South Africans Prefer to Live and Work in US and Even Cuba Rather than Russia and China

 Bloomberg published on 24 January 2023 an article titled "South Africans Favor US, Shun Russia in Clash with Policy Bias" by Antony Sguazzin.  

The Social Research Foundation conducted a poll of 3,200 registered South African voters in 2022 asking where they would prefer to live and work other than South Africa.  The highest number of respondents (one-third) chose the United States while 22 percent said the United Kingdom.  Just over 1 percent selected Russia and less than 1 percent China, both well behind Cuba's 9 percent.  

African Countries Back China's Position in Xinjiang

 The Diplomat published on 9 October 2020 an analysis titled "2020 Edition: Which Countries Are for or against China's Xinjiang Policies?" by Catherine Putz.

Twenty-one African countries endorsed a recent statement authored by the Cuban permanent representative to the United Nations supporting China's human rights policies in Xinjiang.  The signatories included predominantly Muslim Comoros, Egypt, Guinea, Morocco, Sudan and several with significant Muslim minorities.  Interestingly, however, four African countries--Algeria, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Somalia--that endorsed a similar letter in 2019, did not sign on in 2020.    

African Countries Support China's Crackdown on Hong Kong

Axios published on 3 July 2020 an article titled "The 53 Countries Supporting China's Crackdown on Hong Kong" by Dave Lawler.

Cuba presented a resolution before the UN Human Rights Council backing Beijing's new national security law for Hong Kong, which is widely seen in the West as a repressive crackdown.  The UK presented a resolution opposing the security law.  Fifty-three countries, including twenty-five in Africa, supported Cuba's resolution that backed the crackdown.  Twenty-seven countries, not a single one in Africa, backed the UK resolution that was critical of the crackdown.

The twenty-five African countries that supported the crackdown were: Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.  The real surprise on this list is Morocco.  Sudan, in view of its efforts to democratize, is something of a surprise although its much diminished oil sector is still beholden to China.  Somalia is also something of a surprise as it does not owe China anything; most of its support comes from the West and Turkey.  Niger is a mild surprise. 

The Trump administration pulled the United States out of the UN Human Rights Council in 2018 making it largely irrelevant. 

If African leaders are wondering why the West is losing interest in the continent and no longer taking many African governments seriously, all they have to do is reflect on votes like this.   

Commentary on Eritrea-US Relations

The Cipher Brief posted on 1 February 2017 commentary by three authors on Eritrea and its relations with the United States. The first commentary is titled "Is a Better Relationship with Eritrea Possible?" by Seth Kaplan, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.

The second is titled "Eritrea: A Potential U.S. Counterterror Partner" by Kaitlin Lavinder, reporter at The Cipher Brief.

The third is titled "Shift in U.S. Policy on Eritrea Unclear" by Felix Horne, Human Rights Watch.

Eritrea's Economy: Ideology and Opportunity

The Atlantic Council published in December 2016 a study titled "Eritrea's Economy: Ideology and Opportunity" by Seth Kaplan, Johns Hopkins University.

The author argues that like Cuba, Eritrea is not, and does not desire to become, a democracy. The experience of the three-decade liberation struggle has led the country instead to embrace a highly egalitarian, statist model.

Ethiopian Diaspora in US and Impact on Politics

The Addis Fortune published on 8 November 2016 an article titled "Unlike Cubans, Ethiopian Emigres Remain Too Fragmented, Scattered to Impact US Politics" by Tamrat G. Giorgis.

The article discusses the role of the Ethiopian diaspora in the recent US presidential election and the approach of both candidates towards Ethiopia and Africa. Tamrat is currently visiting the United States.

Ethiopia: Looking Back on the Overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie

The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training at the Foreign Service Institute outside Washington published in October 2016 the oral history accounts of several American diplomats who served at the U.S. embassy in Addis Ababa in the period before and after the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974. The accounts are titled "Anatomy of an Overthrow: Why a Revered African Leader Was Toppled."

10 Most Censored Countries: Horn Fares Poorly

The Committee to Protect Journalists released in April 2015 its list of 10 most censored countries.  The Horn of Africa fared poorly.  Eritrea was at the top of the list and Ethiopia in number four position.  Others on the list were North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, Iran, China, Myanmar, and Cuba.