Pambazuka News is produced by a pan-African community of some 2,600 citizens and organisations - academics, policy makers, social activists, women's organisations, civil society organisations, writers, artists, poets, bloggers, and commentators who together produce insightful, sharp and thoughtful analyses and make it one of the largest and most innovative and influential web forums for social justice in Africa. 
governance
Somalia: Global war on terror and the humanitarian crisis
Horace Campbell
2011-08-18, Issue 545
cc F WThe US government’s counterterrorism activities and ‘humanitarian’ assistance in Somalia and the Horn of Africa go a long way towards explaining the region’s entrenched problems, writes Horace Campbell.
Riots, royal weddings and recession
Lara Pawson
2011-08-18, Issue 545
cc F WIn their highly misguided and at times absurd responses to the UK’s recent rioting, we may well ask if Britain’s elites ‘are living in a time warp’, writes Lara Pawson.
Another vicious attack on CSOs in Africa
Who is next?
Africa CSO Platform for Principled Partnership
2011-08-18, Issue 545
cc TNIThe attack on civil society across Africa ‘is now increasingly becoming bolder, broader and more dangerous. And it is going beyond governments to include regional bodies such as SADC,’ warns Paul Okumu, in a call for all CSOs both in the North and South to ‘strengthen and support the solidarity effort as a matter of urgency’.
The chickens are coming home to roost
US credit downgrade
Horace Campbell
2011-08-11, Issue 544
cc TaxBrackets.orgThe 'downgrade of the US credit rating is part of the forward planning by the top capitalists to guarantee the political and military hegemony of the richest one per cent of the US population,’ writes Horace Campbell.
Libya, Africa and the new world order: An open letter
To the peoples of Africa and the world from concerned Africans
2011-08-09, Issue 544
cc M PWe, the undersigned, are ordinary citizens of Africa who are immensely pained and angered that fellow Africans are and have been subjected to the fury of war by foreign powers which have clearly repudiated the noble and very relevant vision enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
Defining Zimbabwe's national heroes
Letter to the people of Zimbabwe
2011-08-10, Issue 544
cc G B2011 is a year for all Zimbabweans to begin to challenge those that lead the country and those that insist on imprisoning national consciousness in their versions of heroism and history, says the Committee of the Peoples Charter.
US debt ceiling debate and the alternatives
Horace Campbell
2011-08-04, Issue 543
cc P SIn the wake of the passing of the Budget Control Act to prevent the US defaulting on its debts, Horace Campbell stresses the need for progressive people to organise to oppose militarisation, defend livelihoods and social security protection, and chart the path towards alternatives.
Malawi's uprising: Democracy, debate and leadership
Steve Sharra
2011-07-28, Issue 542
cc bbcworldserviceFollowing a day of protest on 20 July and a violent government crackdown that left 20 dead, Steve Sharra reflects on the lack of debate in Malawi.
South Sudan in the post-CPA era: Prospects and challenges
Christopher Zambakari
2011-07-28, Issue 542
cc United Nations PhotoAs a means to reduce conflict and fulfil its citizens’ hopes, South Sudan’s key challenges revolve around the development of an inclusive, residency-based citizenship, writes Christopher Zambakari.
An African response to ‘There is no alternative’
Revolutions from Tunis to Ouagadougou
Guy Marius Sagna
2011-07-27, Issue 542
cc S RFor the past three decades, neoliberalism has insisted that ‘there is no alternative’ to semi-colonialism and the diktats of the IMF and World Bank. But, writes Senegal’s Guy Marius Sagna, our people ‘have enough common sense to understand that things have to change’.
Fighting the minerals-petroleum-coal complex’s wealth
Patrick Bond and Khadija Sharife
2011-07-20, Issue 540
cc C BProcrastination, paralysis, pollution and profit. These are the keywords for the UN climate conference slated for Durban, South Africa, in December. But, write Patrick Bond and Khadija Sharife

, the spirit of those who face down the powerful minerals-energy complex will shine through.
NATO's debacle in Libya
Alexander Cockburn
2011-07-19, Issue 540
cc S AWith support unravelling from within NATO itself, the organisation’s intervention in Libya is looking increasingly humiliated, writes Alexander Cockburn.
The CIA's secret sites in Somalia
Jeremy Scahill
2011-07-14, Issue 539
cc E IRenditions, an underground prison and a new CIA base are elements of an intensifying US war, according to a Nation investigation in Mogadishu, by Jeremy Scahill.
Speaking truth to power: Africa and development
Yash Tandon
2011-07-14, Issue 539
cc E IMatthew Newsome speaks to policy maker, professor, author and activist,Yash Tandon, about kleptocratic capitalism, African sovereignty and the challenges to creating a fair and sustainable society.
On the African awakenings
Winds of change, governance deficits and the way forward for Africa
Firoze Manji
2011-07-13, Issue 539
© IRINThe social unrest that has swept through Africa in 2011 has its roots in the stripping of African economies by international finance, argues Pambazuka News editor-in-chief Firoze Manji, in a speech delivered for the Beyond Juba Distinguished Lecture on 22 June. Now is the time to map out a path towards emancipation, he writes.
African political unity must be more selective
A blueprint for change
William Gumede
2011-07-14, Issue 539
cc MacalinPolitical unity across much of African has proven to be a question of ‘glorified clubs of leadership chums’ protecting one another through regional institutions, writes William Gumede. With the rise of new emerging powers in the world, Africa needs a new ‘revamped’ African Union involving member countries who meet appropriate standards around democracy and economic governance, Gumede argues.
Why Egypt wasn’t waiting for WikiLeaks to ignite a revolution
Nancy Messieh
2011-07-14, Issue 539
cc A HClaims that internet-based tools where behind the Egyptian revolution have angered activists. Nancy Messieh explains why.
Existential threats in the Caribbean
Democratising politics, regionalising governance
Norman Girvan
2011-07-14, Issue 539
cc WikimediaNorman Girvan examines the politics of the Caribbean through the life of CLR James, the influential Afro-Trinidadian historian, journalist, socialist theorist and essayist.
Burkina Faso after the recent socio-political shocks
Paul Kéré
2011-07-07, Issue 538
cc E & MThe recent political upheaval in Burkina Faso demonstrates the fragility of peace, writes Paul Kéré, with the country facing numerous challenges around ensuring affordable staple foods, public health, its economy and the handover of power.
Green Thursday in the life of the nation of Senegal
The day everything changed and a ticking bomb finally exploded
Arame Tall
2011-06-29, Issue 537
The inspiring uprisings in Senegal represent ‘a ticking bomb finally exploding’, writes Arame Tall, with a highly diverse cross-section of Senegalese society out in force to protest the dearth of economic opportunities, political mismanagement and governmental scandals: ‘What has taken place in Senegal is most of all a reclaiming by a people of a voice they thought they had a lost and a dignity even they themselves had forgotten they had.’
Senegal on the rise
‘Ne touche pas à ma constitution!’
Sokari Ekine
2011-06-30, Issue 537
The people of Senegal are out in protest over President Abdoulaye Wade’s efforts to manipulate the country’s constitution, writes Sokari Ekine in this week’s round-up of African uprisings. Ekine also discusses the continuing public sector strikes in Botswana and the creation of an online collective of activists opposed to Equatoguinean President Obiang Nguema’s rule.
Swaziland: uprising in the slip-stream of North Africa
Peter Kenworthy
2011-06-29, Issue 537
cc WikimediaApril protests in Swaziland galvanised the democratic movement and saw ordinary people turn out in the droves, writes Peter Kenworthy. But getting rid of a king turns out to be very much a process and not an event.
Is the 'global coalition' obstructing Africa’s progress?
Zaya Yeebo
2011-06-30, Issue 537
cc MoghawemtThe ‘global coalition’ is ultimately a mere front for the dominance of Western economic and political interests over genuine democratisation for the peoples of Africa, writes Zaya Yeebo.
Parliamentary budget office vital to improve budget process
Eugenia Madhidha
2011-06-29, Issue 537
cc WikimediaA parliamentary budget office would assist Tanzanian MPs in engaging with the executive, argues Eugenia Madhidha.
Senegal: Violent uprising in Dakar
Human rights activist Alioune Tine seriously wounded
Tidiane Kassé, Yellitaare
2011-06-23, Issue 536
cc Seneweb'There is a violent uprising happening now here. In the city center of Dakar, in the suburbs and in the provincial areas. A lot of demonstrations and riots are happening,' writes Tidiane Kassé, as Senegalese people take to the streets to oppose a new law being discussed in parliament, which would allow a presidential candidate to take power with just 25% of the vote. Meanwhile, as a Yellitaare statement calls on the Senegalese government to ensure the safety of human rights activist Alioune Tine, reports from Dakar suggest that Tine is 'seriously wounded', after being hit on the head by attackers alleged to be the body guards of a minister close to President Abdoulaye Wade.
Striking back at Egyptian workers
Hesham Sallam
2011-06-23, Issue 536
cc A HCan the new post-Mubarak Egypt succeed in addressing the socio-economic grievances that helped spark the January 25 uprising? The ‘prevailing discourse among Egyptian elites and opinion makers, however, already signals that the answer is no,’ writes Hesham Sallam.
Egypt: The old repression resurfaces
Sokari Ekine
2011-06-23, Issue 536
cc H HThe situation in Egypt is increasingly complex writes Sokari Ekine, where power still lies with the remnants of the state and military, and the old mechanisms of repression are starting to reappear.
Senegal: The coming of age of an heir apparent
Amy Niang
2011-06-23, Issue 536
cc WikimediaIf the US really believes in democracy, how can it support Abdoulaye Wade’s plans to have his son succeed him as Senegal’s president, asks Amy Niang.
Ethiopia: Press freedom, the law and democracy
Interview with Dawit Kebede
Ron Singer
2011-06-23, Issue 536
cc UN multimediaDawit Kebede, editor-in-chief of Ethiopian newspaper, the Awramba Times, speaks to Ron Singer about the perils of working in the media – from his arrest by the government to his struggle to get a license for a new paper – and his disappointment with US academics’ failure to support Ethiopian democracy.
The Malabo extravaganza, the AU and a ‘sacrificed agenda’
Eyob Balcha
2011-06-23, Issue 536
cc A NDismayed by the AU’s willingness to host its summit at a luxury complex in Equatorial Guinea despite the government’s violation of human rights, Eyob Balcha says the summit will not improve the lives of ordinary Africans. What’s more, given the ongoing crises across the continent, the summit’s theme of youth empowerment will be the last thing on the mind of delegates.