The Cold War between 1947 and 1991 was fought on ideological grounds. The imperial West sought to establish its dominance in world affairs to the defeat of the Soviet Union and its allies. In the aftermath of WWII, communist ideology had gained unprecedented popularity and was spreading across Europe. The US and Britain were terrified…
Barack Obama rode the wave of victory that promised change; an unprecedented triumph in the political history of the US by this son of a Kenyan immigrant. Obama’s message of hope and change resonated with American voters and the rest of the world. Even the detractors of the most powerful nation on earth, militarily, began…
As the tidal wave of popular uprisings swept across the Arab world, the February 17 movement in Libya appeared to be on the same trajectory as other movements that led to the downfall of dictators in neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia. What was crystal clear from the onset was the open wish of the international community,…
One of the founding fathers of the African National Congress, Pixley ka Seme, stood at Columbia University, in 1906, to deliver his speech: “the Regeneration of Africa”. He said: “The brighter day is rising upon Africa…Yes the regeneration of Africa belongs to this new and powerful period. The African people…possess a common fundamental sentiment which…
South Africa has recently been invited by China to join the group of fast-emerging economies, BRICS, as they will be known going forward. BRICS, with the exception of South Africa, each contribute to more than 1% of the global GDP. Our economy has in the past struggled to reach the 6% GDP growth target despite…
“Nothing will come of nothing,” the old King Lear lashed out at his youngest daughter Cordelia. Cordelia unlike her older siblings, Regan and Goneril, had failed to shower the King, who was nearing the end of his mortal existence, with praises in order to earn an inheritance. This enraged the old king. For having “nothing”…
It is often difficult for human beings to readily discard particular views and prejudices that had long been imprinted in their minds through socialisation and experience. Often our worldview is informed by these particular conceptions, however preposterous they may be. People interpret facts before them according to their well-ingrained conceptions of what reality is and…
Henry Ford once said, “You can have any colour as long as it is black”. Similarly, native inhabitants of Africa say, “You can be an African in any colour as long as he is black.” There has been a sudden demand for an African to come in a variety of colours. During days of slavery…
A debate has been raging recently, led by self-appointed economic moralists and social activists, who have been on a war-path against conspicuous consumption; something they perceive as unethical consumerism and an affront on the moral principles of society. Anyone with a shade of active grey-matter would realise that such moral arguments are absolute nonsense. This…
As the global economy slowly emerges from the rubble of the devastating 2008 financial crisis, developed and developing economies are beginning to review their macro-economic policies in a collective attempt to spur sustainable global economic growth and avert a similar crisis. The US has been largely to blame for initiating a crisis that caused global…
