In 2002 Côte d’Ivoire was rocked by a rebel uprising that partitioned the country into two parts, with the government led by President Laurent Gbagbo controlling the south, the rebels the north and the French army camping between the two. As a member of the Security Council, France managed to give this intervention the stamp of international approval under a UN mandate. In … [Read more...] about Stakeholders in the Côte d’Ivoire crisis
France
Africa’s Linguistic Divide: French vs. English
Another of our Wednesday rendezvous with Africa... We will be looking at how former British colonies have fared in comparison to their francophone counterparts. Part of our tribute to 50 years of independence for many nations across the continent this year, our series in partnership with sister station Radio France International. Most of those countries are former French … [Read more...] about Africa’s Linguistic Divide: French vs. English
Africa’s Diaspora to the Rescue
DAKAR – There is something dismally familiar about the tide of news reports concerning Africa’s increased suffering – more poverty, malnutrition, civil strife, and death – in the face of the recent global financial crisis. Almost everywhere, the media translates academic conclusions into graphic illustrations of brutality and despair in places such as Guinea and the Democratic … [Read more...] about Africa’s Diaspora to the Rescue
China’s Grand Africa Strategy
Ever since the Berlin conference of 1883, which Belgium’s King Leopold II called “the sharing of Africa’s cake,” the West has assumed exclusive rights over sub-Saharan Africa. But, while centuries of struggle to end colonial rule and apartheid have not changed this much, now Western influence is being challenged by China, which likewise covets Africa’s rich reserves of minerals … [Read more...] about China’s Grand Africa Strategy