SOUTHERN AFRICA
AP Photo
May 6, 2008
"Winning the African Prize for Repression: Zimbabwe"
In the News
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
After much delay, the “official” presidential election results in Zimbabwe were finally announced last week (May 2, 2008). While opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, won the majority vote (47.9% to Robert Mugabe’s 43.2%), because the 50% minimum that is needed to win outright was not reached, a run-off will take place. This second round leaves Zimbabweans and the international community certain that Robert Mugabe will continue his use of intimidation, force, and violence to secure his re-election.
AP Photo
March 26, 2008
"Politics and Power in Zimbabwe"
Op-Ed, The Boston Globe
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
THIS WEEKEND President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is expected once again to rig elections in order to hold onto power while neighboring Botswana, Africa's oasis of peace and good governance, will celebrate the retirement of President Festus Mogae after two productive terms. The contrast between Botswana and Zimbabwe could not be more stark, or more illustrative of good and evil in Africa.
March 2008
Targeting Civilians in War
Book
By Alexander B. Downes, Research Fellow, International Security Program
Accidental harm to civilians in warfare often becomes an occasion for public outrage, from citizens of both the victimized and the victimizing nation. In this vitally important book on a topic of acute concern for anyone interested in military strategy, international security, or human rights, Alexander B. Downes reminds readers that democratic and authoritarian governments alike will sometimes deliberately kill large numbers of civilians as a matter of military strategy. What leads governments to make such a choice?
February 15, 2008
"Analyst Says Bush's Africa Trip Avoid Controversial Countries"
Media Feature
President Bush is scheduled to leave Friday on a visit to Africa that will take him to five countries, including Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia. The President had said Thursday that he might delay his departure if it would help the U.S. Congress pass new rules for a domestic spying program that is expected to expire this Saturday.
Robert Rotberg is Adjunct Professor of Public Policy and director of the program on intra-state conflict at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He told VOA President Bush’s trip to Africa is an easy one and somewhat disappointing because the president is going to less controversial countries.
NECSA
December 20, 2007
"A Nuclear Site Is Breached"
Op-Ed, The Washington Post
By Micah Zenko, Former Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
"...nuclear terrorism is a global issue, extending far beyond the familiar policy talking points of U.S. cooperation with Russia over its nuclear stockpiles, the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal in the face of threats from Islamic extremists, and concerns that if Iran acquires nuclear capabilities it could provide a bomb to sympathetic terrorist organizations....the essential ingredients required for making a nuclear weapon exist in more than 40 countries, in facilities with differing levels of security. Unfortunately, there are still no binding global standards on how to secure nuclear weapons and weapons-grade nuclear material."
AP Photo
December 2007
"Draining the Sea by Filling the Graves: Investigating the Effectiveness of Indiscriminate Violence as a Counterinsurgency Strategy"
Journal Article, Civil Wars, The Origins and Effectiveness of Insurgent and Counterinsurgent Strategies, issue 4, volume 9
By Alexander B. Downes, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"It is commonly believed in the literature on insurgency and counterinsurgency that to be effective in undermining civilian support for guerrillas, violence against noncombatants must be selective or risk alienating the population. Yet cases exist where governments have defeated insurgencies by wielding indiscriminate violence against noncombatants. This paper explores the conditions under which such violence can be effective through a case study of British counterinsurgency strategy in the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902)."
November 28, 2007
Virtual Book Tour: Worst of the Worst: Dealing with Repressive and Rogue Nations
Highlight
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
“This volume makes an unparalleled contribution to the growing and vital field of measurement and human rights. Rotberg offers a useful categorization and assessment of repressive and 'rogue' states, allowing us to measure the extent of repressive state behavior more accurately. His work should embolden external critiques and facilitate more transparent and accountable foreign policy."
Sarah Sewall, Director, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University.
November 20, 2007
Africa's Successes: Evaluating Accomplishment
Report
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Seven of mainland sub-Saharan Africa’s forty-five nation-states are widely regarded as being success stories. The mixed conclusions of this analysis are instructive in understanding the dynamics of political and economic achievement in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole.
November 15, 2007
"Africa Warms Up to Biotechnology"
Op-Ed, Business Daily, (Nairobi)
By Ismail Serageldin and Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project
"Much of the debate about biotechnology in Africa assumes that African countries are only being asked to accept products developed elsewhere. To the contrary, Freedom to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa’s Development shows that extensive biotechnology research is under way in Africa...."
AP Photo
October 22, 2007
"Ex-Mozambique president Chissano wins Mo Ibrahim Prize for African Leadership"
In the News
Former President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, who led his country's recovery from its devastating 16-year civil war, on Monday won the first Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African leadership.
