Regional voice
Who speaks for the region?
A long read on how African institutions decide, argue and eventually act together.
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The Big Read. How fragile peace is made to hold
A long read on the slow work of disarmament, trust and the economics of staying peaceful.
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In Depth
Trade corridors
How ports, rail lines and border posts decide who trades with whom.
7 articles
Who benefits when a border crossing reopens
In Numbers
More StoriesThe week's politics and economics, told in figures.
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Where the cargo goes in the Red Sea
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What a border costs the traders who cross it
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A year of power cuts across two grids
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North Africa
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North AfricaSubsidies
Why subsidy reform is the hardest sum in North African politics
Cutting a subsidy is easy on paper. Explaining it to a household is another matter.
North AfricaNaval power
The message beneath a naval exercise
Joint drills are rehearsals for diplomacy as much as for defence.
West Africa
More West AfricaWest AfricaFuel politics
The refinery that changed a country's fuel politics
One plant, one pipeline, and a long argument about who should pay at the pump.
West AfricaSecurity pacts
How a security pact reshapes who answers to whom
Three neighbours are rebuilding their alliances. The chain of command is the real subject.
Central Africa
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Central AfricaMinerals
Who captures the value of a battery metal
Mining is the start of the story. Processing, and who owns it, is where the margin lives.
Central AfricaCourts
A constitutional ruling rewrites the political calendar
Judges rarely set election dates, but their reading of a clause can move the whole timetable.
East Africa
More East AfricaEast AfricaInstitutions
The audit office that outlasts every government
Auditors publish dull reports that politicians fear. A profile of how one office keeps its edge.
East AfricaMediation
What envoys can do without leverage
Peace talks need more than goodwill. A closer look at what gives a mediator real weight.
Southern Africa
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Southern AfricaCoalitions
What a coalition's first hundred days reveal
Early deals reveal who holds the pen, and where the next argument will start.
Southern AfricaGas
The gas project its neighbours are watching
Revenues, security and a long wait: what a big energy bet means beyond one province.
Continental
More ContinentalContinentalNon-alignment
Capitals now court several partners at once
African governments are courting rival powers at the same time, and often doing it well.
ContinentalDebt
What a debt restructuring actually restructures
Creditor committees, haircuts and grace periods explained without the jargon.
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Budgets
A divided state must still balance one budget
Who pays civil servants when two administrations claim the same treasury?
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Currency
Why a currency shift lands differently in a ministry
The same exchange rate move reads as policy to officials and as a price tag to shoppers.
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Diplomacy
The envoy who keeps showing up
Long mediations are won by people who do not leave. A profile of the craft.
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Minerals
The quiet scramble for rare earths
Permits, processing and politics: the less visible half of the minerals race.