Obama and Mandela: The Legacy Of The First Blacks

It is not easy being the first black of anything let alone the first black president of a racially fraught country. Contending with deeply entrenched pessimistic views of black leadership – being the first black president leaves little margin for error; your success as the first black is bound up with the image of an […]

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What Happens When A Major World City Runs Dry?

Residents of this coastal city of 4 million have begun stockpiling bottled water and lining up at natural springs. The reason? Cape Town, a global tourist destination and South Africa’s second-largest city, may soon switch off its taps. Dams are running low in the midst of an extreme three-year drought, one that has been compounded […]

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The Trials Of Jacob Zuma

Today, after eight years as South Africa’s leader, and 10 years in charge of the governing ANC, Jacob Zuma’s laughter has turned against him. To many in this country it has become a jarring, charmless cliche – the hollow mirth of a man whose presidency is widely blamed for the corruption, misrule and economic stagnation that […]

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Even With Modi Back On Board, China Will Find It Hard To Keep Emerging Markets Club Together

The confirmation that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will show up in the coastal city of Xiamen has cleared a major obstacle to a “successful” BRICS leader summit – an event that China has been preparing for months to showcase its global influence. However, a ceremonial summit may not heal deep cracks in the club of […]

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Gandhi’s Unequal Justice In South Africa

During his years in South Africa, Gandhi sought to ingratiate himself with Empire and its mission. In doing so, he not only rendered African exploitation and oppression invisible, but was, on occasion, a willing part of their subjugation and racist stereotyping. This is not the Gandhi spoken of in hagiographic speeches by politicians more than […]

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BRICS New Development Bank Launched In Shanghai

The five BRICS countries are home to 42.6 percent of the global population, 21 percent of the world’s economy and nearly half of the world’s forex reserves, but have been marginalized in the global financial landscape. For example, in the World Bank, the five have a total of only 13 percent of voting rights, while […]

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Will the World Ever Boom Again?

The problem is that China’s recent slowdown from 10 percent annual growth to about 7 percent is only the beginning. The recent drops in housing and stock prices are harbingers of a further economic moderation. That is inevitable, since no country can grow at a breakneck pace forever. And with the slowing of China, Brazil […]

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The BRICS: Beyond The Hype

The BRICS grouping—comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—is as contentious as it is misunderstood. Skeptics dismiss the BRICS out of hand, arguing that the coalition is all talk and no action. Enthusiasts, on the other hand, maintain that the BRICS portend a new global pecking order—one in which the emerging economies, led by […]

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