Human rights groups are holding NATO accountable for 72 reported civilian casualties in Libya and have urged for an investigation into the causes of the deaths.
Africa
African Region
A Turkish Approach to Somalia
While several Western states have increased aid to Somalia and convened conferences to address its myriad problems, Ankara has taken a different approach by putting (work) boots on the ground.
Balancing Budgets on the Backs of the Poor: Government Cuts Funds to CIDA
[captionpix align=”right” theme=”elegant” width=”320″ imgsrc=”http://storage.canoe.ca/v1/dynamic_resize/sws_path/suns-prod-images/1297256355812_ORIGINAL.jpg?quality=80&size=650x&stmp=1335304610241″ captiontext=” Minister of International Cooperation, Bev Oda.”] The Conservative Government has announced it will cut $319-million from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)’s budget over the next three years, while redirecting funds from low-income countries in Africa to middle-income countries in Latin America. Meanwhile, the Minister for International Cooperation, Bev Read More…
Talking Somalia with Dr. Christopher Daniels
Interview by James M. Bridger Given the dangers associated with conducting research in the country, Somalia has long suffered from a dearth of genuine academic and journalistic inquiry—resulting in a number of myths and misconceptions. Seeking to counter this, Dr. Christopher Daniels has carried out extensive research in Somalia and the wider region in an Read More…
The EU’s Misguided Move to Fight Pirates Onshore
[captionpix align=”left” theme=”elegant” width=”320″ imgsrc=”http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1405/5178639570_e09c65894f_z.jpg” captiontext=” While successful at deterring and disrupting pirate attacks, foreign military operations alone cannot end Somali piracy.”] When confronting the crisis of Somali piracy, the preferred strategy of the international community has been to deploy naval vessels to protect vulnerable ships and deter and disrupt pirate attacks. The refrain that Read More…
NATO, The African Union and the Fight Against Piracy
By: James Marcus Bridger One would be hard pressed to find an article analyzing Somali piracy—be it journalistic, academic, or militarily focused—that does not make the claim that this maritime problem can only be solved on land. In the four years that the international community has attempted to address this crisis, however, a coherent and Read More…
All Talk and No Game: Is South Africa Ready to be a Continental Superpower?
In 1994, Nelson Mandela announced that South African foreign policy would forever be guided by the international pursuit of human rights and true democracy. Yet eighteen years later, the country appears to have lost sight of not only Mandela’s guidelines, but of any coherent global strategy at all. In a time when the international community Read More…
A Somali Quagmire Part I – A Guide to the Players
By: James Marcus Bridger As was the case for much of the Cold War, Somalia once again finds itself playing host to a number of competing local, regional, and international actors. The beleaguered Transitional Federal Government (TFG) now controls the capital Mogadishu, thanks to an offensive launched by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)—a Read More…
Things Fall Apart: Nigeria Slides toward Sectarian Conflict
By: James Marcus Bridger Just two short years ago, the Islamist militant organization Boko Haram was discounted by government and intelligence officials as a spent force that lacked the organizational capabilities to threaten the state or endanger foreign interests. By 2011 however, the group had evolved from a small religious sect to a simmering regional Read More…
Emboldened al-Qaeda Offshoot Prompts Western Action
Once considered a quiet front in the global “War on Terror,” the Sahel region of North Africa has become an area of increasing concern for Western governments. Emboldened by mercenaries and heavy weapons crossing out of Libya, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has engaged in a spree of kidnappings and attacks, prompting Canada, the Read More…