African Progress: Afro-Pessimism Redux?

Leadership & Governance Capacity Building in African Countries: Why and How Well-Off and Accomplished Africans, Especially "Brain Drain" Africans, Should Proactively Take Charge of Fostering African Progress

"Making Leaders". The Economist. 24 July 2003. ALPN director, Dr. Michael Isimbabi's letter in response to The Economist's cover story, "Now for Africa" (03 July 2003).

A sampling of recent reports and diverse viewpoints on the prospects for African progress

The listing below is by no means comprehensive; it is continually expanded and updated. Suggestions of articles, papers, and other documents that merit inclusion in the list are welcome. Please send links or articles/documents to: editor@africanprogress.net.

The listing is largely in reverse chronological order.

Also on this website:

New Africa & the G8 - 2005 G8 Summit - Reports, Commentaries, Analyses

New Brain Drain, Brain Gain, Brain Circulation, Diaspora Africans, and Capacity Building in Africa

The Blair Commission for Africa: Commentaries & Critiques

Perspectives on African Leadership, NEPAD, the African Union, Etc.

The Resource Curse - Governance - Transparency - Corruption - Natural Resource Management

Amoako's Africa Diary [Blog]. Reflections on African development from the head of the UN's Economic Commission for Africa.

Special report: Hear Africa 05. The Guardian (UK)

The UN Summit: Beyond Words to Action. Salih Booker, The Financial Mail (S.A.), September 28, 2005

Africa's time has come - and may have gone. Larry Elliott. The Guardian (UK). September 19, 2005.

Millennium Goals: 'A Miserable Performance,' Mbeki Scolds UN Summit. Paula Fray. Inter Press Service (S.A.). September 16, 2005.

UN 2005 World Summit - September 2005

The Millennium Development Goals in Africa – Progress and Challenges. UN Economic Commission for Africa. Sept 2005

Poor nations lose in watered-down UN document · Final draft a bland version of Gleneagles promises · No new money for aid and debt relief. Ewen MacAskill and Larry Elliott. The Guardian (UK). September 14, 2005.

Poverty targets will be missed, UN admits. The Guardian (UK). September 14, 2005. The UN admitted yesterday for the first time that its summit of world leaders that begins in New York today is unlikely to meet the ambitious targets for the organisation's reform and tackle world poverty.

African Perspectives on Aid: Foreign Assistance Will Not Pull Africa Out of Poverty. Thompson Ayodele, Franklin Cudjoe, Temba A. Nolutshungu, and Charles K. Sunwabe. Cato Institute Economic Development Bulletin No. 2, September 14, 2005.

Africa: The Development Challenges of the 21st Century. September 2005. Callisto Madavo, former Vice President for Africa & Chairman, Africa Capacity Development Operational Task Force, World Bank.

Poverty in Africa isn't history -- or destiny. Emira Woods. Dallas-Fort Worth Star Telegram. July 17, 2005

A Message to World Leaders: What about the Damage We Do to Africa? Royal African Society - June 2005

World Development Report 2006: Equity and Development - World Bank

Human Development Report 2005 - UNDP

Freedom of the Press 2005: A Global Survey of Media Independence. Freedom House

Freedom in the World 2005. Freedom House

Doing Business in 2006: Creating Jobs. World Bank

Economic Freedom of the World: 2005 Annual Report. The Fraser Institute

2005 Index of Economic Freedom. Heritage Foundation & Wall Street Journal

The World Bank's "Africa Action Plan" (“Meeting the Challenge of Africa’s Development: A World Bank Group Action Plan”) -- Planning for the “Decade of Africa”. September 2005

The World Bank's Africa Capacity Development Operational Task Force (2005)

World Bank President Urges Results on Reducing Poverty. World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz today addressed the United Nations General Assembly at the 2005 World Summit in New York. September 14, 2005

Africa: Whatever You Thought, Think Again. National Geographic Special Issue. Sept 2005

World Bank's Wolfowitz Outlines Africa Action Plan Initiative. Maps New Image of Africa as Player on Economic, Geopolitical Stage. September 8 press conference jointly hosted by the World Bank and National Geographic magazine in honor of the magazine's special September issue titled Africa: Whatever You Thought, Think Again.

Africa: Whatever You Thought, Think Again. Transcript of Proceedings, National Geographic/World Bank Special Presentation. September 8, 2005

Picture This: Geographic's Africa Cover. In Rare Move, Magazine Forgoes Photo on Front. DeNeen L. Brown. Washington Post. August 18, 2005

Corruption Takes Two, Wolfowitz Tells Business Leaders. Text of remarks by World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz at the Corporate Council on Africa's US-Africa Business Summit dinner, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. June 23, 2005.

"...And so let's, especially those of us from so-called the rich countries, developed countries, let's hold a mirror up to ourselves and remember every corrupt transaction has two parties. (Applause.) If I can coin a term there is a corruptee and there is a corruptor. (Laughter, applause.) And if the African people and their leaders are stepping up to the challenge of dealing with the corruptees, we, if I can speak as a citizen of a developed country - those of us in the developed world, in fact anywhere in the world, have responsibility to address corruptors as well. And to help African countries, as the Nigerian as seeking to do now, to recover the some of the stolen wealth that is sitting in bank accounts where it doesn't belong. (Applause.) ..."

African Perspectives on Aid: Foreign Assistance Will Not Pull Africa Out of Poverty. Thompson Ayodele, Franklin Cudjoe, Temba A. Nolutshungu, and Charles K. Sunwabe. Cato Institute Economic Development Bulletin No. No. 2 September 14, 2005.

Africa's Development Challenge: From Predatory to Accountable Government. Robert Guest. Cato Institute Economic Development Bulletin No. 1, June 30, 2005. (PDF)

Underdevelopment in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of the Private Sector and Political Elites. Moeletsi Mbeki, Cato Foreign Policy Analysis no. 85, April 15, 2005.

Africa: A historic opportunity - G8 Communique on Africa. 8 July 2005

A comparison between the recommendations of the Commission for Africa Report and the G8 commitments. UK Government

Our Common Interest: The Report of the Blair Commission for Africa. 11 March 2005

See also on this website: The Blair Commission for Africa: Commentaries & Critiques

Video: Panel Discussion of Blair Commission for Africa (CfA) Report, by Members: Ralph Goodale, finance minister of Canada, and K.Y. Amoako, executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, along with UK Ambassador to the US, Sir David Manning and CfA policy director Sir Nick Stern. Q&A. Center for Strategic & International Studies Event, Washington, DC, April 15, 2005. Includes question & comment by an ALPN Director & panelists' responses on funding for civil society capacity building & G8 funding for MCA-vetted/qualified African countries.

5th African Union Summit -- 28 June - 5 July 2005

4th African Union Summit - Jan 2005 - Reports, Etc.

Africa Economic Summit. A call to action. World Economic Forum. 1-3 June 2005, Cape Town, South Africa

Africa Policy Outlook 2005. Africa Action (US)

In Nigeria, Where Money Talks, Reform Is the Word. Craig Timberg. The Washington Post. May 01, 2005

A Fragile Success in Africa (Ghana). Editorial. New York Times. April 25, 2005. Teetering on the verge of success, but with failure always threatening to knock at the door, Ghana has lately taken up the mantle of what passes for a success story in Africa.

The Economic Paradox of Ghana's Poverty. Michael M. Weinstein. Financial Times. 10 November 2003.

The last thing Ghana needs is more rescuers (Response to Weinstein). Todd J. Moss. Financial Times. 15 November 2003.

European Commission and World Bank Agree To Intensify Partnership to Support Africa (Press Release). April 18, 2005

African Countries Show Positive Growth But Region Still Lags Behind Rest Of The World (Press Release). World Bank. April 06, 2005

Global Monitoring Report 2005: Millennium Development Goals: From Consensus to Momentum. World Bank/IMF

Sinking Into Africa's 'Poverty Trap'. Forward. 28 April 2005.

Behind the image: Poverty and 'development pornography'. Pambazuka News, 21 April 2005.

A Changing Continent: The Africa You Never See. Carol Pineau. Washington Post. April 17, 2005

Africa Open for Business Documentary. View the trailer of Carol Pineau's documentary on entrepreneurship in Africa. Africa Open for Business - Documentary Website.

AFRICA 2005. Corporate Council on Africa

Scaling Up vs. Absorptive Capacity: Challenges and Opportunities for reaching the MDGs in Africa. Center for Global Development. April 14, 2005

Overcoming Stagnation in Aid-Dependent Countries. Center for Global Development. March 23, 2005

Poverty Reduction As If Rural People Mattered. Center for Global Development. March 03, 2005

Fighting AIDS, TB, and Malaria: Innovations and Challenges. February 15, 2005.

Chad-Cameroon: pumping poverty. Friends of the Earth. April 2005

Oil Revenues Flow to Chad (Feature Story). World Bank. April 01, 2005

Chad's Oil: Miracle or Mirage? Following the Money in Africa's Newest Petro-State. Bank Information Center. February 2005.

CSOs Examine Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project and Chad Budget Process. International Budget Project

IRI Africa Director Testifies on the Prospects for Democracy in Zimbabwe, April 21, 2005

Zimbabwe: Popular Uprising Seems an Unlikely Course of Action, by Tafi Murinzi. Inter Press Service News Agency, April 9, 2005

Zimbabwe: Elections, despondency and civil society's responsibility. Pambazuka News, 07 April 2005
Zimbabwe's Enabler: South Africa Falls Short As Monitor of Democracy. Sebastian Mallaby. Washington Post. April 4, 2005.

Zimbabwe Polls Free And Fair: SADC, African Union. The Herald (Harare). April 4, 2005.

Observers back Zimbabwe poll. BBC News. April 4, 2005.

Wolfowitz: Africa is Top Priority for the World Bank: Newshour with Jim Lehrer Interview - 31 March 2005 (Video, Audio & Transcript). Jim Lehrer speaks to Paul Wolfowitz about his confirmation as the next president of the World Bank.

World Bank names Wolfowitz to post. Financial Times. March 31, 2005

Mr. Wolfowitz and the Bank. Editorial. Washington Post. March 31, 2005

Paul Wolfowitz and the World Bank. The Economist. March 31, 2005

The Education of Paul Wolfowitz. Fareed Zakaria. Newsweek. March 28, 2005

World Bank Pragmatism: Wolfowitz's Ideology Fits New Challenges. Sebastian Mallaby. Washington Post. March 28, 2005

Africa Will Be First On My List - Wolfowitz. Business Day (South Africa). March 29, 2005.

‘I have a record of working with people’. Interview with Paul Wolfowitz. Business Day (South Africa). 30 March 2005

Nominee to World Bank Top Slot, Bad News for Poor Africa. The New Times (Rwanda). March 28, 2005

Wolfowitz sees poverty, graft and economic growth as World Bank priorities. AFP. March 28, 2005

Practise what you preach, G-7. Joseph E. Stiglitz. Business Day (South Africa). March 22, 2005

Why Wolfowitz? Business Day (South Africa). March 24, 2005.

Keeping an open mind. Editorial. Business Day (South Africa). March 22, 2005
Wolfowitz not the fanatic he is cast as. Business Day (South Africa). March 22, 2005

Neither a scholar nor a leader. Business Day (South Africa). March 24, 2005

Wolfowitz at the World Bank. Brett D. Schaefer. Heritage Foundation. March 22, 2005

World Bank: Wolf at the door? BBC News. March 18, 2005

The Ugly American Bank. Paul Krugman. New York Times. March 18, 2005
More viewpoints: http://www.worldbankpresident.org/

Easy Ways to Aid Africa. Sebastian Mallaby. Washington Post. March 21, 2005

Transparency can alleviate poverty. George Soros. Financial Times. March 16 2005

Africa's turn: The continent's problems are too big for us to ignore. Daily News (New York). March 20, 2005

Promises to Keep: With some nudging from activists, European politicians try to make good on pledges to Africa. Time, March 6, 2005.

Why does nobody care about blacks? Cover Story. New African. February 2005

Why Africa is treading water. Cover Story. New African. November 2004

Africa’s Opportunity, the World’s Obligation. Op-ed by Gobind Nankani, World Bank Vice-President for the Sub-Saharan Africa Region.

Brain Drain and Capacity Building in Africa. Ainalem Tebeje.

A diaspora and its good deeds: by Clyde Sanger

The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Jeffrey Sachs. 2005

Ending Africa’s Poverty Trap. Sachs et al/UN Millennium Project

How to End Poverty. Jeffrey Sachs. Time, March 14, 2005.

Transcript: Book World Live: Author Jeffrey Sachs was online to discuss his book, "The End of Poverty," an outline of his plan to end global "extreme poverty." The Washington Post, March 15, 2005

A Modest Proposal. Review. William Easterly. Washington Post. March 13, 2005

Video: Presentation at the World Bank by Jeffrey Sachs: The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. March 22, 2005

The Development Challenge. Jeffrey D. Sachs. Foreign Affairs, March/April 2005

UN Millennium Project

Putting Our House in Order: Recasting G8 policy towards Africa. 2005. David Mepham and James Lorge. Institute for Public Policy Research (UK).

G8 Africa policies should be subject to a ‘development audit’. 21 Feb 2005.

Accountability in Africa: whose problem? David Mepham, Institute for Public Policy Research (UK). Feb 2005.

Africa and Governance - policy priorities for the G8. IPPR

What ever happened to the African Renaissance? David Mepham. Parliamentary Monitor, Sep 2003

G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, London - February 4-5, 2005

G7 opens door to full debt relief. February 07, 2005. IAfrica South African News.

Cancel Africa's debt, Mandela tells G7 G7 meeting likely to focus on Africa

Africa pins hopes on 'Marshall Plan' Africa wants debt relief deal from G7

US wants African debt resolved - Brown Call for 'Marshall Plan' for African poverty

G7 Nations Pledge Debt Relief for Africa. Reuters - Feb 5, 2005

G7 Finance Ministers conclusions on development. February 5, 2005.

Hoping for actions, not just words. Digest of Press Coverage -- World Bank Press Review, February 4, 2005

Africa and the G7. The Economist. February 3, 2005.

World Economic Forum Annual Meeting -- 26-30 January 2005

Africa is an emergency that business and society must meet together

Debt relief for Africa 62 companies commit to combat corruption and bribery

Blair outlines G8 vision for poverty and climate change
Chirac proposes voluntary tax to fight poverty Leaders embrace responsibility for tough choices
Global Town Hall sees leaders rolling up their sleeves Deepening corporate involvement in aid efforts

Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals. UN Millennium Project. 2005

News Conference

A Practical Plan to End Poverty. Jeffrey D. Sachs. The Washington Post. January 17, 2005

New report to Annan proposes solutions to problems of world poverty. 17 January 2005

Press Briefing on Millennium Development Goals Report - 17 January 2005

Development Goals Not Utopian, But Eminently Achievable, Secretary-General Says At Launch Of Millennium Project Report - 17 January 2005

Whatever it takes. The Economist Global Agenda. 17 January 2005. Report urges rich countries to spend more on cutting hunger and poverty in the developing world. But there are still plenty of cynics.

Tunnel Vision on Corruption. Moisés Naím. Washington Post. February 20, 2005

African Solutions To African Problems: A Slogan Whose Time Has Passed. Christopher Fomunyoh. AllAfrica.com. February 9, 2005

Accountability in Africa: whose problem? David Mepham, Institute for Public Policy Research (UK). Feb 2005.

Live Now, Pay Later: Gordon Brown's Africa Recovery Plan. Cover Story. African Business. Feb 2005.

Plea for compassion is Brown's message out of Africa. Financial Times. Jan 15 2005

Brown's Africa aid plan jeopardised by US indifference. David Charter and Helen Rumbelow. The Times Online. Jan 12, 2005

Current issues in development assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa. Todd Moss. Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Forecast, Economist Intelligence Unit, London, February 2005.

A Marshall Plan is not what Africa needs. Todd Moss. International Herald Tribune. 29 December 2004

The Iffy Direction of the IFF. Todd Moss. Center for Global Development. September 15, 2004

Martin Wolf: How to help Africa escape poverty trap. Financial Times. Jan 11 2005

Africa's hidden slaughter deserves as much attention as the tsunami. Kevin Watkins. The Guardian. January 17, 2005

U.N. Proposes Doubling of Aid To Cut Poverty. New York Times. January 18, 2005.

Eye on Africa: Rethinking national security. Mvemba Phezo Dizolele. January 10, 2005.

Eye on Africa: U.S. must live its ideals. Mvemba Phezo Dizolele. January 4, 2005.

A Challenging Road Ahead for the Peer Review Mechanism. Moyiga Nduru. IPS News - Africa. Jan 7, 2005.

NEPAD: Three years of progress. NEPAD. October 2004.

Africa gets a bit more peaceful. Good news from Sudan and Senegal; disappointment in Uganda. The Economist. 06 January 2005.

Bill Gates and Bono: Demand a better deal for the poor of the world in 2005. 03 January 2005

UNICEF report: 2005 State of the world's children

America, the indifferent. The New York Times. Dec 24, 2004.

U.S. Policy toward Sub-Saharan Africa. Cato Handbook on Policy - 2004-05. Cato Institute

UK Christmas bill could halve global poverty. 22 Dec 2004. The world's richest countries are betraying promises made to help the poor in Africa, according to a new CAFOD report, "Justice Not Charity".

Shared Experience: What Reforming Economies Have in Common, Remarks by Anne O. Krueger, First Deputy Managing Director, IMF At a Public Lecture of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), Delhi, India - January 14, 2005

China and the Global Economic Recovery, Keynote Address by Anne O. Krueger, First Deputy Managing Director, IMF. At the American Enterprise Institute Seminar, Washington, D.C. - Jan 10, 2005

India -- A Hub for Globalization, Remarks by Raghuram Rajan, Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department, IMF. At the Pravasi Bharati Divas Conference, New Delhi, India - Jan 07, 2005

Americans on Africa. Poll on Americans' perceptions of Africa, views on US Africa policy, etc. January 29, 2003. The American Public on International Issues. Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA)/Knowledge Networks Poll.

Campaign 2004 - Scorecard - Africa. George Bush's & John Kerry's policy positions on Africa compared -- Health and development aid, Trade, Humanitarian intervention, and Terrorism. Council on Foreign Relations.

Campaign 2004 - America and Global Development. Center for Global Development.

Rich World, Poor World: A Guide to Global Development. What will George W. Bush's second term as president of the United States mean for development? Center for Global Development

Paying the Price. Why rich countries must now invest in a war on poverty. OXFAM. 09 December 2004.

Striving for Good Governance in Africa - Synopsis of the African Governance Report 2005. Economic Commission for Africa

Debt Relief, Sustainable Development and Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Sub Sahara Africa. Nguyuru H. I. Lipumba. Nov 04.

Prime Minister Tony Blair Says Addressing Poverty in Africa is Critical in the War on Terror. DATA. 05 November 2004

African voices: Commission for Africa - Views of the African voices panel.

Africa: A UK cause. BBC News. 12 October 2004

Talking Point: Can the world do more for Africa? (Video). 11 October 2004. BBC News.

Turning Blair's words into action. Fergal Keane. BBC News. 10 October 2004. During his recent trip to Africa, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair outlined the need to turn the well-meaning words of the international community into positive steps to help a continent beset with problems.

Blair’s message: A Pan-Africanist View. Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem. The New Vision (Uganda). 7 October 2004.

Blair calls for action on Africa. BBC News. 7 October 2004. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has appealed to the world to do more to help Africa out of poverty. At a meeting of his Commission for Africa, in Ethiopia, he vowed to put the continent at the top of the agenda when Britain chaired the G8 next year. Blair said there would soon be "no more excuses".

Debt Relief Plan Eludes IMF Group. Issue Likely to Be Resolved Next Year. Paul Blustein. Washington Post. October 3 2004.

'Get real' on Africa, urges Bono. 29 September 2004. Bono, lead singer with the Irish rock band U2, has urged Labour to "get real" and deal with the problems of world poverty and the AIDS crisis.

A Broken System (Africa & the International Community). Morton Abramowitz and Samantha Power. September 13, 2004. The Washington Post. ...Why has the world, with all its outpourings and Security Council deliberations, failed to tackle the Darfur problem? The main answer is straightforward enough: Major and minor powers alike are committed only to stopping killing that harms their national interests. Why take political, financial and potential military risks when there is no strategic or domestic cost to remaining on the sidelines?...The international system is broken, at least when it comes to Africa.

Politics of Misery (Africa & the International Community). Jim Hoagland. The Washington Post. August 19, 2004.

When Intervention is Necessary, Who Can You Call? Salih Booker, Africa Action. Foreign Policy In Focus Commentary. August 5, 2004

Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa's Future. George Ayittey. 2005

The Shackled Continent: Power, Corruption, and African Lives. Robert Guest. Smithsonian Books, 2004.

Governance 'key to Africa's progress'. business.iafrica.com. Helmo Preuss. Good governance was the key to Africa's progress, Robert Guest, the Africa editor of The Economist magazine told the South African Chamber of Business (Sacob) annual convention

A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa. Howard W. French. Knopf, 2004.

Event Summary: Book Launch & Discussion -- A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa, by Howard French. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, DC. August 05, 2004.

Passion For Africa Evident In Reporter's Book Discussion. Tara Boyle. Washington File, US State Department. August 05, 2004. Howard French decries western inattention at Wilson Center talk

Review: Africa's Lost Decades - A Reporter's Lament. allAfrica.com. Akwe Amosu. April 23, 2004

Issue Brief: Africa. Princeton Lyman. August 2004. Council on Foreign Relations

Africa’s Economic Future: South Africa’s Role in Promoting Development. Tony Leon. Council on Foreign Relations. July 21, 2004.

The Africa Agenda: A Discussion with South African President Thabo Mbeki. Princeton N. Lyman, Thabo Mbeki. Council on Foreign Relations. June 9, 2004.

Freedom, Prosperity, and Security: The G8 Partnership with Africa: Sea Island 2004 and Beyond. A Council on Foreign Relations Special Report. J. Brian Atwood and Robert S. Browne, Co-Chairs. Princeton N. Lyman, Project Director. May 2004

The young face of NEPAD: children and young people in the New Partnership for Africa's Development. Young Africans have the potential to be the engine that helps propel the NEPAD process [AU; ECA; NEPAD Secretariat / United Nations (UN) Children's Fund (UNICEF), 2004]. This paper suggests that the aspirations of NEPAD's initiators, partners and stakeholders for progress, peace and poverty-reducing growth should find their foundation in Africa's human capacity development, which in turn must start with Africa's children.

Formula for Africa’s rapid growth. Anver Versi. African Business. August 2004. After almost five decades of independence, how is Africa faring in terms of economics? Is the continent improving, staying still or regressing? How can it meet the Millennium Development Goals?

2015 Goals Eclipse Today's Successes - Report. Marty Logan. Inter Press Service. July 26, 2004. Instead of speculation about which countries will fail to achieve which of the world's development goals by 2015, Michael Clemens would like to hear more talk about the nations that are developing faster than any others in history. You might be surprised to learn their ranks include Burkina Faso, Mali, Madagascar and Nicaragua.

Poor Performers In Sub-Saharan Africa: Exclusion or integration? Stephan Klingebiel & Huria Ogbamichael. African Security Review. 2004.

Ranking the Rich: The 2004 CGD/FP Commitment to Development Index. 2004. The Center for Global Development/Foreign Policy Magazine Commitment to Development Index ranks 21 of the world's richest countries based on their dedication to policies that benefit the 5 billion people living in poorer nations worldwide.

An Index of Donor Performance. David Roodman. Center for Global Development. June 22, 2004

New Issues in Development Assistance: Conference on Emerging Global Economic Order and Developing Countries. Nancy Birdsall. Center for Global Development. June 01 2004

Human Development Report 2004: Cultural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World. UNDP.

Economics focus: Too many countries? (Globalization and Poor Countries) The Economist. July 15, 2004. Let a splendid new book on globalization be the last for a while: it will not be bettered soon

House Cuts President's Global Poverty Fight. Press Release. DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa). July 16, 2004.

The "George Bush" of Africa: Pretoria Chooses Subimperialism. Patrick Bond. Foreign Policy In Focus Special Report. July 13, 2004

DATA Hails Breakthrough on British International Assistance Commitment. Press Release. DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa). July 12, 2004

Senator Says Africa, U.S. Have Common Interests. Erica Matsumoto. Washington File, US State Department. July 09 2004. Feingold addresses conference on U.S. Africa policy.

3rd African Union Summit - 6-8 July 2004, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The Civil Society Declaration, Addis Ababa, June 26-27, 2004

Declaration of the African Union-Private Sector Forum. Addis Ababa, 27 June 2004

Speech by Dr. K. Y. Amoako, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of ECA.

Statement to the African Leaders at the Closed Session of Nepad - African Union Summit. Jeffrey D. Sachs. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. July 7, 2004

Innovative Approaches to Meeting the Hunger MDG in Africa. Speech at the Presidential-Level Forum. Jeffrey D. Sachs. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. July 5, 2004.

How to Nurse Sick States. Sebastian Mallaby. The Washington Post. 4 July 2004.

A Shared Challenge: Promoting Development and Human Security in Weak States. Center for Global Development Conference. 23 June 2004. Featuring Rt. Hon. Hilary Benn, MP, Secretary of State for International Development, United Kingdom. With comments from: Francis Fukuyama, Johns Hopkins University, and Sebastian Mallaby, The Washington Post. Click here to read: opening remarks, Secretary Benn's speech, comments by Francis Fukuyama and Sebastian Mallaby, and question & answer discussion.

On the Brink: Weak States and US National Security. June 2004. Commission on Weak States and US National Security / Center for Global Development. Full Report

Grappling With State Failure. June 9, 2004. Editorial. The Washington Post.

Failed states are a danger we cannot afford to ignore. June 9, 2004. Martin Wolf. Financial Times (UK)

Weak and Failing States: Critical new Security Issues. Robert I. Rotberg. Turkish Policy Quarterly 3, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 57-69.

African Issues Continue to Arise as U.S. Priorities. June 17, 2004. Leon H. Sullivan awards recipients National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and former first lady, now senator, Hillary Clinton, stressed that Africa is very much a U.S. priority at the Leon Sullivan Dinner.

Remarks by Dr. Condoleeza Rice, National Security Advisor, at the Leon Sullivan Summit Awards Dinner. June 17, 2004. Washington, DC

"Destinies of Africa and America are inextricably linked," Rice Says

What Africa Wants (Public Opinion Survey). June 16, 2004. Richard Dowden. The Guardian (UK). A third of Africans feel worse off this year than last and half feel the world is going in the wrong direction, according to a survey of nearly 8,000 Africans to be published today.

Fair Policies Needed To Reach Millennium Goals, Official Says. June 16, 2004. Patricia Kowsmann. U.N. Wire. Unless governments in poor countries implement domestic policies that benefit the entire population and not only the rich elite, fair world trade will not be enough to help nations achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, Eveline Herfkens, executive coordinator for the MDGs campaign, told U.N. Wire in an interview at the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development's 11th ministerial meeting.

Charities warn Blair over aid to Africa. June 16, 2004. Ashley Seager. The Guardian (UK). Global charities today urge Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to increase Britain's aid to poor countries as the United Nations says that many African countries will take 150 years to meet poverty targets set for 2015.

Africa's plight will not end with aid. 14 June 2004. Institute of Economic Affairs (UK).

Activists Express Deep Disappointment Over G-8 Results. June 11, 2004. Jim Lobe. OneWorld US. Activist groups concerned about Africa expressed deep disappointment last Thursday with what they called a failure of the leaders of the Group of Eight (G-8) richest nations to respond seriously to the ongoing crises that afflict the region.

Protestors: G8 needs Africa focus. Reena Vadehra. United Press International. June 03, 2004

G8 and African Leadership in the War on AIDS and Extreme Poverty. DATA (Debt-AIDS-Trade-Africa). June 2004

Crunch Time for Blair in Africa. DATA (Debt-AIDS-Trade-Africa). 10 June 2004.

U.S. "Optimistic" on Africa's Development Potential. 9 June 2004. The United States is "optimistic" about the potential success of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), a senior administration official told reporters attending the G8 Summit in Sea Island, Georgia.

Building a Better Africa. 09 June 2004. Thabo Mbeki. The Washington Post.

Don't Know, Should Care. June 5, 2004. Jeffrey D. Sachs. The New York Times

African 'No' to Stronger Peer Review. 03 June 2004. Business Day (South Africa). Rob Rose and Nasreen Seria. Call by business to rein in errant governments is dismissed by leaders. African leaders have dismissed calls for the continent's peer review mechanism to be given additional muscle to censure errant governments.

Chissano Urges World to Note Positive Changes in Africa. Participants hear of success stories and action plans on closing day of Africa Economic Summit. 4 June 2004. World Economic Forum.

Manuel slates corruption in Africa. June 03, 2004. Lynn Bolin. Sunday Times (South Africa).

Aspirations Over Africa's Future: African leaders at Africa Economic Summit 2004 express hopes for continent's future. World Economic Forum. 03 June 2004.

Africa Competitiveness Report Points to Change Imperatives. 03 Jun 2004

What’s Holding Back Africa’s Growth? World Economic Forum. 03 June 2004

African Leadership for Tomorrow. World Economic Forum. 03 June 2004

WEF Report Says Africa's Growth Was Worst Economic Tragedy of 20th Century. World Bank Press Review. 03 June 2004.

WEF calls for help from the West. iafrica.com. 07 Jun 2004

Press Release: Africa Competitiveness Report 2004 - Identifying Problems and Offering Solutions to Africa's Economic Performance. Press Release. 2 June 2004. World Economic Forum. Index ranks 25 African nations on competitiveness.

Setting Up Africa for Failure. 01 June 2004. Michael Clemens and Todd Moss. Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg).

Guns or Growth? Assessing the impact of arms sales on sustainable development. June 2004. Report. Control Arms Campaign.

Trade Policy and Global Poverty. William Cline. Center for Global Development. June 01, 2004.

Press Release: African Economies Register Highest Growth in four Years as World Economy Recovers. 25 May 2004. African Development Bank. [African Development Report 2004, May 2004]

Developing Africa's economy: Doing the sums on Africa. Jeffrey Sachs. The Economist. 20 May 2004. Small amounts spent on promoting Africa's economy can save billions and make the West more secure.

Poverty Progress Report 2004. The World Bank

African Development Report 2004. May 2004. African Development Bank.

Press Release: African Economies Register Highest Growth in four Years as World Economy Recovers. 25 May 2004.

Remarks by John B. Taylor, Under Secretary for International Affairs, U.S. Treasury Dept., at the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank. 25 May 2004.

African Economic Outlook 2003-2004. African Development Bank & OECD Development Centre. May 2004

Economic Report on Africa 2004: Unlocking Africa's Trade Potential in the Global Economy. May 2004. UN Economic Commission for Africa.

Overview of Recent Economic and Social Conditions in Africa. Agustin Fosu. UN Economic Commission for Africa. 18 May 2004.

Addressing Nigeria's Economic Problems and the Islamist Terrorist Threat. 19 May 2004. Ariel Cohen and Brett D. Schaefer. Heritage Foundation

African aid gives Britain a big test. 17 May 2004. Kevin Watkins (OXFAM). The Guardian (UK). However heroic the promises, the war against African poverty will be lost without huge increases in aid.

Letter: What Africa needs. 17 May 2004. Davo Simplice Vodouhe, Alexandra Baier, Simon Ferrigno. The Independent (UK)

Gaddafi urges African solutions. BBC News. 16 May 2004. The Libyan leader tells a regional summit in Mali that outside powers should not intervene in Africa's conflicts.

Written Testimony of Administrator Andrew S. Natsios, U.S. Agency for International Development. Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Washington, D.C., May 11, 2004

Africa: Can It Ever Be Saved? 09 May 2004. David Pratt. Sunday Herald (UK). Tony Blair has promised his Commission for Africa will take ‘a fresh look’ at the troubled continent . But the people on the ground are tired of being looked at...What they really want is action

Eight African Nations Eligible For Millennium Challenge Account Assistance. 07 May 2004. Charles Cobb Jr. and Reed Kramer. allAfrica.com

DATA (Debt-AIDS-Trade-Africa) on Millennium Challenge Announcement. 06 May 2004. DATA (Debt-AIDS-Trade-Africa)

Africa Commission's uphill task. BBC News. 4 May, 2004. Steve Schifferes.

What are the challenges facing Africa? BBC News. Forum/Opinions. 04 May 04 New plan tackles Africa problems. BBC News. 03 May 04

African Development Bank President Kabbaj Addresses Issues Critical to Africa's Development. 05 May 2004. African Development Bank

Cruel Choices (Sudan). Nicholas Kristof. The New York Times. 14 April 2004

African Ministers Urge Rich Nations to Help Africa. 24 April 2004. Reuters. Cyrille Cartier.

Agencies Say Poverty Persists Despite Global Efforts. Paul Blustein. The Washington Post, 23 April 2004

Global Governance Initiative - 2004 Annual Report. World Economic Forum. 20 April 2004.

Press Release - New Report on Global Governance Makes Grim Reading as World Bank and IMF Prepare to Meet in Washington. 20 April 2004.

African Development Indicators 2004. The World Bank. April 2004.

African Development Indicators 2004 - News Release. 7 April 2004.

Chimera - Spring 2004. USA/Africa Institute. Africa’s Development on the United Nations Agenda; Multiparty Competition, Founding Elections and Political Business Cycles in Africa; Africa-U.S. Partnership in the 21st Century; Africa and Its Diaspora: Organizing and Institutional Issues

Africa's Oil Tycoons. Daphne Eviatar. The Nation (USA). April 12, 2004. Western firms and government leaders, not the people, benefit from Angola's wealth.

Hearing: "Fighting Terrorism in Africa". April 1, 2004. US House Committee on International Relations, Subcommittee on Africa. Hearing Notice, Hon. Edward R. Royce, Mr. Karl Wycoff, Hon. Princeton Lyman, Mr. Douglas Farah, Dr. Gilbert Khadiagala. View Webcast Video

The Terrorist Threat in Africa. Foreign Affairs, January/February 2004. Princeton N. Lyman and J. Stephen Morrison

African Union Parliament Set Up. 18 March 2004. African parliamentarians will for the first time debate on continental-wide issues at a new Pan-African parliament.

NEPAD: African Leaders Take Stock, Project Into Future. Charles Ozoemena. The Vanguard (Nigeria). 12 March 2004.

Africa's oil: A blessing or a curse? BBC News. 05 March, 2004. Sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest growing oil exploration and production zone in the world, according to oil experts. Nigeria is oil-rich but most Nigerians remain poor

Africa's Dangerous Treasure. 10 March 2004. Korinna Horta and Delphine Djiraibe. The Washington Post. Oil production in African countries has often brought, instead of prosperity, greater poverty, destruction of the environment and violent conflict. (Chad)

NEPAD: African Leaders & Experts at Loggerheads. 05 March 2004. Peter Fabricius. The Star (South Africa). African leaders and the experts running the NEPAD African Peer Review Mechanism are at loggerheads. They disagree over whether or not their reports on individual countries should be released to the public in their raw, unedited form.

Peer Review Mechanism to Put Africa On Path to Recovery. 04 March 2004. Matome Sebelebele. BuaNews Online (South Africa).

Testimony of Constance B. Newman Assistant Administrator for Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development, before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate. 02 March 2004.

World Bank and Donors Must Change to Reach MDGs, Says Jeff Sachs. 01 March 2004. For developing countries to achieve the MDGs, the World Bank must better represent them before the donor community, said UN Special Advisor Jeff Sachs.

Millennium Development Goals Needs Assessments. Country Case Studies of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda. UN Millennium Project. January 2004.

Achieving MDGs in Africa - Progress, Prospects, and Policy Implications - June 2002 - A Global Poverty Report 2002, prepared by the African Development Bank

Peer Review Moving Forward, Says NEPAD Secretariat Chief. Charles Cobb Jr. AllAfrica.com. 19 February 2004

Can Peer Review Work in Africa?. BBC News. 17 Feb 2004. African leaders now have a new mechanism for monitoring each other's progress towards political and economic reform but can it work?

NEPAD: How Peer Review Will Help Africa, By Obasanjo. Paul Ohia. This Day (Nigeria). 16 February 2004

Why NEPAD and African Politics Don't Mix. Ian Taylor, University of Botswana. Foreign Policy In Focus. 16 February 2004

Good Governance and Development in Africa: A Critical Nexus. K. Amoako, Economic Commission for Africa. February 2004.

Africa: Only 14 African States Pass Democracy Test.19 February 2004. Business Day (South Africa).

Survey: Sub-Saharan Africa. The Economist, 15 January 2004.

Africa: The Next Battleground in the Terror War. Lisa D. Cook. Hoover Digest, Winter 2004. The failed states of Africa might only too easily become a breeding ground for terrorism.

What's Wrong with Africa? Marian L. Tupy. 9 February 2004. Cato Institute.

Elusive Quest for Peace in Sudan. Marian L. Tupy, A Cato Commentary, The Washington Times, 8 February 2004.

Africa’s Big States: Toward a New Realism. M. Ottaway, J. Herbst, G. Mills. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. February 2004.

Africa Policy Outlook 2004. January 2004. Salih Booker & Ann-Louise Colgan, Africa Action

Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa's Future. George Ayittey. 2004. Palgrave Macmillan

Free Africa Foundation Wants African Union Scrapped. Ngumbao Kithi. Daily Nation (Kenya), November 24, 2003.

The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM): An Assessment of Concept and Design. Ravi Kanbur. January 2004.

Policy Reform and Foreign Direct Investment in Africa: Absolute Progress but Relative Decline. January 2004. Elizabeth Asiedu. Development Policy Review.

African Union: New Wine in Old Bottles. Mengisteab Tesfamikeal. 8 January 2004

The Economic Paradox of Ghana's Poverty. Michael M. Weinstein. Financial Times. 10 November 2003.

The last thing Ghana needs is more rescuers. (Response to Weinstein). Todd J. Moss. Financial Times. 15 November 2003.

A New Partnership Emerges to Develop Africa. Callisto Madavo, Vice President, Africa Region, World Bank. International Herald Tribune/Asahi (Japan). 02 October 2003.

We Recognise the Grounds for Pessimism in Our Land - Obasanjo. Daily Trust (Nigeria). 01 October 2003.

The Roots of Africa's Leadership Deficit. Robert I. Rotberg. Compass: A Journal of Leadership. October 2003. World Peace Foundation.

African leaders assess African leadership. Harvard Gazette. 22 May 2003. Purposefully, and without fanfare, 11 prominent African leaders spent last weekend at the Kennedy School diagnosing the dilemma of elected political leadership in Africa.

Africa's Discontent: Coping with Human and Natural Disasters. 2003. Robert I. Rotberg. World Peace Foundation.

Governing Nigeria: Continuing Issues After the Elections. Conference Report. 2003. Deborah L. West, World Peace Foundation,

Aura of Optimism as Africa Flexes Muscles. 30 September 2003. Business Day (South Africa)

Abedian Says Goodbye to Afro-Pessimism. iafrica.com Business. 02 September 2003.

Is There a Crisis of Leadership in Africa? Ali Mufuruki. Africa Leadership Initiative.

African Studies Quarterly - Fall 2003

At Issue: Responding to Kitching's Why I Left African Studies.

Jagged Fragments: Imperialism, Racism, Hurt, and Honesty. Gavin Kitching.

Out of Africa. Danny Postel. The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 28, 2003. A pioneer of African studies explains why he left the field, and provokes a firestorm of debate within it.

A Discipline Adrift [Colloquy: Online Discussion on "Out of Africa"]

Rescuing Africa. Princeton N. Lyman & Odette Boya. Council on Foreign Relations. The Star-Ledger, July 13, 2003.

An African renaissance. Jack Kemp. July 15, 2003. Copley News Service

Economic prosperity for Africa, too. Jack Kemp. June 17, 2003

A New Vision for Africa. Nile Gardiner. Heritage Foundation. July 3, 2003.

Governance and Economic Development in Africa: Patterns and Prospects. Video. World Bank. July 2, 2003.

Why Nigeria and Africa's Leaders are Leading Us to Nowhere. Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe. USAfricaonline.com

Africa: A Tradition of Pessimism Continues. Asgede Hagos. 04 June 2003. On the New York Times' coverage of Africa.

Can NEPAD quell Afro-pessimism? 29 April 2003. Christine Thompson and Paul Bell. Business Day (South Africa)

Dismal Numbers Don't Tell Whole Story, Says World Bank Africa Economist. 28 April 2003. Charles Cobb Jr. allAfrica.com.

Africa's Potential Belies 'Afro-pessimism,' Young says. Bob Dart. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 12, 2002.

E-Letter To Bob Dart and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Re: "Africa's potential belies 'Afro-pessimism,' Young says". Cedric Muhammad. BlackElectorate.com. November 14, 2002.

African Leaders and the New African Union. Olanrewaju Lawrence. This Day (Nigeria), September 1, 2002.

Can we trust them this time? Olusegun Adeniyi. Africa News Service, This Day (Nigeria), July 18, 2002.

Huge challenge for African Union. BBC News. 8 July 2002. It will not be easy to achieve the African Union's goals of economic progress and good governance, warns United Nations' Kofi Annan.

Obasanjo Urges Patience With African Leaders. The Guardian (Nigeria). 10 July 2002.

The Right Way to Aid Africa. Joaquim Chissano, John Agyekum Kufuor, and Peter McPherson. The Wall Street Journal. July 05, 2002

Africa's New Realism. Thabo Mbeki. New York Times. 24 June 2002.

NEPAD is Our Idea, say African Leaders. World Economic Forum. 5 June 2002

Manuel: NEPAD Faces Problems. "...(South African Finance Minister Trevor) Manuel also acknowledged that it would be tough to persuade every African country to submit to a process of "peer review" on sound political governance - keeping their side of the bargain to boost investment flows."

NEPAD: A New Dawn For Africa? CEOs' Views on the Chances of a Successful African Development Initiative. PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2002.

Give Africa a Chance. Financial Times (UK). June 12, 2002. Niall Fitzgerald, Chairman, Unilever plc. The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is the most serious and credible effort so far by African leaders to take control of their continents destiny.

Global Finance Hurts the Poor. Report By Didier Jacobs, Oxfam America. May 2002. Analysis of the impact of North-South private capital flows on growth, inequality and poverty.

Could Africa Be Like America? April 2002. Adrian Wood. Department for International Development (UK).

New Thinking Can Counter Afro-pessimism. 07 March 2002. Eddy Maloka. Business Day (South Africa)

The Leadership Factor in African Policy Reform and Growth. Clive Gray and Malcolm McPherson. Economic Development & Cultural Change, July 2001.

Confronting Perceptions to Act on Realities. Southern Africa Economic Summit 2001. World Economic Forum. 06 June 2001.

Is Africa On the Move? Malcolm F. McPherson & Arthur A. Goldsmith. African Economic Policy Discussion Paper Number 36, May 2001. Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Southern Africa Leadership 'Failing'. BBC News. 16 May, 2001.

Compact For African Recovery: Operationalising the Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery Programme. Addis Ababa, 20 April 2001. International Conference on Financing for Development (ICFD), United Nations.

Democracy, Western Deception and the African Buffoons. Paul Japheth Sunwabe. The Perspective. 6 April 2001

Afro-Pessimism and African Leadership. Wafula Okumo. The Perspective. 5 April 2001.

Quality of Leadership in Africa. Bola A. Akinterinwa. This Day (Nigeria), 26 March 2001.

Afro Realism: Reading Between the Lines. Peter Hain, MP, UK Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, 15 September 2000

De Beers Chairman Attacks Afro-Pessimism. Nicky Oppenheimer. 29 June 2000.

In a hard hitting address, the usually low profile Nicky Oppenheimer has taken a swipe at those who would restrict his home continent to the scrap heap.

The Keys to an African Economic Renaissance. May 2000. Brett D. Schaefer. Ariel Cohen and Brett D. Schaefer. Heritage Foundation

Think Again: Africa. Marina Ottaway. Foreign Policy, Spring 1999.

Keep Out of Africa. Marina Ottaway. Financial Times, February 25, 1999

In Defense of Afro-Pessimism. David Rieff. World Policy Journal. Winter 1998/99

The Other Africa: An End to Afro-Pessimism. David F. Gordon and Howard Wolpe. World Policy Journal. Spring 1998

The End of Afro-pessimism? 16 November 1997. Isabelle Job. BNP Paribas, Economic Research.