Meeting Notes - September 23, 2011
New Meeting Note: Upcoming Elections in Africa
Elections have facilitated the emergence of democratic governments in Africa, and, in some cases, more stable societies have emerged. In some other cases, however, elections have been manipulated to legitimize autocratic regimes or to ensure dynastic successions on the continent. Violence still plagues approximately 20-25 percent of elections in Africa, and forty-one of the fifty-four countries on the continent will organize elections in 2011 and 2012 (see map of upcoming elections).
On July 19, 2011, IPI hosted a roundtable discussion on “Elections in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities.” The conversation included approximately forty United Nations (UN) Secretariat officials, African UN permanent mission representatives, NGO officials, and academics.
Participants found that Africa has made tremendous progress during the past couple of decades, both normatively and in practice, in developing principles of democracy and good governance. However, they also agreed that much work remains to be done so that elections become part of a broader political framework that promotes good governance, the rule of law, and equal participation in politics.
This meeting note was drafted by Mireille Affa’a-Mindzie, IPI Senior Policy Analyst, and Paul Romita, IPI Policy Analyst at the time and now Research Analyst at Security Council Report.
The Global Observatory
A Gulf Union? Not Yet
A union between Persian Gulf countries the along the lines of the European Union may be a long way from being achieved.
Key Global Events to Watch in May
A list of key upcoming meetings and events with implications for global affairs.
The Global Observatory is a new website by IPI, providing timely analysis on peace and security issues, interviews with leading policymakers, interactive maps, and more.
Contact Us
Adam Lupel | Publications
E-mail
Recent Events
May 10, 2012
Arbour: What the Rule of Law Means
“In my understanding of the rule of law, fundamentally, what the rule of law means is that it embraces the principle of equality before the law,” Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group (ICG), told an IPI audience on May 10, 2012. Ms. Arbour outlined that this means that no one is above the law and everyone has both equal protection and equal benefit of the law. 
May 03, 2012
Shachtman: Cyber Threats Akin to South Bronx, Not Pearl Harbor
“There’s not a danger of a cyber Pearl Harbor… it’s more like the South Bronx circa 1999, where there’s a danger that it becomes such a tough neighborhood that no one wants to set up shop there and people move out,” Noah Shachtman, editor of the Danger Room blog at Wired magazine and non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, told an IPI audience at a panel on cyber security on May 3, 2011.
April 27, 2012
Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems
An April 27th roundtable discussion at IPI titled “Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems” examined the progress, prospects and challenges of regional and international early warning and response mechanisms to monitor, anticipate, and mitigate potential conflict situations in Africa.