Sub-Saharan Africa
The future of Africa is often regarded in a strangely unimaginative and pessimistic way. Yet Africa today is full of diversity, economic potential and innovative development.
However, the continent faces numerous challenges. As a liberal foundation, we believe that sustainable development depends on strong democratic institutions. Through our activities, we therefore promote liberal policies such as human rights, the rule of law, innovation, digitalisation and free trade.
From our offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Harare, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Abidjan and Dakar, we support partners in several African countries in advocating liberal values and implementing democratic structures.
News
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How many leaders like Mandela are required to defeat populism?
The values that Nelson Mandela stood for and which he so eloquently put forward and defended at his trial in 1964 - equality of all people before the law, the rule of law, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly - are once again under pressure in South Africa today. These original liberal values, for which Mandela is celebrated internationally, are increasingly being called into question by his political heirs. The immediate history of South Africa and the transition from apartheid to democracy are the subject of diverse opinions. Countless books, articles, films, and recordings from a wide range of perspectives, from Mandela himself to representatives of the apartheid government, international diplomats, and various political actors.
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Where is President Ruto steering the country?
It was supposed to be a liberating blow. On the evening of July 11, 2024, Kenya's President Ruto issued a press release. Three pages of praise for his own government were followed by the real news on page four: all ministers and the Attorney General were dismissed immediately. The only exception was the Prime Minister, who also heads the Foreign Ministry. Ruto also announced immediate talks to broaden the government's base. A government of national unity as a last resort to save Kenya, long the anchor of stability in East Africa, from a national crisis?
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Cooperation, but not at any price
Berlin and West Africa are engaged in lively diplomatic exchanges. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is traveling to Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, while the German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Svenja Schulze, will host 18 Sahel Alliance members in Berlin. Germany is extending diplomatic efforts while withdrawing militarily; last week, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced the unexpected withdrawal of the remaining German troop contingent from Niger.
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ECOWAS, AES and the German troop withdrawal
Temperatures are rising in the Sahel. The climatic temperatures anyway, which have been causing unbearable heat and countless deaths for months. And there is a heated atmosphere between the countries in the Sahel region. The military coups of the last four years in six West African countries have led internally to divided societies, regionally to changed alliance constellations and internationally to a turning away from the West, especially France, and an increased dependence on "new" partners such as Russia, China and others.
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Why the former archenemies could help the country move forward
South Africa already has experience with governments of national unity: the first democratically elected government in post-apartheid South Africa 30 years ago.
It was led by the African National Congress (ANC) under President Nelson Mandela and formed a coalition with the National Party (NP), which represented the interests of a right-wing conservative white population, and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which fights for the Zulu ethnic group at a political level.
Now the time has come again. -
Black Tuesday in Kenya as Gen Z overrun parliament, police kill 14
Fourteen people were killed and Parliament torched as stalwarts of President William Ruto passed controversial tax law which has provoked a popular uprising among young Kenyans. Gen Z protestors were staging the fifth of their “seven days of rage” hold-out against Ruto government’s hard-line stance on Finance Bill 2024. In 35 of Kenya’s 47 counties, they poured out in the streets in their thousands, shouting down the government, burning and looting properties associated with ruling party MPs.
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The heavy price and sacrifice of human rights
Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, widely known by his stage name Bobi Wine, visited Johannesburg to attend the screening of his Oscar-nominated documentary film “Bobi Wine – the People’s President”. The film recounts Bobi Wine’s participation in the 2021 Uganda presidential election that resulted not only in long-term strongman Yoweri Museveni’s fraudulently clinging to power but also a brutal crackdown on the political opposition.