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Politics
A continental trade rulebook meets the customs queue
The agreement is signed. The test is how long a truck waits at the border.
Author / Editorial desk
The Southern Meridian Desk
The Southern Meridian is an independent digital magazine of African geopolitics. Its desk writes about power, trade and security across the continent.
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Africa & the World
Where the cargo goes in the Red Sea
Container counts and transit times, charted, show how shipping is rerouting around a risky sea.
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Economics
The refinery that changed a country's fuel politics
One plant, one pipeline, and a long argument about who should pay at the pump.
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Africa & the World
Capitals now court several partners at once
African governments are courting rival powers at the same time, and often doing it well.
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Economics
What a debt restructuring actually restructures
Creditor committees, haircuts and grace periods explained without the jargon.
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Security
What follows when a peacekeeping mandate expires
When a mission leaves, the gap it fills tends to be political before it is military.
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Politics
A divided state must still balance one budget
Who pays civil servants when two administrations claim the same treasury?
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Economics
The gas project its neighbours are watching
Revenues, security and a long wait: what a big energy bet means beyond one province.
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Politics
The summit that mattered because of its corridors
Official communiques are written in advance. The real business happens in the side meetings.
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Politics
The limits of a regional court's reach
Rulings are only as strong as the governments willing to follow them.
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Security
What a border costs the traders who cross it
Informal trade is huge and badly counted. This is what the numbers can and cannot tell us.
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Security
The envoy who keeps showing up
Long mediations are won by people who do not leave. A profile of the craft.