A Quick Glance at Western Sahara

This is an article I wrote for the Student Center for African Research and Resolutions, a student think tank in Washington, D.C. Check them out at scarrdc.org for more student-produced news regarding African affairs. This article can also be accessed in SCARR's blog section. This article was originally published on August 15, 2014.  While the world squabbles over the dispute between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza Strip, another land dispute simmers in the West of Africa. To the southwest of the Kingdom of Morocco lies Western Sahara, an unimaginatively named sunburnt chunk of land that has been in recognition purgatory for almost three decades.  Western Sahara was a Spanish colony which was first taken over in the late 19th century, and then became a province of Spain in 1934. Between 1963 and 1975, Spain gradually released the region, and then eventually handed the territory over to Morocco and Mauritania. This move was denounced in 1975, however, by the International Court of Justice, which had hopes of organizing a referendum on the region’s independence. However, King Hassan II of Morocco stepped in, organizing a “Green March” of Moroccans to venture to the territory. Spain backed down, and a new treaty gave Morocco control of the northern two-thirds of the territory, and the southern third to Mauritania. This agreement did not sit well with those inside Western Sahara. The Polisario Front and the Sahrawi Liberation Movement, backed by Algeria, were pitted against Mauritania and Morocco, and a war broke out. France and Spain both supported Morocco and Mauritania in this war. Mauritania eventually withdrew in 1978, letting Morocco take about two-thirds of the region as its Southern provinces. A sliver of land in the east and south is still administered by Polisario, but they severely lag behind the parts of Western Sahara administered by Morocco in terms of phosphate resources and in human capital. In the early 1990s, the United Nations attempted to have a referendum for independence occur, but the referendum stalled and never occurred. Both Morocco and Polisario blame each other for the stalling of the referendum. Today, the region in unstable and lacks direction. The international community seems uninterested in the conflict as it seems to have simmered down. Divisions are still present today. African countries tend to side with Western Sahara, while Arab countries tend to favor Morocco’s position. Algeria is the exception, consistent in its support for Polisario and Western Sahara. Prospects do not look very positive for a future referendum, because of Morocco’s control over the few cities and most of the resources. To borrow a metaphor used by Robert Young Pelton regarding Israel and Palestine, “Western Sahara resembles a game of musical chairs, with the Moroccans playing the music, sitting in most of the chairs, and kicking Saharawis off whenever they find an empty chair.”

El-Sisi's Egypt: Stability at last, but at what price?

This is an article I wrote for the Student Center for African Research and Resolutions, a student think tank in Washington, D.C. Check them out at scarrdc.org for more student-produced news regarding African affairs. This article can also be accessed in SCARR's blog section.

This article was originally published on July 25, 2014. 

A month ago, Egyptians headed to the polls to elect a new president after three years of instability and revolution. This time, it looks like the person elected is going to stick around. Abdel Fatah El-Sisi, a former Field Marshal in the Egyptian Army, was elected with a resounding 97 percent of the vote. Upon learning that Sisi had secured his victory, Egyptians celebrated in the same squares, including Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where they had protested in the last few years. Egypt finally seems to have suppressed the Islamist insurgency that arose in the Sinai peninsula after a coup deposed Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Morsi. 

El-Sisi’s allies have stressed his devotion to making Egypt safe and secure again, but the long-serving soldier seems to be uninterested in establishing democracy in his country. Dozens of Al-Jazeerajournalists were detained earlier in the year and sentenced to four years in prison for “aiding the Muslim Brotherhood.” This sort of arbitrary jailing is what Moubarak did previously.

El-Sisi, however, has the ability to fundamentally change his country for the better if he wants to. Unfortunately for Egyptians, however, that may be unlikely. While Sisi has agreed to preside over parliamentary elections, he does not seem very receptive to the type of reform Egypt may find it needs.

And how long will Sisi’s popularity last? Stability is one goal, but how long will this last as well? It is still unknown whether Sisi will be an effective administrator or politician. Egypt is a rampantly corrupt country, with suffocating levels of bureaucracy.

The optimism of the Arab Spring is long gone. Of the countries where serious protests took place, only Tunisia seems to have put itself on the path to democracy. Algeria remains a military-controlled state. Libya is certainly more free than it was under Gaddafi, but lawlessness and tribal rivalries are still plaguing the country. Syria is still openly bleeding from civil war. Bahrain’s protests were suppressed by the monarchy. As of now, it’s Sisi’s choice whether he wants to make Egypt modern. Let’s just hope he changes his mind.

What's Keeping Libya Lawless?

This is an article I wrote for the Student Center for African Research and Resolutions, a student think tank in Washington, D.C. Check them out at scarrdc.org for more student-produced news regarding African affairs. This article can also be accessed in SCARR's blog section.

This article was originally published on August 1, 2014. 

On July 26, 2014, the United States evacuated its embassy staff in Libya to next-door Tunisia, recommending that any Americans in the country also leave, citing heavy fighting between rival militias. It’s not the first time Americans have been in danger in this North African country: On the 11th anniversary of the September 11th attacks in New York and Washington, Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed as well as three other embassy staff in Benghazi, in a tragedy that is still shrouded in controversy in the United States. 

Libya, now a fledgling republic, was ruled for nearly 40 years by Muammar Gaddafi, a ruthless megalomaniac who was so infamously egotistical that British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen used him for inspiration in his movie “The Dictator.” Unfortunately, the pride and joy that came with the ousting of Gaddafi was short-lived. Since Gaddafi was ousted, the country’s weak and ineffective government has struggled to establish order.

Local militias which played a vital role in ousting Gaddafi have been trying to vie for influence since Gaddafi was ousted, paralyzing the interim government. Islamists and their liberal and nationalist rivals have been at odds since the end of Gaddafi’s regime, unable to cooperate on anything and undermining progress. Benghazi, a large city in the eastern part of the country, is hit by frequent bombings, and crime is frequent and hard to control.

It seems as if the only thing that united Libyans was hatred of Gaddafi. There’s a possibility that the country’s neighbors may help establish order, though. Tunisia, Libya’s neighbor to the west, has seemingly established a stable and progressing democracy. The Tunisian economy is stable and the presidential elections this year will serve as an important benchmark to see how far the country hasprogressed. To the east lies Egypt, and while President El-Sisi is not expected to be the most democratic of leaders, a stable Egypt may help the Libyan government establish its own authority.