Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
Seifudein Adem

Creator

Seifudein Adem

Focal point: Many African states pursued prestige-oriented urban modernisation and import-substitution policies while neglecting agriculture and
rural society. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Africa–Asia development divergence

What has prevented most African countries from performing as well as Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam in economic modernisation is connected with the continent’s ‘soft…

Imbalance: The call for the United Nations Security Council reform is not just as an adjustment of seats and vetoes.  Photo: United Nations

The case for the reform of the UN

The two proposals reveal that reform debates are marked by a deeper theoretical divergence over whether global legitimacy hinges on balancing power or modernising institutions.

BRICS members during
the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, on 6 July, 2025. Photo: Prime Minister’s
Office, India/

Africa between Bandung and BRICS+

The Bandung Spirit remains relevant as a flexible framework for navigating hierarchy, asserting agency and preserving autonomy

The war in Ukraine continues to reshape Europe’s security landscape, testing international resolve and the principles of sovereignty and territorial
integrity. Photo Ukraine Ministry of Defence

Us today; you tomorrow

WW2 is conventionally dated to September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, but its origins can reasonably be traced back to 1935 when Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. (Wikimedia Commons)

What Africa can learn from Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s leadership style blends strategic inclusion, symbolic reconciliation, and cultural self-confidence.

The Horn of Africa’s chronic instability stems from post-colonial borders. A new approach is needed for lasting peace and prosperity

Toward a United States of the Horn of Africa

The Horn of Africa’s chronic instability stems from post-colonial borders. A new approach is needed for lasting peace and prosperity

China says it will grant zero-tariff treatment to imports from the 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations

Lawrence of Arabia vs Wolf Warrior II: Africa-China relations in a comparative perspective

Digital platforms are vital to combat youth unemployment in South Africa, addressing systemic barriers and fostering economic growth

Japan sees Africa as having great promise because of its natural resources, particularly those used in smartphones. Photo: File

Ticad 9: The post-conference balance sheet

The Japanese government is seeking to encourage its companies to think strategically and start to trade with and invest in Africa

Japan went through a process of transforming from a country with a weak agricultural base to the success that it is today. Photo: File

Africa-Japan: Reflections on Tokyo International Conference on African Development

Africa can take a leaf out of Japan’s book: power need not be a zero sum game; economic modernisation focused on diversification, domestication and indigenising modernity; to…

Ethiopia puts paid to Western perceptions that African people lack history and are incapable of poetry, philosophy and science. Photo: File

Ali Mazrui’s view on how Ethiopia solves the West’s ‘puzzle’ about Africa

Ethiopia puts paid to Western perceptions that African people lack history and are incapable of poetry, philosophy and science

American academic Ali Mazrui said that the US, Secretary of State Marco Rubio in particular, should be saying ‘what is good for the world is good for my country’.

The future world order must be based on tolerance and diversity

Using a cultural synthesis of the best aspects of various cultures and traditions we can build a harmonious and sustainable future

American academic Ali Mazrui said that the US, Secretary of State Marco Rubio in particular, should be saying ‘what is good for the world is good for my country’.

Could Ali Mazrui’s nuclear pragmatism inspire practical policies?

The Kenyan American political scientist argued that the Global South acquiring nuclear weapons would lead to universal nuclear disarmament

A Somaliland police officer gives directions to voters in front of a tent operating as a polling station during the 2024 Somaliland presidential election in Hargeisa on November 13, 2024. (Photo by LUIS TATO/AFP via Getty Images)

Ramifications of the US recognising Somaliland as a state

Somaliland’s strategic value in the Horn of Africa means the repercussions of such a decision would be far-reaching

(Graphic: John McCann/M&G)

A warped reinvention of Ali Mazrui

Prominent scholar Paul Zeleza failed to reflect the intellectual who challenged conventional wisdom