Sudan's Rapid Support Forces Enslave Ethnic Africans in Darfur

 The Washington Post published on 23 February 2024 an article titled "Sudanese Militiamen Carry Out Wave of Abductions, Seeking Slaves and Ransom" by Katharine Houreld and Hafiz Haroun.  

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is composed primarily of Arab militiamen, are abducting mostly African Masalit tribe members in Darfur as forced laborers or as persons to be ransomed.  

Russia Draws on Past Opposition to Colonialism to Curry Favor in Africa

 Foreign Policy posted on 8 February 2023 a commentary titled "Why Russia Markets Itself as an Anti-Colonial Power to Africans" by Jade McGlynn, King's College London.  

Moscow is using "memory diplomacy" to remind Africans that Russia had no colonies on the continent, did not participate in the slave trade, and helped them achieve independence from colonial powers. As it invades Ukraine, Russia also brushes aside the fact that it was an imperial power.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a recent visit to Angola even suggested that Russia's war to "liberate" Ukraine from external Western influence compares to the Angolan war of independence.  Sadly, this line of argument resonates in some parts of Africa.

Barbaric Working Conditions at Chinese Factory in South Africa

 The Citizen published on 23 June 2022 an article titled "Home Affairs Condemns 'Slave-like' Working Conditions at Chinese Factory in Ekurhuleni" by Faizel Patel.  

The South African Department of Home Affairs condemned the barbaric working conditions at a Chinese-owned plastics factory that employed illegal immigrants from Malawi, Zimbabwe, and China.

China's Economic Statecraft in Africa

 The Diplomat posted on 1 June 2022 a commentary titled "The Secrets of China's Economic Statecraft in Africa" by Anzetse Were, a Kenyan development economist.  

The commentary contrasts the economic relationship between African and Chinese governments with the approach of the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union.  The author argues that China has been more responsive to African government priorities, avoids lecturing, and developed a more effective economic partnership with Africans than have Western countries.

Great Decisions 2020 Topics

The Foreign Policy Association is now selling its Great Decisions 2020 publications and packages.

Great Decisions 2020 includes my contribution on Red Sea security and the following additional topics:

--Climate change and the global order;
--India and Pakistan;
--Modern slavery and human trafficking;
--U.S. relations with the Northern Triangle;
--China's Road into Latin America;
--The Philippines and the U.S.;
--Artificial intelligence and data.

Governance in a South Sudan State during Famine and War

The Rift Valley Institute recently published a 52-page study titled "Politics, Power and Chiefship in Famine and War: A Study of the Former Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State, South Sudan" by Nicki Kindersley, Cambridge University.

The study investigates how customary authorities on South Sudan's border with southern Darfur have managed repeated wars and famines since the 1960s, both for the communities that they claim to represent and for their own survival and benefit.

South Sudan and Role of Customary Authority in Conflict

The Rift Valley Institute published in 2018 a study titled "Politics, Power and Chiefship in Famine and War: A Study of the Former Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State, South Sudan" by Nicki Kindersley.

Former Northern Bahr el Ghazal State has been deeply affected by and embedded in South Sudan's civil war. This study looks at how customary authorities on South Sudan's border with southern Darfur have managed repeated wars and famines since the 1960s. It sets out chiefs' and elders' experience of negotiating with successive states, rebel movements and local militias during times of famine, flight and fighting. It concludes that chiefs and other customary authorities are a fundamental part of the political-military structures of power in South Sudan.

Trafficking in Persons: East Africa and the Horn

The U.S. Department of State has just released the 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report. It ranks countries into 4 Tiers: Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watchlist, and Tier 3. No country in East Africa and the Horn was included in Tier 1.

Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are in Tier 2: do not fully comply with Trafficking Victims Protection Act's (TVPA) minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with these standards.

Djibouti is on the Tier 2 Watchlist: same as above but is delinquent in several respects.

Eritrea, South Sudan, and Sudan are in Tier 3: governments do not fully comply with the TVPA's minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.

Somalia is a special case.

China Radio International on China-Africa Relations

China Radio International (CRI) invited me to join two other panelists on 9 May 2014 for an hour long, wide ranging discussion of  China-Africa relations linked to the visit to Africa by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.  The other panelists were Victor Gao, former English-language interpreter for Chinese leaders and now a current affairs commentator, and Norbert Haguma, a Rwandan who is the CEO of Beijing-based Kiziga, which arranges for Africans to study in China.