Zimbabwe: from Worst of the Worst
The "official" results of the presidential election in Zimbabwe were finally announced on May 2. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the majority vote, but because the 50% minimum needed to win outright was not reached, a run-off will take place. This second round leaves Zimbabweans and the international community certain that Robert Mugabe will continue his use of intimidation, force, and violence to secure his re-election. More >
FEATURED PUBLICATIONS
Ahron de Leeuw
February 17, 2008
"Bangladesh's model"
Chicago Tribune
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
With Pakistan on edge ahead of Monday's parliamentary elections and opponents vowing to oust beleaguered President Pervez Musharraf, this is a good time to look at how another nearby predominantly Muslim country is faring under military rule.
racoles
December 2, 2007
"Myanmar's leaders are not immune to pressure: Time has come to tighten the screws"
Chicago Tribune
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
First Lady Laura Bush, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and nearly all of the leaders of the democratic world want to bring Myanmar in from the cold. For too long -- 45 years -- a sternly repressive military leadership has denied fundamental freedoms and basic decency to about 50 million citizens.
November 20, 2007
Africa's Successes: Evaluating Accomplishment
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Seven of mainland sub-Saharan Africa’s forty-five nation-states are widely regarded as being success stories. The mixed conclusions of this analysis are instructive in understanding the dynamics of political and economic achievement in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole.
AP Photo
October 22, 2007
"Ex-Mozambique president Chissano wins Mo Ibrahim Prize for African Leadership"
Former President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, who led his country's recovery from its devastating 16-year civil war, on Monday won the first Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African leadership.
(AP Photo)
October 7, 2007
"Playing Favorites on Dictators Robs U.S. of High Ground"
Chicago Tribune
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Myanmar (formerly Burma) is among the four most repressive countries on Earth, and President Bush is right to strengthen sanctions against the junta of aging generals who have pummeled protesting monks in their monasteries. But what about equally odious regimes with which Washington maintains cordial relations despite appalling human-rights records?
September 25, 2007
Ibrahim Index of African Governance
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution and Rachel Gisselquist, Research Associate
Strengthening African governance is the goal of a new ranking system that has been developed. The Index draws heavily on pioneering work by Robert I. Rotberg, Director of the Belfer Center's Program on Intrastate Conflict.
June 23, 2007
"China's Mixed Role in Africa"
The Boston Globe
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
China is transforming Africa, for good and ill. The United States and other traditional trading and aid partners of Africa need to help Africans craft policies that welcome Chinese investment and trade but condemn the taking of African jobs and the destruction of African industries.
August 25, 2007
Worst of the Worst: Dealing with Repressive and Rogue Nations
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
"This volume makes an unparalleled contribution to the growing and vital field of measurement and human rights. [The book] offers a useful categorization and assessment of repressive and 'rogue' states, allowing us to measure the extenet of repressive state behavior more accurately. His [Rotberg] work should embolden external critiques and facilitate more transparent and accountable foreign policy."
--Sarah Sewall, Director, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University
Associated Press
April 25, 2007
"A Nation in Decay"
Globe and Mail
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Nelson Mandela emerged from prison in 1990 to demonstrate the power for good and the best practices of democratic African leadership. His affirmation of inclusionary and participatory values, moreover, matched those that had been affirmed for decades in neighbouring Botswana under presidents Seretse Khama and Ketumile Masire.
Associated Press
April 20, 2007
"Nigeria Neglect Carries Cost"
Baltimore Sun
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
By neglecting Nigeria, the Bush administration has missed repeated opportunities to strengthen democracy in Africa's most populous, most fractured and most important country.
Associated Press
Winter 2007
"Darfur"
YES
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
The murderous civil war in Darfuris four years’ old.Washington has called it genocide. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan showed equal concern and passion about daily killing there. More than 200,000 Darfurians have already lost their lives. As many as 2 million people have lost their homes and been forced into refugee or transit camps. Millions have been raped. Yet, effectively, the world continues to do nothing.
Associated Press
April 2, 2007
"Losing the War in Afghanistan"
The Boston Globe
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
The United States and NATO are about to lose the war in Afghanistan to an insurgent, revived Taliban. Deprived of sufficient firepower and soldiers, Allied forces are failing to hunt down and contain the Taliban, especially in the southern part of the country.
