Have Somalia’s lessons, hard-learned, have finally taken?

  The only war in which Jonathan Manthorpe felt compelled to hire bodyguards was in Somalia. Lessons were learned the hard way in Somalia’s last quarter century, but as a glimmer of light now illuminates the country, at last. An excerpt of his

One Zimbabwe success story

In great contrast to the Borgia world of Zimbabwe’s First Lady, Grace Mugabe — the subject of last week’s column by International Affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe  — is the skill, imagination, talent, determination and sheer hard work that ordinary Africans have to employ to

Jonathan Manthorpe on Angkor Wat, the Elgin Marbles, and repatriation

Should the the British Museum or the Louvre in Paris retain collections gathered from all corners of the world, in order to display the entire sweep of human cultural history? Should the great works of humanity be repatriated? International Affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe examines

Kurdistan could be a silver lining in Middle East quagmire

The siege of Kobani has pushed to the surface some of the internal and external pressures working against the creation of a complete Kurdistan homeland, writes International Affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe. But if any good can come of the latest ill-conceived bombing of

Ebola panic overshadows far more deadly diseases

  The Ebola panic overshadows far more deadly diseases, points out International Affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe. In recent weeks Ebola has tweaked our primal fears of the first Horseman of the Apocalypse, Pestilence. Politicians, world health officials and the media are near hysteria.

Has a crack opened between North and South Korea?

After more than six decades of hostility – including the devastating 1950-53 civil war – is North Korea now serious about trying to improve relations with South Korea?  International Affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe examines the possibilities. An excerpt of his new column, Lightning-strike diplomacy

Uzbekistan’s dictator turns on his own creation: his daughter

It is not unusual for dictators, especially particularly nasty ones like Islam Karimov, to create monsters among their family members, notes International Affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe. Think only of the plundering relatives: Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace in Zimbabwe, the offspring of “Papa Doc”

Zimbabwe’s new colonial master

It looks increasingly as though Zimbabwe’s peasant farmers have simply exchanged colonial masters, writes International Affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe. An excerpt of his new column, China accepts tribute from its vassal, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe: That significance is likely to grow early next year, when

China’s latest Cultural Revolution underway — Manthorpe

China’s constant sensitivity about its international image has intensified as Beijing flexes its muscles as a growing world power, writes International Affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe. An excerpt of his new column, China’s Xi launches his own Cultural Revolution: Xi Jinping is not content with being