Africa

The Man Who Brought the Black Flag to Timbuktu

A new Islamist strongman has taken the stage in North Africa. His rising power is giving him a lot of bad ideas.

BY WILLIAM LLOYD-GEORGE | OCTOBER 22, 2012

No Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership

One of Africa's top business leaders talks about the challenges of encouraging good governance.

INTERVIEW BY TY MCCORMICK | OCTOBER 17, 2012

Amputation is No Cure for Cancer

South Sudan is gone. But the government in Khartoum still can't escape what ails Sudan.

BY JON TEMIN | OCTOBER 15, 2012

Think Again: The BRICS

Together, their GDP now nearly equals the United States. But are they really the future of the global economy?

BY ANTOINE VAN AGTMAEL | NOVEMBER 2012

Murder Most Foul

The world's 10 deadliest cities.

BY ALICIA P.Q. WITTMEYER, ELIAS GROLL | OCTOBER 8, 2012

The Mayor of Mogadishu

What the politician known as "Tarzan" carries as he goes about transforming the Somali capital.

INTERVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY MOHAMED MUBARAK | NOVEMBER 2012

The Changing Face of AIDS

The people most at risk today are not always who you'd expect.

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | NOVEMBER 2012

Reports of al Qaeda's Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

The terrorist group may be headless, but its tentacles still pack a mean punch.

BY DAVEED GARTENSTEIN-ROSS | OCTOBER 3, 2012

Somalia's Sarajevo

The strategic port city of Kismayo has now been wrested from al-Shabab. But it's still a long way from safe.

BY KEN MENKHAUS | OCTOBER 3, 2012

Unsung Heroes

Some of the world's bravest dissidents are pursuing their fight against injustice with little attention from the outside world. But that doesn't mean they aren't worth knowing about. Here's a list of remarkable people who rarely make it into the headlines.

BY TOM MALINOWSKI | OCTOBER 3, 2012

Save Benghazi

How the citizens of Benghazi are pushing back against the killers of a U.S. diplomat many considered their friend.

BY CHRISTOPHER STEPHEN | SEPTEMBER 29, 2012

The Somali Spring

Is the poster child of failed states finally getting its act together?

BY KEN MENKHAUS | SEPTEMBER 24, 2012

The Pirates of Puntland

What drinking cocktails on a slow boat to Somalia taught me about the battle against piracy.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Hijacked

How the U.N. saved the Somali pirates from the brink of extinction.

BY ROBERT YOUNG PELTON | SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Taking on the Gangs in Cape Town

How local officials in a township in post-apartheid South Africa confronted the challenge of gang violence.

BY RICHARD BENNET | SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Rumblings Along the Coast

Are Kenyan counterterrorism death squads behind the latest spate of targeted killings in Mombasa?

BY JONATHAN HOROWITZ | SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

Learning Europe's Lessons in Africa

Why five East African countries are trying to follow in the European Union's footsteps -- minus the common currency.

BY BLAIR GLENCORSE AND CHARLES LANDOW | SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Lions on the Move

10 things you don't know about Africa's booming economy.

BY SUSAN LUND, AREND VAN WAMELEN | AUGUST 31, 2012

Regulating the Resource Curse

How a small change by the SEC could prevent war, decrease corruption, and help developing countries fight Big Oil.

BY JEFF COLGAN | AUGUST 27, 2012

Magical Thinking

A rare look inside Swaziland's mysterious annual kingship ceremony and brewing protest movement.

BY NELLIE BOWLES | AUGUST 27, 2012

The Meles Inheritance

Ethiopia's late dictator antagonized his country's Muslims for years. His successors may pay for it.

BY MOHAMMED ADEMO | AUGUST 23, 2012

Murder in Marikana

Jacob Zuma might survive the Marikana tragedy. But can South Africa survive Jacob Zuma?

BY ROY ROBINS | AUGUST 23, 2012

The Meles Zenawi I Knew

Ethiopia's late dictator was a complex and sophisticated leader -- a self-taught ex-guerrilla who brought his people economic growth and repression.

BY BARRY MALONE | AUGUST 22, 2012

The Pivot to Africa

Circumcision, mosquito killing, and other strange doings of Africom.

BY ROSA BROOKS | AUGUST 16, 2012

Let Them Hunt

If President Obama is serious about wanting to apprehend Joseph Kony, he's got to unleash the dogs of war.

BY JOHN PRENDERGAST | AUGUST 13, 2012

The Woman Who Got Inside the Dictator's Head

Mugabe biographer Heidi Holland was a unique force among southern African journalists -- independent and fierce, but understanding.

BY EVE FAIRBANKS | AUGUST 13, 2012

Failed States Index

The troubling ambiguity of FP's rankings. Plus: Finland comes in last for once.

SEPT/OCT 2012

South Africa's Retail Politician

Jacob Zuma has charm, but is anyone still buying what he's selling?

BY ROY ROBINS | AUGUST 10, 2012

You Say You Want a Revolution

Before there was Pussy Riot, there were the Plastic People of the Universe. An FP List of musicians who took on their governments -- and became historical icons.

BY CHARLES HOMANS | AUGUST 3, 2012

Our Man in Kigali

For years, Rwanda's budding dictator, Paul Kagame, has gotten away with murder, while winning praise (and billions of dollars) from the West. But is the blind support for this strongman finally drying up?

BY ANJAN SUNDARAM | AUGUST 3, 2012