A useful fairly recent EAZ paper on the status of Zambia's domestic and external debt. The currently external debt is just under US$2bn, with the last debt sustainability analysis pointing to a headroom of around US1bn. But without the analysis been made widely available for scrutiny it is difficult to place much faith in that. The case remains strong for a proper debt management bill, which was a PF manifesto / electoral commitment - and noises are still be heard in that direction.

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Last week's stunning assassination of several key Syrian security officials, the sudden spread of serious fighting into Damascus and Aleppo, and the Russian-Chinese veto of a Chapter VII resolution at the UN Security Council have ushered in a new phase in the Syrian crisis.  Five months ago, I wrote a policy report for the Center for a New American Security warning against U.S. military intervention or arming the opposition, and proposing a series of non-military steps which might help bring about a political transition. In April, I argued in a Congressional hearing for giving the Annan Plan a chance to work. 

In an essay published today on CNN.com, I suggest that diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis have failed -- but that this is no cause for celebration.  Annan's ...

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Below is a guest post from Erin Pettigrew, a friend of the blog and a PhD Candidate in African History at Stanford University. She has been doing field work in Mauritania for the last several months and has long experience there. She offers her insights and thoughts on change in Mauritania from the ground level. The [...]

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Below is a guest post from Erin Pettigrew, a friend of the blog and a PhD Candidate in African History at Stanford University. She has been doing field work in Mauritania for the last several months and has long experience there. She offers her insights and thoughts on change in Mauritania from the ground level. The [...]

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Several recent articles have appeared in the last several weeks addressing Algeria's internal political situation. Below is a list of some of these articles, along with two from a few months back that are still worth looking at. These help get at some of the issues and internal priorities facing Algeria's political leadership today. Algeria [...]

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Several recent articles have appeared in the last several weeks addressing Algeria's internal political situation. Below is a list of some of these articles, along with two from a few months back that are still worth looking at. These help get at some of the issues and internal priorities facing Algeria's political leadership today. Algeria [...]

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Below is a guest post by Thomas Seres, author of 'The Malian crisis seen from Algeria,' by Thomas Seres (19 April 2012), focused on views of the conflict in Mali in Algeria's domestic politics. This blogger wrote a response focused on the piece's implications for discourses on Algeria's foreign policy using the piece as a [...]

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Below is a guest post by Thomas Seres, author of 'The Malian crisis seen from Algeria,' by Thomas Seres (19 April 2012), focused on views of the conflict in Mali in Algeria's domestic politics. This blogger wrote a response focused on the piece's implications for discourses on Algeria's foreign policy using the piece as a [...]

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i attended a brilliant book reading on friday of our kind of people, by doctor/writer uzodinma iweala, with conversation moderated by open city author teju cole. the book is about how patients, activists, and ordinary nigerians have dealt with the epidemic. i've never before heard such real talk about HIV/AIDS in nigeria by such brilliant minds. amazing. check out an npr interview of iweala here, but trust me when i say that nobody gives as good an interview as teju. ;;;)

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You cannot outsource your liberation. Malcom Fabiyi writes:

For the Nigerians who are dreaming big dreams about change based on what the Egyptians, Libyans, Yemeni, and the Tunisians before them have achieved, they should snap out of their dreams and face the reality that there will be no Arab Spring in Nigeria. Those nations did not arrive at change by chance. They did not pray it down from the heavens, they did not wish it into being, they did not tweet democracy into existence, or Facebook it to reality. They fought for their freedoms on the streets and alleyways, on fields and in government torture cells. They were ready to pay the ultimate price for its realization, and some were martyred for the cause.

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