The political crisis in Burundi has been rapidly unfolding these past weeks, and subject to much speculation by outside commenters attempting to understand what is happening and why. The situation in the country has both immediate and deeper historical causes, and this “syllabus,” modeled after the #FergusonSyllabus and Baltimore Syllabus, is an attempt to shed … Continue reading
I usually know that a news item about Africa has reached a critical mass when it shows up on Gawker, long one of my writing break diversions. And so it is that Guinea has emerged again into the collective Western consciousness, this time due to increased coverage of an Ebola outbreak. The stories almost write … Continue reading
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania is holding elections today that are certain to re-elect current President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. To learn more about today’s elections and some of the social dynamics driving Mauritanian politics today, journalist Peter Tinti spoke with The Africa Collective contributor Erin Pettigrew, a PhD student at Stanford University who specializes in Mauritanian history, and Nasser Weddady, a Mauritanian-American activist who is best known for his use of social media during the Arab Spring. Continue reading
In a democratic society, how many times should an individual, particularly a standard flag-bearer, run for the presidency? At what point is the defeated individual’s attempts to run for office a personal attempt to accumulate power or simply a strong conviction that he or she is the right person to lead the country forward? Furthermore, what does that individual think of the judgment and will of the people if they have rejected his or her overtures twice? Continue reading
The Africa Collective 