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Beware False Idols: The Pitfalls of Copy-Paste Development Models

By Felix Brender 王哲謙 At this year’s Munich Security Conference, the U.S. put on such an antagonistic performance that China barely had to lift a finger to win brownie points. All Beijing had to do was sit back, radiate calm, and ...

A Fight for Food and Sovereignty: How the South China Sea Crisis Impacts Filipino Fishermen 

Part of the eastern South China Sea, known in the Philippines as the West Philippine Sea, represents not only a geopolitical flashpoint but also a lifeline for millions of Filipinos. Beneath the heated rhetoric of international diplomacy lies a struggle far closer to home, one that pits ...

Three Big Global Questions on the IMF and World Bank’s Agenda

By Tim Hirschel-Burns The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are not the only places where global economic decision-making takes place, but arguably, no other institutions combine such global scope and implementation power. The United Nations (UN) serves as ...

Development Finance at a Crossroads: BRICS Challenge to Western-led Economic Order

We're going to see two starkly contrasting visions of the current international economic order this week when leaders from nearly two dozen developing countries gather in Russia for a BRICS summit while the development finance elite meet in Washington for the IMF-World Bank's annual meeting.

Africa at the Intersection of Three Megatrends: China, Climate and Debt

Dramatic scenes this week in Italy where 7,000 people, mostly from Africa, came ashore after making the dangerous trek across the Mediterranean. It was a similar situation along the U.S.-Mexico border where 9,000 people crossed in a single day.

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Looking Beyond “Useful Africa” at the Mining Indaba

With U.S.-South Africa ties in the deep freeze, it was notable to see the sheer size of the U.S. delegation sent to this week’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town – one of the most prominent industry gatherings and one of the few where the Global South gets a prominent voice.
The Trump administration’s famous Afrophobia seems (momentarily at least) tempered by its greed for minerals. It is reportedly walking ...

South-South Cooperation in Economically Perilous Times

For 70+ years, development economists have been touting the idea that if lesser developed countries trade and invest collaboratively, it would serve as a pathway out of poverty. But today, the notion of so-called South-South cooperation is facing unprecedented challenges as ...

China Promotes Its Poverty Alleviation Policies to African Diplomats

China's successful track record in eliminating extreme poverty over the past several decades is emerging as a potent soft power diplomacy initiative in its relations with African countries. China now regularly touts its poverty eradication efforts in its official propaganda 

Poverty Alleviation is Becoming an Increasingly Important in China’s Public Diplomacy Messaging In Africa

Lacking the pop culture Europeans and Americans have long relied on to bolster their soft power diplomacy in Africa, China instead uses alternative messaging about its rapid economic development, infrastructure accomplishments, and now domestic poverty alleviation. While the Chinese topics are ...

“Them” But Also “Us”

The recent striking images of Texans stuck in freezing temperatures without electricity and queueing for water were hard to process.  I felt much solidarity with them, especially when a blackout in Johannesburg made it impossible for me to join Eric ...

What the EU Can Learn From China’s Development Efforts in Africa

Legacy aid donors in the United States and Europe generally don't look to China for inspiration on poverty alleviation programs that their aid agencies implement in places like Africa. That's a big mistake according to Philani Mthembu, executive director at Institute for Global Dialogue in Johannesburg. Mthembu ...