January 11, 2016
Many people aspire to live a middle class life. Once they attain it, sustaining it is a big challenge. Shutterstock
Many people are born into the middle class, but for those born in poverty the lifetime challenge is...
Ethnic tensions at Kenya’s universities are not new. But the intensity is increasing, and ethnicity is interfering with how universities are run. Reuters
There were high hopes for Kenya’s public universities after the country gained independence from Britain in 1963. Universities were meant...
The world was surprised when the usually peaceful country of Mali suffered a coup in 2012. Reuters/Joe Penneyn
July 13, 2015
By Michael Bratton and Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi
Many were surprised when Mali – a budding democratic success story after three...
By Stefan Wolff
In 2011 South Sudan became the 193rd United Nations member state. This was met by a great deal of local celebration and international praise. It marked the seemingly happy end of decades of a mostly violent struggle...
July 8, 2015
By Laura Czerniewicz
If the world were mapped according to how many scientific research papers each country produced, it would take on a rather bizarre, uneven appearance. The Northern hemisphere would balloon beyond recognition. The global sou...
July 7, 2015
By Marianna Fotaki
The resounding rejection of the unworkable polices demanded by Greece’s lenders in a national referendum held on July 5 is truly momentous for Greece.
Beyond the economic issues at stake in this vote, the democratic...
July 7, 2015
By Bosede Afolabi
Maternal mortality rates in West Africa are among the highest in the world. One in every 30 Nigerian mothers die in childbirth compared with one in every 30,000 in Sweden.
This is still much better...
After the Group of 7’s (G7) annual meeting in Germany – and with the world ready to adopt a new development agenda – it is crucial to ask whether the type of global leadership that has dominated the 20th...
June 29, 2015
There is a growing call globally for universities to develop and nurture more black professors. In South Africa, the issue is sharpened by the country’s racist legacy. It has been more than two decades since the official...
For some observers, the long-awaited and much-delayed publication of retired judge Ian Farlam’s report on the death of 44 people at the Lonmin-owned platinum mine at Marikana in August 2012 is all about Cyril Ramaphosa .
Did the former union...