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Richard Dowden rss

Africa

The sick man of Africa

8 December 2012

I dread attending meetings on Congo. At almost every one a Congolese will stand up and start to rail, then scream and weep. Some get very aggressive. The police were… Read more

After Mandela

7 January 2012

It produced one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century. It fought a violent race-based dictatorship and replaced it with the most liberal constitution the world has ever known.… Read more

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Three decades of murder and misrule

24 February 2010

Next week marks 30 years since Robert Mugabe was elected Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. Last month was 20 years since Nelson Mandela left jail. The two men have much in… Read more

Downhill all the way?

18 June 2005
The State of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence Martin Meredith

The Free Press, pp.752, 20

Martin Meredith ended his 1984 book on Africa, The First Dance of Freedom, with a quote from a recent report by the Economic Commission for Africa which looked ahead to… Read more