The DCM of South Sudan’s DC Mission Obliquely Criticizes Mugabe and Africans Explore the Suitability of Democracy in Africa at SAIS

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African democracy, Afrimind, Amaka Okechukwu, Dhanojak Obongo, Julis Agbor, MCC criticisms, Pape Samb, Phelps Stokes Fund, SAIS Africa, SAIS Africa Association, South Sudan Embassy DC

From L to R: Agbor, Obongo, Samb, and Okechukwu

Today I attended a talk at SAIS sponsored by that school’s Africa Association and Afrimind (with which I was not familiar) on “Is Democracy the Best Form of Governance in Africa?”  The event provided an entertaining forum to debate this topic, but specific examples were rare and lots of generalizations were made.

What Does Susan Rice’s Appointment as National Security Adviser Mean for Africa?

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African democracy, Bill Clinton Africa, Cold War Africa, Howard French, mali and us national security, National Security Adviser, NSA, Rice Zimbabwe thesis, State Department Africa, Susan Rice, Susan Rice Afric, USA ICC Africa

My suspicion is that it means bad news.  Howard French has eloquently written of Rice’s unwavering support for the crop of autocratic nationalist African leaders that emerged at the end of the Cold War.  Frequent readers of Africa in DC will be familiar with my railings against the administrations in Burkina Faso and Uganda, which are composed of autocrats who came to power through force and continue to enjoy US support more than a quarter century after assuming power.

While I know nothing of Thomas Donilon, the current incumbent in the position, cursory research reveals nothing about his African connections.  Conversely, Susan Rice wrote her PhD about Zimbabwe’s transition to majority rule in 1979 and 1980 – not the most original topic, and was engaged in African affairs in several roles during Bill Clinton’s presidency.  At the age of just 33, she became the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.  I suspect her spectacularly meteoric rise has gravely weakened her ability to remain grounded and in touch with the citizenry that a diplomat is meant to support.

With the announcement of financial rewards for the capture of several key west African Islamic militants, the ongoing crisis in Mali, and the rather precipitous collapse of Nigeria, America’s most prominent African ally, the National Security Adviser should be positioned to make prominent contributions to US Africa policy.  I suspect that Rice, despite her strong African credentials, will continue with more of the same African policy that has dominated America since the Clinton years: Dictators who manage to manipulate the language of democracy will be embraced, the United Nations will be expected to handle major African conflicts, Francophone Africa will continue to be ignored and we will defer to France on all major security issues in that region, and the US’ hypocritical relationship with the ICC will continue and cause our relations with Kenya to weaken.

What do you think the announcement means?

The State Department Talks about 50 Years of African Unity

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African democracy, AU Golden Jubilee, good governance in Africa, John Kerry Africa, PEPFAR, Reuben Brigety, Teresa Heinz Kerry

The transcript of Secretary John Kerry’s remarks at the AU’s 50th anniversary dinner is quite interesting, especially when contrasted to the similar sentiments mirrored by the Bureau of African Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary, Reuben Brigety, a few days earlier, to commemorate the same occasion at the Washington Hilton (alas, no one invited me to cover the event).

Kerry speaks of his wife’s childhood in colonial Mozambique and her education in South Africa.  He uses the political changes in southern Africa since that time to highlight Africa’s steady march toward good governance.  Brigety invokes the American civil rights movement in his remarks to show the common strides that both regions have made over the past 50 years.  Both mention PEPFAR, address Africa’s youthful demographics, and reference the statistic that six of the ten fastest growing world economies are in Africa (amazingly no mention of AGOA by Kerry!).

There must be a concerted effort to get all parties on the same playbook in the aftermath of the Benghazi incident.  Hopefully more studious attention to the democracy promotion playbook will lead to a shift in US policy that currently supports regimes obviously undeserving of the democratic mantle (Uganda, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, etc.).