Last week, the U.N. Security Council established a multinational armed mission to Haiti that many fear will end up being yet another botched intervention there. In fact, the mission has several features that ought to reassure skeptics. Whether it can live up to its full potential will depend on a number of factors yet to be determined.
Three visits to Nairobi this week by major dignitaries is the latest indication of a recognition by global actors of Africa’s increasing importance in international affairs—and Kenya’s aspiration to be a major voice for Africa in global affairs. But Nairobi must now demonstrate its readiness to assume such a responsibility.
Citizens in Kenya and South Africa took to the streets this week to protest the skyrocketing cost of living and the decline in the quality of public goods and services. But the protests also raise vital questions about the limits of elections and their ability to engender broader democratic accountability.
