Articles written by Michelle Sieff
By Michelle Sieff
12 Jul 2011 |
Feature
Media coverage of African development usually focuses on countries like Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya -- high-growth countries where political and civil liberties are relatively well-protected. But if Asia had its "tigers," Africa has its "lions," countries such as the East African nations of Rwanda, Ethiopia and Uganda that are successfully combining political repression and economic development.
By Michelle Sieff
04 Feb 2011 |
Briefing
The Tunisian and Egyptian revolts were quickly defined as Arab
uprisings. But the two countries can also be described as African countries, and not just because of their geographic location. The nations of North Africa have been imagined as African by some of the region's political and intellectual luminaries. Given their hybrid identities, do their popular revolts mean anything for Africa, south of the encroaching Sahara?
By Michelle Sieff
05 Jan 2010 |
World Politics Review
The popular storyline of the basket-case African continent hasn't changed much since the 1960s. But the reality of Africa has changed dramatically, mostly since 1989,
a milestone year in which the frozen political landscape was completely
shattered, not only in Europe, but also in Africa. It is these changes
that are obscured by the enduring myth of the African victim.
By Michelle Sieff
16 Jul 2009 |
World Politics Review
President Barack Obama's speech before Ghana's Parliament on July 11
marked his fourth major discourse on international affairs since taking
office. Just as he did in Cairo little more than a month ago, Obama outlined
his vision of a region of the world and America's role in it. But although Obama's speech was enthusiastically received across the continent, his message was not new.
By Michelle Sieff
28 Jan 2009 |
World Politics Review
The inauguration of President Barack Obama was filled with
tremendously moving images, perhaps none more striking than the crowds
who gathered in Kogelo, Kenya -- the birthplace of Obama's father -- to
watch the ceremony. As elsewhere in the world, Obama's task
will be to maintain Africans' understandable enthusiasm in the face of real challenges. Three conflicts continue to
dominate headlines: Sudan, Somalia, and Zimbabwe.
By Michelle Sieff
13 Jan 2009 |
World Politics Review
Despite a razor-thin victory by opposition candidate John Atta Mills in Ghana's presidential voting, there was no
eruption of political violence as has recently been seen in the wake of other African elections. But if the peaceful transfer of power is clear evidence that the country's democracy continues to mature, any conclusions to be drawn concern Ghana, and not African democracy in general.
By Michelle Sieff
24 Apr 2008 |
World Politics Review Exclusive
According to the major multilateral institutions there are
several causes of recent food price inflation, including droughts, the Western push
to use biofuels made from corn to reduce dependence on fossil fuels,
and increased demand for meat and dairy products from richer Asian
countries. But these explanations highlight external causes and
ignore causes -- rooted in the policy choices of developing world
governments -- that have led to the stagnation of agricultural sectors,
especially in Africa.
By Michelle Sieff
21 Dec 2007 |
World Politics Review Exclusive
The EU-African summit in Lisbon was a sign that, once again, the winds of
change are blowing through Africa, and Western leaders are
starting to feel the breeze. Despite Darfur and Zimbabwe, Africa has
improved dramatically in the past seven years. Underneath the layers of diplo-speak at Lisbon were signs that -- at a
rhetorical level at least -- European leaders are starting to view
African countries as serious partners in tackling global issues, rather
than as exotic basketcases desperate for Western aid.
By Michelle Sieff
24 Sep 2007 |
World Politics Review Exclusive
Since taking office, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has
articulated a new paradigm to structure Western engagement with Africa. The paradigm dispels the idea that Africa is a sick and helpless
continent for the West to rescue and instead calls for robust
European-African partnerships to manage Africa's real challenges. True to his reputation as a man of
action, Sarkozy has already transformed these ideas into practical
policies, with flurry of promising and innovative diplomatic initiatives concerning Africa.