Zungunzungu and others blog the Caine Prize for African Literature.
Edward Kannyo on Libya: “The most recent political developments in Libya strongly support the sense that the country is quickly moving from one autocracy to another one. The only question is whether it will be theocratic, regional-ethnic or some combination of the two.” I am very curious to hear readers’ thoughts on this piece. Do you agree with Kannyo?
Bruce Whitehouse on an interview with Mali’s Captain Amadou Sanogo.
Loomnie reviews Edward Carr’s Delivering Development.
Orlando Reade, “Africa as Science Fiction.”
The Moor Next Door on Algeria and the “Arab Uprisings”:
Algeria has a distinct political background and demography that is sometimes downplayed in discussions about the Arab uprisings, which includes the civil war during the 1990s, an opposition that is pitifully fragmented and a regime made up of remarkably cunning political strategists and tacticians. Much of the writing about the events that took place in the Arab world focuses on forces as opposed to individual actors; the force of Tahrir Square, the force of social media, the force of the example of Mohamed Bouazizi, the force of symbols and avatars. One of the reasons uprisings became successful was that they forced regimes into reactive positions where they were forced to react in aggressive and impolitic ways. Questions of agency and causality seem to be relegated largely to mystical forces as opposed to decisions and specific circumstances. A popular revolution or uprising is treated not only as likely, but inevitable and existential.
What are you reading today?
Sahel Blog 
Considering the lack of a functioning center for the nation, easy access to weapons and lack of a real political party to unite around during the brief war I find regionalism and possibly warlordism to be more likely than a strong authoritarian government.
Of course there’s the possibility of a revolutionary movement (quite possibly religious in nature) taking power if disgust in the current leadership reaches a certain level similar to Afghanistan. However we should remember that even in Taliban Afghanistan the government was still dominated by ethnic biases.