A Conversation with Charles Mangongera, Visiting NED Democracy Fellow, on Governance and Activism in Zimbabwe

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Angola, Charles Mangongera, Equatorial Guinea, Mass Public Opinion Institute, MDC, military rule in Africa, Mutoko, National Endowment for Democracy, political science, Robert Mugabe, Tete, University of Zimbabwe, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe elections

I recently had the pleasure to hear National Endowment for Democracy (NED) Reagan-Fascell Fellow Charles Mangongera, Director of Policy and Research for Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, speak masterfully at NED on the role of the military in the country’s political sphere.  Dedicated readers may know that I have a particular interest in Zimbabwe and recall an earlier Africa in DC interview of another Zimbabwean activist.

Veiled Threats from Zimbabwe Embassy to MDC Official and NED Fellow?

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Charles Mangongera, George Chinoingira, MDC, NED, Whatmore Goora, WOZA, ZANU-PF, ZCTU, Zimbabwe civil society, Zimbabwe criticism of West, Zimbabwe Embassy in USA, Zimbabwe GPA, Zimbabwe opposition, Zimbabwe political violence, ZUJ

Aggrieved Zimbabwe Embassy Official

Today, I attended a superb talk by visiting NED Fellow (and Zimbabwe opposition staffer) Charles Mangongera on Zimbabwe’s military.  His superb presentation warrants a post (to come soon) that focuses solely on its own merits.  For this space here however, there was a very interesting exchange at the end of Q & A with an official from the Embassy of Zimbabwe that warrants a separate examination.

Silly Sights for South Sudan from a Beltway Bandit

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African Arguments, African Independence, Belgian Congo, cold war in Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, Hank Cohen, Herman Cohen, namibia, South Sudan, UN Congo, UN Trusteeship, White Man's Burden

A recent appeal on the online blogging forum African Arguments (a site I greatly enjoy) from the former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Hank Cohen, for UN trusteeship of South Sudan has really set me off.  The piece epitomizes the narrative of Africa as a dangerous locale for exciting adventures in which the white man can nobly shoulder the weight of his burden, rather than illustrating the more hopeful economic narratives of Africa that are becoming more predominant in many corners (although those could also have the potential to set me off).

Brookings Meekly Explores Africa’s 2014 Priorities with an Eminent Panel on #ForesightAfrica

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Africa in 2014, African Development, Bright Simons, Brookings Institution, Central Africa, Congo, George Clooney, IT in Africa, John McArthur, John Prendergast, Makhtar Diop, Robin Sanders, Senegal, World Bank

From L to R: McArthur, Diop, Sanders, Simons, Prendergast, and Sy (who is cut off)

Yesterday, I ventured down the street to the Brookings Institution for my first policy event of the year, ‘Top Priorities for Africa in 2014.’  The panelists (of which there was a large number) were quite impressive: Former US Ambassador to Nigeria and the Congo, Robin Sanders, Co-Founder of the Enough Project, John Prendergast, Bright Simons, President of a technology start-up in Ghana, Makhtar Diop, VP for Africa at the World Bank, and Amadou Sy, a Senegalese resident at Brookings.  John McArthur did an able job filling in for the flu-stricken Helene Cooper as moderator.

While it was good to get back in the swing of things and hear from the prominent speakers, the broad nature of the topic, the large number of panelists, and the limited time available led to a lot of broad generalizations and generic prescriptions for the continent’s development.  As I’ve said at similar events before, I’m sure that most of those in the audience would have been qualified to make the same remarks.

Doyen of Sino-African Affairs in DC: Winslow Robertson’s Journey of Scholarship, Romance, and Life in China and West Africa

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Australia, Chinese Immigrants in Africa, Chinese in Africa, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia Rubber, New York TImes, Niamey, Nigeria, Sino - Africa DC, Syracuse, The Corporate Council on Africa, The Economist, Winslow Robertson, Xu Jianxue

Podcaster, Hip-Hop Dancer, and Sino – Africanist: Winslow Robertson

I recently sat down for my first (and long overdue) leisurely chat with Winslow Robertson, an amazing guy who I have been promising to profile for some time. Winslow is based in northern Virginia and is the founding father of Sino-Africa DC (SADC), a networking group for local Sino-Africanists.  The archives of the SADC newsletter can be found here.  Winslow is also a podcaster and recently wrapped up an internship at The Corporate Council on Africa.  Over a conversation of several hours, I had the pleasure of learning about the genesis of his interest in Sino – African affairs, his thoughts on U.S. perceptions of Chinese engagement in Africa, and other more interesting tidbits, such as how he met his wife and I discovered that we share close academic and geographic ties as well as shopping habits (Jos A. Banks suits).

‘Al-Shabab is Jihadi Darwinism’ – US and EU (or White non-Muslim) Experts on Somalia

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Ahmed Abdi Godane, al-Shabab, al-Shabab in Tanzania, Bronwyn Bruton, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Clint Watts, Jihadi Moustapha, Kenya, Mogadishu, Omar Hammami, Somalia, Stig Hansen, Westgate attack

From L to R: Watts, Hansen, the Moderator, and Bruton

Continuing my focus on African security issues this week, I ducked in for the better half of a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace event yesterday on ‘The al-Shabab Threat After Westgate.’  The depth of the analysis was light-years beyond what I heard at the Brookings Institution on Monday (many names that resonated with me only vaguely, if at all, were thrown about).  Two of the speakers indicated that al-Shabab was a spent force, the lone dissenter (and the only non-American on the panel) opined that while al-Shabab is in decline, ‘they still have a potential to be a major threat.’