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Somalia-Turkey maritime deal is a win for both countries, and not a power play for the Horn of Africa

Somalia-Turkey maritime deal is a win for both countries, and not a power play for the Horn of Africa

A recent defence deal between Somalia and Turkey has great significance for Somalia and the region’s security. The agreement, which covers both land and sea, aims to enhance defence cooperation between Turkey and Somalia. It includes the possibility of Turkey providing both training and equipment for a Somali navy. Its near-term impact should, however, not be exaggerated. BRENDON J. CANNON, Assistant Professor, Khalifa University Instead, it should be understood as a good-faith agreement signed between asymmetric powers whose interests overlap a little, at present. My research on the geopolitics and security agreements over the past few decades covering Turkey, Somalia…
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Colonial statues in Africa have been removed, returned and torn down again – why it’s such a complex history

Colonial statues in Africa have been removed, returned and torn down again – why it’s such a complex history

In 2020, the murder of George Floyd in the US served as a catalyst for the global Black Lives Matter movement. It sparked widespread protests against police brutality and systemic racism. It also ignited debates about historical symbols of oppression, such as statues of figures associated with racial injustices. SOPHIA LABADI, Professor of Heritage, University of Kent These debates presented colonial statues in Africa as having been contested and toppled for many years, ever since African states gained independence. Indeed, colonial statues were at the heart of the colonial world, symbolising its violence, white supremacy and the erasure of pre-colonial…
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Happy smiling African children: why school tourism in Zimbabwe shouldn’t be encouraged

Happy smiling African children: why school tourism in Zimbabwe shouldn’t be encouraged

A large, air-conditioned bus draws up outside a school. Tourists, most from Europe and the US, disembark, cameras at the ready. Some have brought gifts: packages of pens and pencils. They distribute these to the children, who spontaneously begin singing and dancing. KATHLEEN SMITHERS, Lecturer, Charles Sturt University This scene and others like it play out in schools around the world. It’s called school tourism. It’s similar to orphanage tourism and so-called “slum” tourism, in which tourists visit orphanages or “slums” in poor countries to witness poverty and suffering. These sorts of tourism come with several ethical problems: photography of…
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West Africa’s coast was a haven for piracy and illegal fishing – how technology is changing the picture

West Africa’s coast was a haven for piracy and illegal fishing – how technology is changing the picture

THE Gulf of Guinea – a coastal region that stretches from Senegal to Angola – is endowed with vast reserves of hydrocarbon, mineral and fisheries resources. It is also an important route for international commerce, making it critical to the development of countries in the region. IFESINACHI OKAFOR-YARWOOD, Lecturer, University of St Andrews For a long time, however, countries in the Gulf of Guinea haven’t properly monitored what’s happening in their waters. This has allowed security threats at sea to flourish. The threats include illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, drug trafficking, piracy and armed robbery, and toxic waste dumping. For…
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The African Union is weak because its members want it that way – experts call for action on its powers

The African Union is weak because its members want it that way – experts call for action on its powers

THE African Union (AU) comes in for a lot of criticism. Most recently this is from within its own ranks. The AU Commission chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, set out his frustrations after an AU summit in February 2024. The commission is the executive organ which runs the AU’s daily activities. Mahamat accused member states of getting in the way of the commission doing its work, and failing to match rhetoric with action: Over the last three years, 2021, 2022 and 2023, 93% of African Union decisions have not been implemented. We think many of the criticisms of the AU are…
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Red Sea politics: why Turkey is helping Somalia defend its waters

Red Sea politics: why Turkey is helping Somalia defend its waters

SOMALIA and Turkey recently announced that they would expand the terms of a defence agreement first signed on 8 February 2024 to include the maritime sector. This came as tensions rose between Somalia and landlocked Ethiopia. Ethiopia is seeking access to the Red Sea through Somaliland, a breakaway state of Somalia. Federico Donelli, an international relations professor whose research covers Red Sea security and politics, puts this defence agreement into context. FEDERICO DONELLI, Assistant Professor of International Relations, University of Trieste What’s the scope of the relationship between Turkey and Somalia? Turkey’s entry into Somalia in 2011 started out as…
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Mozambique’s unstable and expensive power supply is devastating small businesses – study examines what’s gone wrong

Mozambique’s unstable and expensive power supply is devastating small businesses – study examines what’s gone wrong

INSIDE a small bakery in Maputo, the morning’s batch of 150 loaves of bread has just gone into the oven. But there’s a problem: the electricity has gone out without warning for the third time that week. Yet again, the batch of bread is ruined. The owners of the bakery have just lost all the flour and yeast they used to prepare the bread, and they won’t be able to sell the failed loaves either. This is just one example of the daily reality for medium and small business owners in Mozambique. We set out to research what happens to…
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What are Sabaki languages? How people formed ethnic groups along the coast of East Africa

What are Sabaki languages? How people formed ethnic groups along the coast of East Africa

A new book called Ethnicity, Identity and Conceptualizing Community in Indian Ocean East Africa tracks the history of the coastal communities of East Africa and how the Sabaki family of Bantu languages was formed, shaped in part by the sea and the arrival of visitors from other shores and within the continent. We asked historian Daren Ray to tell us more about his book for International Mother Language Day. DAREN RAY, Assistant Professor of History, Brigham Young University Which languages fall into the Sabaki family? Sabaki languages are a grouping of Bantu languages spoken near the east African coast. The…
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Africa’s debt crisis needs a bold new approach: expert outlines a way forward

Africa’s debt crisis needs a bold new approach: expert outlines a way forward

IT hasn’t been easy for African states to finance their developmental and environmental policy objectives over the past few years. Recent events suggest that the situation may be improving. For the first time in two years, three African states have been able to access international financial markets, albeit at high-interest rates. Kenya, for example, is now paying over 10% compared to about 7% in 2014. Many African countries continue to face challenging sovereign debt situations. DANNY BRADLOW, Professor/Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria Total external debts as a share of Africa’s export earnings increased from…
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Ethiopia’s peace pacts with the Oromo Liberation Front have failed: here’s what was missing

Ethiopia’s peace pacts with the Oromo Liberation Front have failed: here’s what was missing

TWO attempts have been made over the past six years to broker peace between the Ethiopian government and the armed rebel group Oromo Liberation Front. The armed group was formed half a century ago to carve out an independent state for Oromia, the country’s largest regional state. MAREW ABEBE SALEMOT, Lecturer of Federalism, Debark University Both attempts at brokering peace – in 2018 and again in 2023 – ended in failure and a return to violence. Oromia is Ethiopia’s largest and most populous region. The Oromo Liberation Front has sought autonomy for the region since the group emerged in 1973.…
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