RENAMO’s gambit: Forcing the issue after the Mozambique 2014 Elections
Sociologist Robert K Merton’s ‘Law of Unintended Consequences’ is the observable phenomenon of purposeful actions having unexpected results, most often negative ones. Mozambique’s 2014 elections have been characterised by continuing tensions between the Government of Mozambique and the Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (RENAMO) opposition political party, which the latter has sought to escalate in the post-election period, and ahead of the final results.
Nigeria’s Continental Diplomatic Thrusts: The Limits of Africa’s Nominally Biggest Economy
A dominant portion of contemporary literature on Nigeria’s regional and continental diplomacies suggests that the foreign policies of Africa’s nominally biggest economy are hardly progressive and dynamic, due principally to the perverse hiatus between its domestic ecology and foreign policy.
Consolidating the Regional Diplomacy of Côte d’Ivoire
On every continent, regionalisation or even communitarisation of foreign relations has become one of the preferred policy approaches by states and other actors in search of synergies that add value to public policies conceptualised and implemented at a geographical group or sub-group level.
The DRC and its Neighbourhood: The Political Economy of Peace
On 24 February 2013, 11 African countries signed the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement designed to bring peace to the Great Lakes Region, in particular the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has been in the grip of armed conflict for two decades.
South Africa and China: building bridges to beneficiation
The announcement of a joint agreement between the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Hebei Iron and Steel Group to open a steel mill in Phalaborwa could signal a new stage in the longstanding relationship between South Africa and China.
Africa and the Global Human Rights Agenda: The African Group at the UN Human Rights Council
This policy briefing examines the behaviour of African countries in country-specific situations at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), focusing specifically on developments and examples that occurred between July 2010 and July 2014.
South Africa’s Diplomacy 20 Years On: Implementing the African Agenda around Core Values, Principles and Issues
After 20 years of democracy, post-apartheid South Africa has been successfully reintegrated into international affairs.
China and Zimbabwe: The Context and Contents of a Complex Relationship
China’s relationship with Africa has been the subject of considerable interest and controversy.
Promoting Peer Review as a Compliance Mechanism for Regional Integration
Multilateral organisations have long used peer review as a means to encourage compliance with commitments made in the pursuit of various socio-economic goals.
Chinese Resources-For-Infrastructure Swaps: An Escape from the Resource Curse?
This paper discusses whether resources-for-infrastructure (R4I) swaps employed by the Chinese government and companies reduce or increase the risk that a resource-rich country will fall prey to the resource curse.