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Dossier Archive – summaries

Economy. Unsustainable Extractivism.

The oil industry is at the heart of the Angolan economy. But it benefits only the…

01 Jul 2022, Dossier July 2022

The Church Raises the Voice.

Since independence, the Church has been somewhat close to the MPLA, although it has always opposed…

01 Jul 2022, Dossier July 2022

Unpredictable Elections.

The result of next August’s elections cannot be taken for granted. About 14 million Angolans will…

01 Jul 2022, Dossier July 2022

Angola. A Country and Its Contradictions.

In the African context, Angola, a country with a population of over 33 million inhabitants, has…

01 Jul 2022, Dossier July 2022

The churches. Lost engagement.

They have lost the prophetic voice they had in the days of apartheid. They have no…

01 Jun 2022, Dossier June 2022

Economy. The COVID-19 Challenge.

The country is divided between two worlds, the world of the poor and the world of…

01 Jun 2022, Dossier June 2022

The Unending Saga of Jacob Zuma.

The former president faces two important trials. At the moment, he has only been in prison…

01 Jun 2022, Dossier June 2022

South Africa. A Bitter Season.

Next December, the African National Congress will hold its five-yearly elective conference. President Cyril Ramaphosa will…

01 Jun 2022, Dossier June 2022

The Philippines. Towards a new “Flowers and Rosaries Revolution”.

On May 9, the Philippines will be the scene of multiple elections that will have particular importance…

01 May 2022, Dossier May 2022

Duterte, the Executioner.

In office since June 30, 2016, despite the criticisms, Duterte ‘the executioner’ seemed unstoppable. After having won…

01 May 2022, Dossier May 2022

Internal Conflicts.

Once again, on May 9, the Filipinos will also bring persistent situations to the polls which,…

01 May 2022, Dossier May 2022

The Catholic Church.

The motto of the 500th anniversary year was ‘Missio ad Gentes’, to show that the story…

01 May 2022, Dossier May 2022

The Great Federation.

The Emirate Federation, created in 1971 out of the union of the six monarchies (seven since…

01 Apr 2022, Dossier April 2022

The United Arab Emirates. The Pearl Necklace.

The history of the United Arab Emirates is unique in the scenario of the Near Middle…

01 Apr 2022, Dossier April 2022

Strategic geopolitical position.

The strategic asset of the United Arab Emirates finds its place in the broader security strategy…

01 Apr 2022, Dossier April 2022

Diversifying the Economy.

During the past decade, the United Arab Emirates has brought to the fore an important process…

01 Apr 2022, Dossier April 2022

Nomads and Farmers, Old and New Fights in Africa.

In the last years one of the different ethnicities that live on the continent was put…

01 Mar 2022, Dossier March 2022

Peuls, as foreigners.

Nomadism caused Peuls to move between different areas that, after the decolonization, became independent states. While…

01 Mar 2022, Dossier March 2022

The Enemy Inside.

The fight is not only between Peuls and other groups. In many areas there is also…

01 Mar 2022, Dossier March 2022

The crisis of chieftaincy.

The crisis of traditional authorities is a common phenomenon in many northern areas in West African…

01 Mar 2022, Dossier March 2022

Africa. The Rural Market.

In the world of rural Africa, the market is not just a place for buying and…

01 Feb 2022, Dossier February 2022

Urban Markets.

Approaching the market of any African city, the visitor is immediately involved. The eyes are struck…

01 Feb 2022, Dossier February 2022

West Africa. The Variety of the Markets.

In some rural areas of the Sahel such as the Mossi plateau in the north of…

01 Feb 2022, Dossier February 2022

The Market. Where Women Reign Supreme.

It is still dark when Esther rises. The children are still asleep and her husband murmurs…

01 Feb 2022, Dossier February 2022

Economy. Dynamic Development.

The country is extremely rich in water resources and minerals. The latter have featured largely in…

01 Jan 2022, Dossier January 2022

Azerbaijan. Land of Fire.

Azerbaijan is a Caucasian republic located in the south-east, straddling Asia and Europe, in an extremely…

01 Jan 2022, Dossier January 2022

A Long Chess Game.

In the autumn of 2020, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan again broke out violently causing…

01 Jan 2022, Dossier January 2022

The Karabakh Conflict.

In 1917, ownership of the region of Karabakh was claimed by the new-born republics of Armenia…

01 Jan 2022, Dossier January 2022

Kenya/Ethiopia. A journey into Borana's cultural heritage.

In the vast semi-desert uplands of southern Ethiopia, and in the northern desert region of Kenya,…

01 Dec 2021, Dossier December 2021

Getting married.

Among the Borana people marriage is preceded by several stages and long negotiations, which can go…

01 Dec 2021, Dossier December 2021

The Gubissa Ceremony.

The birth of a child is always an important event that brings joy to the Borana.…

01 Dec 2021, Dossier December 2021

The Gadamoji Celebration.

Every eight years, the feast of final Borana passage called Gadamoji, when a man reaches complete…

01 Dec 2021, Dossier December 2021

Marriage an expensive venture.

Marriage is highly esteemed among the Banyakole and it is one of the most expensive and…

01 Nov 2021, Dossier November 2021

Religion & Family.

Prior to the Christian missionary movement in the 19th century, the Ankole people’s idea of a…

01 Nov 2021, Dossier November 2021

The Ankole cultural spots.

Places, legends, instruments, dances, to preserve the Ankole’s rich and diverse culture. At a glance some…

01 Nov 2021, Dossier November 2021

Uganda. Journey into the Ankole cultural heritage.

Ankole is one of the oldest and most famous dynasties in Uganda. It is believed to…

01 Nov 2021, Dossier November 2021

Trinidad and Tobago. Between Prosperity and Islamic Extremism.

Located between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, Trinidad and Tobago are part of the…

01 Oct 2021, Dossier October 2021

A flourishing economy.

The discoveries of large deposits of oil and gas between 1970 and 1990 brought about considerable…

01 Oct 2021, Dossier October 2021

Islamist danger.

As well as the high crime rate and the phenomenon of migration from Venezuela, during the…

01 Oct 2021, Dossier October 2021

A multi-ethnic country.

Due to its varied history, Trinidad and Tobago represents one of the most multiracial countries in…

01 Oct 2021, Dossier October 2021

Kazakhstan. "The Heart of the World".

Right in the middle of Eurasia, in that mass of land known as ‘The Heart of…

01 Sep 2021, Dossier September 2021

The hard road towards Nation-Building.

Kazakhstan achieved independence in December 1991 at a time when the dissolution of the USSR was…

01 Sep 2021, Dossier September 2021

Great reforms.

For Kazakhstan, the year 2019 may be remembered as a time of political change. President Nursultan Nazarbayev,…

01 Sep 2021, Dossier September 2021

A Eurasian canal.

The modernisation of the state forms part of the ‘Kazakhstan 2030 Plan’ launched by Nazarbayev in…

01 Sep 2021, Dossier September 2021

Always On the Move.

The Bororo culture is one of movement. There are different sorts of movement. First of all…

01 Aug 2021, Dossier August 2021

Gerewol. The festival of Love.

The Gerewol is the festival of bodily beauty. The young Bororo, after spending ascetic months in…

01 Aug 2021, Dossier August 2021

“We are the ‘most beautiful’ of all”.

The cult of physical beauty is most important. The rules of aesthetics are followed by the…

01 Aug 2021, Dossier August 2021

Niger. The Bororo-Wodaabe. The Beauty of Liberty.

The Bororo belong to the large ethnic family of the Peul, better known as the Fulani,…

01 Aug 2021, Dossier August 2021

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Dossier

Dossier articles from the past 3 months

South Africa. Durban. Missed opportunities to divert ships to avoid Houthi attacks.

As Africa’s largest port, Durban faces many challenges that are hampering its development. These include congestion, lack of reform and competition from other regional ports. Managed in a landlord capacity by the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), the port of Durban is the largest in Africa. It has strong maritime connections with the rest of…

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Nigeria. Lagos, the largest complex in the Guinea Gulf faces huge challenges.

The Lagos complex, with the new Lekki container port and the neighbouring Tin Can Island port, is the largest maritime hub in the Gulf of Guinea. But Nigeria’s ports face many challenges, including congestion, corruption and piracy. With an annual cargo volume of 27 million tonnes, the Port of Lagos is the second largest seaport…

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African Ports. Competitiveness and Positioning in Global Supply Chains.

Since colonial times, African ports have been the main gateway to coastal countries and their vast hinterland. We examined the performance, challenges and development prospects of three of the largest ports in sub-Saharan Africa: Lagos in West Africa, Mombasa in East Africa and Durban in South Africa. In this globalised economy, where ports are gateways…

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Burkina Faso. A climate of fear and violence.

The country has long been going through a phase of instability and violence that threatens its survival. The rise to power of the military has not improved the situation. On the contrary, it has actually worsened it by aggravating a series of pre-existing problems. At this moment, there is no way out of this state…

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Where to go…

Distrust seems to be growing not only among ethnic groups but also among religious communities. And this translates into attacks against the faithful gathered to pray in churches or mosques. And the junta bears its share of responsibility in all this. To stay in power, Traoré, in addition to the measures seen above, frequently resorts…

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Descent into chaos.

In Burkina Faso, the terrorist threat emerged after 2015, the year in which the first president after the lengthy period of the Compaoré regime was democratically elected. In 2016 jihadists started to penetrate the country from Mali. Since then, the situation has steadily worsened. According to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED, that…

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A new partner.

Each of these three ‘rebel states’ has forged more or less strong ties with Russia, the global player that has been most active and unscrupulous in Africa in recent years. This growth in influence has been primarily at the expense of France, the colonial power. In some ways, ties with Paris remain strong. Suffice it…

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Islam. Close Alliance with Power.

The Muslim religion is the unifying feature of Mauritanian culture and society which, however, presents notable differences in other aspects. To fully understand the extent of Islam’s role in the country, we must start from the decision taken in 1958 when it was not yet independent, to define itself as the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.…

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Mauritania. Beyond the dunes.

The presidential elections, scheduled for June 22, constitute a test for the Mauritanian political system. The outgoing president, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, elected for the first time in 2019, is widely expected to win. The majority parties have designated him as their candidate ever since the announcement of the elections last December by the Independent National…

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How to stem the progress of Jihad.

Nouakchott has not suffered large-scale attacks for 12 years. There are three reasons: collaboration with neighbouring countries, the intervention of religious authorities and having “institutionalised” the demands of Islamist parties and movements. The Sahel is an endemically poor region and Mauritania struggled significantly after independence, to achieve economic development that lived up to expectations. Over…

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Economy. Oil & Gas and Green hydrogen.

The government is focusing on green hydrogen to diversify the rapidly growing economy, aiming for growth in the renewable energy sector. The country is among those most suffering from the climate crisis with increasingly frequent and destructive floods and longer periods of drought. On the one hand, the prospect of becoming Africa’s third largest gas…

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Advocacy

South Africa. Nonhle Mbuthuma and Sinegugu Zukulu.

Activists Nonhle Mbuthuma and Sinegugu Zukulu have stopped destructive seismic testing for oil and gas off South Africa’s Eastern Cape, in an area known as…

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Baobab

Beautiful Kaya.

Kaya was the most beautiful girl in the village. All the boys courted her, each bringing her small gifts. There were so many invitations from her…

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Youth & Mission

Tunisia. The future in the hands of young people.

While the country is in the grip of a serious economic crisis, in the oasis city of Tozeur, the OxyJeunes youth Centre focuses on schooling and…

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