East Africa

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Letter From,
Rebecca Hamilton

In recent years, international attention on Sudan has focused on Darfur. But the regime in Khartoum has been concerned with its own political survival, and with elections looming in the spring, the country's ruling party is prepared to use repression and intimidation to ensure its victory.

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Essay, Nov/Dec 2009
Bronwyn Bruton

Washington's repeated attempts to bring peace to Somalia with state-building initiatives have failed, even backfired. It should renounce political intervention and encourage local development without trying to improve governance.

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Author Interview,
Andrew Natsios

This week, Andrew Natsios answers questions submitted by readers about what the United States and others can do to bring peace and humanitarian relief to Sudan. 

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Snapshot,
Andrew Natsios

The ICC's latest move against the Sudanese president will harden Khartoum's stance, push Darfuri rebels to make unreasonable demands, and raise expectations in Sudan -- complicating efforts to secure peace and justice.

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Comment, Mar/Apr 2009
Bennett Ramberg

As Washington ponders how long to stay in Iraq, it would do well to remember the limited impact of the United States' withdrawal from Vietnam and Cambodia in the 1970s, Lebanon in the 1980s, and Somalia in the 1990s.

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Essay, May/June 2008
Andrew Natsios

While the crisis in Darfur simmers, the larger problem of Sudan's survival as a state is becoming increasingly urgent. Old tensions between the Arabs of the Nile River valley, who have held power for a century, and marginalized groups on the country's periphery are turning into a national crisis. Engagement with Khartoum may be the only way to avert another civil war in Sudan, and even that may not be enough.

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Essay, Jan/Feb 2008
Joel D. Barkan

Barkan's update to his January/February 2004 essay "Kenya After Moi."

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Essay, Mar/Apr 2007
John Prendergast and Colin Thomas-Jensen

The Greater Horn of Africa, the hottest conflict zone in the world, is a legitimate concern of U.S. officials. But their overwhelming focus on stemming terrorism there is overshadowing U.S. initiatives to resolve conflicts and promote good governance -- with disastrous implications for regional stability and U.S. counterterrorism objectives themselves.

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Essay, Jan/Feb 2005
Scott Straus

As western Sudan continues to suffer, much international attention has focused on whether to call what is happening there "genocide." Yet once the term was invoked, it did not trigger outside intervention. Terminology turns out to matter far less than was expected. And once more, the world has dithered while people die.

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Essay, Jan/Feb 2004
Joel D. Barkan

Kenya's fragile government is threatened by factionalism, economic challenges, and rising crime. To ensure Nairobi's involvement in the war on terrorism, Washington must be sensitive to its domestic needs, recognizing that fledgling democracies can be more difficult to engage than their authoritarian predecessors.

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