotonou Agreement which seeks to replace non reciprocal trade preferences (under the Lome Agreement), which the ACP countries have been receiving from the EU. The aim was to conclude full and comprehensive agreements by the end of 2007 so as to meet the deadline for bringing the EU's preferential trade arrangements for goods with the ACP countries into conformity with the World Trade Organization's (WTO) General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
Peer Review Progress, but Many Miss the Meeting
Last weekend, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) was in the spotlight in Benin. From 25-26 October 2008, participating African Heads of State and Government gathered in Cotonou for the first Extraordinary African Peer Review Forum. Most Forum meetings are traditionally held on the margins of busy African Union Summits, where other business frequently intervenes. In Egypt in June-July, Zimbabwe dominated. This time, the APRM was squarely the focus. But do the benefits of a longer, more in-depth stand-alone meeting outweigh notoriously poor attendance?
Africom
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On 1 October 2008 the US military's African Command was launched in Washington DC. Two weeks later a similar ceremony took place at Africom's headquarters in Stuttgart.
What is Africom and why has its creation been so controversial and met with suspicion in some African countries?
Lesotho's Lessons for the ANC on Forming New Parties
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Following Thabo Mbeki's abrupt resignation as South African president last month, there has been much speculation about the possibility and desirability of a new political party emerging from disgruntled ruling party members. Further resignations of Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa and several cabinet members, hostile open letters between senior African National Congress (ANC) leaders and statements by others that would follow or vote for another party (other than existing opposition parties), have fuelled the fire. The discussion has revolved around two points: that significant elements of the party have felt sidelined at least since the December 2007 ANC Congress in Polokwane, where Mbeki lost leadership of the party to Jacob Zuma; and that democracy in South Africa would benefit from a credible and strong party with a broad national base to challenge the ANC. However, experience from Lesotho might provide lessons for South Africa on the prospects of a breakaway party.
Tension between the West and Russia: Implications for Africa
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The world is currently concerned with redefining Western-Russian relations in the wake of the Georgian conflict. The press has even been discussing the possibility of a ‘new' Cold War. If this materialises, what would be the implications for Africa?
Adding Value to African Peer Review
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On 22 September 2008, the United Nations in New York holds a high-level meeting on ‘Africa's Development Needs'. Important components will be the development of governance, and the governance of development. And none is more significant than the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
South Africa and the General Assembly's 63rd Session
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The 63rd Session of the General Assembly, which opened this Tuesday, 16 September 2008, will surely be of particular significance to President Thabo Mbeki. Not only will his address to the General Assembly Session - on 24 September 2008 - be his last as President of South Africa, but the Session will no doubt be of great importance, given its focus on the African Agenda as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
What Angola's Election Means
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Recent elections in Angola help indicate the direction of democracy in Africa. Seen alongside other developments, they suggest that progress is being made in building democracy, but this is only part of the governance equation. Angola faces challenges far beyond the parliamentary election this September.
African Elections: Real Choice, or No Change?
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Africa faces a spate of parliamentary and presidential polls before the end of the year. Angola, Rwanda and Swaziland will vote in September, Zambia and Côte d'Ivoire (if it happens) in November, and Ghana in December. But will any of them offer genuine choice or real change for citizens? Despite many excellent governance standards ratified by parliaments across the continent, and reform initiatives like the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to which all these states - except Swaziland and Côte d'Ivoire - have acceded, many African elections are becoming more fractious, rigged and violent than ever, especially where the result is close. Or they produce landslides for ruling regimes.
Turkey's Outreach To Africa
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Fifty African heads of state and government, or their representatives, participated in the first Turkish-African Summit held in Istanbul from 18-20 August 2008[1]. Hosted by Turkish President Abdullah Gül and attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Jean Ping, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, South Africa was represented by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ncuka. In her address to the summit, the South African deputy president spoke in very positive terms of Turkey and the role it can play in Africa's development.[2]
Is Africa Changing China?
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‘There is always something new out of Africa.' So said Pliny the Elder two thousand years ago when considering Rome's changing fortunes as it sought to manage its ties with the African continent. The spectacle of foreigners intent on pursuing their interests in Africa - be they commercial gains, political stratagems or humanitarian impulses - and discovering that the complexities of the continent thwart their original aims is an old story that is as true today as it was in Roman times. Chinese foreign policy, fixed on an ‘omni-directional' approach towards Africa that marries solidarity politics with resource diplomacy, is but the latest external power to encounter challenges to its preconceptions. But what is most compelling about the Chinese case is that its involvement in Africa seems to have produced a significant transformation in the certitudes that have guided its foreign policy for five decades. Africa is, in short, changing how China conceives of its role in the international system and the manner in which it conducts its foreign policy in some very fundamental ways.
Regional Integration Agenda: The SADC Summit and the SADC FTA
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This week as SADC heads of state gather in Johannesburg for the SADC Summit on 16-17 August much is at stake to boost closer political and economic integration in the region. One of the points on the economic agenda is the relaunch of the SADC Free Trade Area by heads of state under the banner “SADC Free Trade Area for Growth, Development and Wealth Creation”. There is no doubt that the FTA is an important milestone in the economic integration of the region. However, eight years after it was first implemented much still has to be done to address the hurdles to trade and closer economic integration in the SADC community. SAIIA’s Development through Trade project has produced a number of cutting-edge surveys that highlights the barriers to closer economic cooperation from the perspective of business.
The AU's Rubicon
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Having ‘won' re-election with 85% of the votes in the controversial run-off, the last thing Mugabe expected was a call by the AU summit to initiate a dialogue with the MDC about the establishment of a government of national unity. He should not be surprised.
Have We Been Here Before?
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The signing of the memorandum of understanding between Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations must certainly be welcomed after the protracted period of violence and political stalemate. But is it the right medicine and what does it say about the two protagonists?
An Alternative Foreign Policy
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Next year the fourth general elections of a democratic South Africa will signal the start of the post, post-apartheid era. The composition of the country's leadership will be very different from what we have had over the last fifteen years. A change in the cast of characters provides an opportunity to reassess policies and to chart new paths.
Zimbabwe's Plight, South Africa's Failure
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Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the presidential run-off scheduled for June 27, and his decision to seek the protection of the Dutch embassy in Harare, has secured for Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe a Pyrrhic victory. Mugabe's triumph comes at a huge cost to democracy and stability in Zimbabwe, as well as in the region. The actions of the Mugabe regime in the run-up to Tsvangirai's decision demand a strong regional response to what is clearly a stolen victory. Indeed, Mugabe's continuing in power represents the most serious challenge to Africa's nascent democratic institutions and to South Africa's vision of a continent of peace and prosperity.
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