2013 Index of Economic Freedom - East Africa and the Horn

For more than a decade, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington-based think tank, The Heritage Foundation, have published an annual ranking called the Index of Economic Freedom.  It ranks countries globally based on social and economic values such as per capita income, economic growth rates, human development, democracy, the elimination of poverty, and environmental protection.  The 2013 edition ranked 177 countries with Hong Kong ranked best and North Korea ranked worst.  It ranked the United States #10.  Click here to access the global rankings.

Countries in East Africa and the Horn did not fare well.  Only one--Uganda--was included in the "moderately free" category and ranked number 79.  In the "mostly unfree" category were Tanzania (#98), Kenya (#114), and Djibouti (#127).  Ethiopia, ranked #146, and Eritrea, ranked #173, were in the "repressed" category.  Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia were not ranked.

Somali Transition Process

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington-based think tank, posted an issue brief by Morgan Roach dated 20 August 2012 titled Somalia's Government Transition Maintains the Status Quo. The commentary is highly critical of the transition process.

Click here to read the report.

New Heritage Foundation study on piracy

I call to your attention another useful report that deals with Somali piracy titled "Maritime Security: Fighting Piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Beyond," published by the Heritage Foundation on June 24, 2009. You can access the report (in PDF format) here. It is unfortunate that this otherwise excellent study released in mid-2009 only has statistical data through 2007. I also found a couple of the recommendations a little strange. For example, the report calls for "expanding the Navy's stated goal of raising its number of ships from 277 to 313 (the majority of the additional 36 should be nuclear powered, including additional nuclear-powered submarines) and focusing Navy operations more on sea control and assured access, less on maritime engagement and security missions." I am not sure I see much of a connection between reducing piracy and adding more nuclear-powered submarines to the U.S. fleet. On the other hand, shifting the U.S. military contribution from the Navy to the Coast Guard and expanding the Coast Guard, as the report recommends, makes a lot of sense. The report correctly urges that the international community focus on helping Somalis to reestablish governance. On the other hand, the recommendation that the United States should support a "grassroots model" of governance in Somalia is a little too facile. The report is on target when it urges the United States to support the UN Security Council in demanding international respect for Somalia's Exclusive Economic Zone and related conventions that bar the dumping of toxic wastes.