Africa

The 2018 Zimbabwe elections are characterised by continuities and discontinuities. While many chiefs continue to support Zanu-PF, a growing number has stood their ground and refused to partake in the repression of their people.

The Heinrich Böll Foundation has been active in Southern Africa since 1989 and for many years has focused on supporting civil society actors in the region. Since 2007, the Foundation has acted more at the interface between civil society and parliaments.

The Dakar office is active in green urban development, youth, gender democracy and migration. Through the support of partner organizations as well as through its own events, the Office is committed to networking civil society groups and integrating social issues in Senegal.

The power shift in Zimbabwe was a military coup, says Brain Raftopoulos. To prevent the consolidation of a new authoritarian state, the international community has to be careful not to prioritise stability over democratisation.

This essayistic anachronism imagines Böll's novella The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (1974) as if it were unfolding in contemporary times in an era of populism and rising conservatism, in which female sexuality is still richly milked as a sensational cover for abuse of patriarchal power.

Both the Mugabe’s succession plan and Mnangagwa’s long held Presidential ambitions have been in play for some time. While they have coincided in their strategic intent, at some point the final confrontation between the two was always on the cards.

Shortly before the coup, the offices of HBF partner Magamba Network were raided and a team member arrested. Magamba's Tongai Makawa provides an update and reflects on the implications of the military takeover.

The Zimbabwean military has apparently ended President Mugabes longlasting regime. Although unparalleled, the coup appears to pre-empt imminent threats to military interests, says political analyst and researcher McDonald Lewanika.

The current discourse on renewable energy tends to centre on the positive reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and improved energy security, while the risks of social and environmental injustice are largely ignored.

African governments need to put policies in place that recognise that their economic vibrancy is shifting to internal consumption and manufacturing and services, away from commodities alone. And they must tax accordingly.