Commentary: Suggested Reading – 11/18/2009
Somali Piracy: An Escalating Security Dilemma
Piracy off the coast of Somalia has grown exponentially in recent years. Only 
a unified stance by the international community that addresses a two-part strategy can facilitate the eradication of Somali piracy…. [read at Africa Policy Journal]
Through the Looking Glass: A Comparative Case Study Analyzing the Origins of Central Command and Africa Command
This article examines the impetus for the establishment of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) in an effort to better understand how perceived threats to U.S. national security have evolved since the Cold War. The commands were created because new threats to American national security were inadequately addressed by the preexisting military organization…. [read at Africa Policy Journal]
Africa’s Urban Farmers
Across Africa, political leaders, long dismissive of rural concerns, have awakened to the importance of agriculture and the role that educated people, even those living in major cities, can play in farming. With prices for basic foodstuffs at their highest levels in decades, many urbanites feel well rewarded by farming…. [read at Project Syndicate]
Stabilizing the Horn
After almost two decades as a failed state torn by civil war, perhaps the world should begin to admit that Somalia — as it is currently constructed — is beyond repair. If so, the place to start is the northernmost region, Somaliland, situated strategically at the opening to the Red Sea and already more or less autonomous and stable….[read at Project Syndicate]
A Less-is-More Growth Strategy for Africa
If African countries were to adopt only one policy to boost economic growth and improve macroeconomic stability, they should reduce the number of currencies in circulation across the continent as quickly as possible. Currencies, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, are like democracies: the best way to preserve their integrity is to share them…. [read at Project Syndicate]
include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. A primary goal of WARDA is to increase the sustainable productivity of rice-based cropping systems while conserving the natural resource base and contributing to the food security of poor rural and urban households. WARDA was established in 1970 and became a full-fledged member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in 1986.