Simon Allison
This Is Africa
Atlanta, GA, United States
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Past articles by Simon:
eSwatini tests the limits of its absolute monarchy
Swaziland’s name change debate is more about defining the exact limits of the king’s authority. → Read More
South Africa criticises Australian plan to fast-track white farmer visas
Security studies experts say there’s no evidence to support claims that white farmers are more targeted than anyone else → Read More
East Africa: Port Deal Underscores Djibouti's Reliance On Ethiopia
Analysis - When Djibouti makes international headlines, it is usually in connection with the many superpowers that have built military bases on its shore. France, the United States, China, Italy and Japan all have a major military presence in the tiny East African nation. But for Djibouti's government, there is another major power that is even more important: Ethiopia. → Read More
Grace Mugabe: the rags to riches rise and fall of 'Gucci Grace'
The first lady of Zimbabwe has support from the ruling party’s Youth League, but is widely disliked among the general population → Read More
Zimbabwe's Succession Race Is Far From Over
Analysis - On Monday, President Robert Mugabe fired his vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa, sending shockwaves through Zimbabwe's political establishment. 'I think that this is one of the most significant political events since independence,' said David Coltart, a prominent opposition leader and former education minister. → Read More
Kenya: Could Parts of Kenya Really Secede?
Analysis - Kenya is experiencing its worst political crisis in more than a decade, prompting some politicians to suggest extreme solutions - including the division of Kenya into two countries. → Read More
Africa: Why Is Chad Part of Trump's Travel Ban?
Analysis - Since taking office in January, United States (US) President Donald Trump has made more than his fair share of inexplicable decisions. But the inclusion of Chad in the latest revision of his infamous travel ban may just be the most inexplicable of the lot. → Read More
Tanzania: #WhatWouldMagufuliDo? We're Just Finding Out
Analysis - There was a time in late 2015 and early 2016 - when Tanzania's President John Magufuli had only just been elected - that the man they call 'The Bulldozer' could do no wrong. → Read More
Africa: Can the Zambian Intervention Resuscitate the Commonwealth?
Analysis - In the dying days of the British Empire, as Whitehall mandarins grasped for new ways to maintain their global influence, the Commonwealth of Nations came into being. The institution is designed to link all of Britain's former colonial territories into one intergovernmental organisation; and, in true imperial style, its titular head - from its modern inception in 1949 - is none other… → Read More
Grace Mugabe's rise: grotesque ambition or pure self-preservation?
Many view Zimbabwe’s first lady as opportunistic, greedy and selfish. But could her motivation be far more about survival? → Read More
Jacob Zuma survives no-confidence vote in South African parliament
Coalition of opposition parties and renegade ANC MPs unable to gain majority needed to oust South African president → Read More
Cameroon: The High Cost of Ignoring Torture in Cameroon
Analysis - Two months ago, a private contractor working for the United States (US) military posted a photograph on Facebook. It was taken at the Salak military base in Cameroon's far north, where Cameroon's elite Rapid Intervention Brigade (Brigade d'Intervention Rapide, or BIR) has its headquarters, and where the US military maintains an outpost. An unidentified number of American troops are… → Read More
Zambia: Africa's Silence Encourages Lungu's Bad Behaviour
Analysis - Zambians pride themselves on their reputation as a peaceful nation, and a peaceful people. It's a well-deserved reputation. In decades of independence - as almost all their neighbours struggled through civil war and chronic instability - Zambia remained an island of calm; a beacon of relatively good democratic governance on a continent that's not exactly known for it. → Read More
Africa Can't Get Counter-Terrorism Wrong Again
Analysis - By any measure, Africa's fight against terrorism has been a failure. → Read More
How Africa Can Win the War on Islamist Militants
Africa has become a major theater for Islamist violence. → Read More
'You were supposed to die tonight': US anti-terror strategy linked to torture in Africa
Security forces funded by US are accused of human rights abuses including summary executions and disappearances → Read More
Kenya: Opposition Needs More Than a Coalition to Win the Polls
Analysis - Look at Nigeria, where opposition parties united to form the All Progressive's Congress, throwing their combined political muscle behind a single leader. Sure enough, their chosen leader, Muhammadu Buhari, is now the President of Nigeria, handily defeating incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. → Read More
Burundi: Can Burundi Bury the Ghosts of Its Troubled Past?
Analysis - Although Burundi has experienced chronic instability of late, this mass grave is not connected to recent events. Not directly, anyway - although modern Burundi continues to be haunted by the ghosts of its troubled past. → Read More
Africa: Things May Have to Get Worse to Get Better in Africa. They Certainly Got Worse in 2016
Analysis - The economic and political fractures in many African countries have become more exposed than ever this year. But in the cracks lie opportunities. → Read More
Things may have to get worse to get better in Africa. They certainly got worse in 2016
The economic and political fractures in many African countries have become more exposed than ever this year. But in the cracks lie opportunities. img class=”… → Read More