Reports

Governments in Southern Africa talk a big game about fostering the digital economy and expanding internet access to their country’s citizens. The reality, however, is that leaders in the region worry that making more political information available to their people could bring dissent and dismantle their patronage networks. For them, ...

In Namibia, the three decades after independence saw a long and not entirely successful struggle to build a democratic governance system. The ruling party has failed to address corruption and abuse of power. Disillusioned, young citizens are radicalizing and getting drawn into bitter ethnic rivalries – a process that could ...

African communities in postindependence states often have painful memories of police repression dating back to the colonial era, and the recent lockdowns have reopened old wounds. During the pandemic, political activity ground to a halt. But with several elections to be held in the near future, violent incidents involving law ...

With most countries in the region having only recently gained their independence, the Southern Africa Development Community is both ill-prepared and disinclined to intervene in the Cabo Delgado terrorist insurgency. However, the factors that led to the rise of extremism in Mozambique are present throughout the region, and could spark ...

In 2019, Malawian President Peter Mutharika won a second term with a narrow margin. But the opposition coalition, alleging irregularities, brought the matter to court and obtained an annulment of the results. A second election in June 2020 saw the opposition leader peacefully elected – an anomaly in a region ...

Relations between Botswana and South Africa have become tense after the former hired a right-wing advocacy group to sue in the latter’s courts over millions of dollars allegedly laundered and intended to finance a coup. The move emphasizes the South African government’s tenuous grip on power and the deteriorating rule ...