R. Maxwell Bone

Cameroon’s Predictable Election Will Produce Unpredictable Chaos At nearly 93, Paul Biya is all but guaranteed a victory—but has no successor.

At nearly 93, Paul Biya is all but guaranteed a victory—but has no successor. foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/07/b...

Cameroon’s Predictable Election Will Produce Unpredictable Chaos At nearly 93, Paul Biya is all but guaranteed a victory—but has no successor.

this is a good article about the politics of a country you probably don't know anything about but also this photo of the 93-year-old president and his wife is mildly insane. his daughter has also just condemned him and renounced her family wealth on social media.

foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/07/b...

Cameroon’s Predictable Election Will Produce Unpredictable Chaos At nearly 93, Paul Biya is all but guaranteed a victory—but has no successor.

Cameroon’s upcoming election will likely produce a victory for incumbent Paul Biya. But at 92 years old, there are concerns about his ability to govern, @maxbone55.bsky.social writes.

Cameroon’s Predictable Election Will Produce Unpredictable Chaos At nearly 93, Paul Biya is all but guaranteed a victory—but has no successor.

On Sunday, #Cameroon will hold an election that will certainly return #PaulBiya to power. For @foreignpolicy.com , I examine how the succession battle and election have unearthed societial fissures that will make the post-Biya transition dangerously unstable.

When I served as President Biden’s Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council, I had more than a few difficult meetings over whether, and how, to cut foreign assistance. My reflections here: poststrategy.substack.com/p/on-foreign...

Trump’s Voter Suppression Tactics Align U.S. With Overseas Dictators Read more here.

"What’s striking is that many of the most troubling voter suppression tactics that the U.S. will no longer condemn overseas — strict proof of citizenship and residency requirements, as well as purges of the voter rolls, all targeting disfavored groups — are being kicked into high gear here at home."

Trump’s Voter Suppression Tactics Align U.S. With Overseas Dictators Read more here.

NEW: GOP attacks on U.S. elections have clashed with America’s pro-democracy stance abroad. Rubio’s move to silence diplomats on fair elections removes that tension, potentially aiding Trump’s efforts to rig upcoming elections, @maxbone55.bsky.social writes.

Trump’s Voter Suppression Tactics Align U.S. With Overseas Dictators Read more here.

I've been reflecting on how voter suppression in the U.S. mirrors tactics I’ve analyzed & worked w/ civil society combat abroad. In my first @democracydocket.com article, I examine how these tactics are being used to exclude marginalized voters here at home. The fight for democracy is universal.

I have no doubt some in the #Trump administration genuinely want to expand trade & investment with #Africa —which I applaud. But if it’s tied to deportations, it is regressive & harmful. Investments should be facilitated because of Africa's immense commercial potential, not political gimmicks.

Exclusive | U.S. Pushes More African Countries to Accept Deported Migrants Five countries whose leaders held talks with Trump at the White House were sent a U.S. proposal to accept deportees, document shows.

However, the presence of #StephenMiller made me curious. Reporting that #deportations were raised has made me wonder about more sinister underlying motivations to the meeting. Accepting deportees has long been continuous in relations w/ West African states in particular. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

I was genuinely pleased to see the leaders of #GuineaBissau, #Mauritania, #Liberia, #Senegal & #Gabon at the White House yesterday. High-level engagement and a focus on commerce have long been lacking from US- #Africa policy, and I will applaud any President who takes action to change that.

Exclusive | U.S. Pushes More African Countries to Accept Deported Migrants Five countries whose leaders held talks with Trump at the White House were sent a U.S. proposal to accept deportees, document shows.

However - the presence of #StephenMiller in the meeting made me curious. Accepting deportees has always been a area of contention w/ West Africa in particular. The WSJ reporting makes me believe there may be something more sinister going on here.. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

The Perfect Storm Pushing Zimbabwe Toward Crisis Simmering tensions and an ambitious president could mean wider unrest.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s efforts to bypass constitutional term limits and extend his term in office until 2030 has spurred calls for a public uprising, writes @maxbone55.bsky.social‬‬.

The Perfect Storm Pushing Zimbabwe Toward Crisis Simmering tensions and an ambitious president could mean wider unrest.

The Perfect Storm Pushing Zimbabwe Toward Crisis foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/19/z...

The Perfect Storm Pushing Zimbabwe Toward Crisis Simmering tensions and an ambitious president could mean wider unrest.

Over the past few months, a confluence of crises has been simmering in #Zimbabwe: a heated succession battle within ZANU-PF, the most divided opposition in two decades, intensified repression of civil society & a worsening economic crisis. In @foreignpolicy.com , I examine the implications.

First batch of South African SAMIDRC troops return home in chaotic repatriation - defenceWeb A 249-strong contingent of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers serving with the now-terminated Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAM...

 A 249-strong contingent of SANDF soldiers serving with the now-terminated Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo have arrived back in South Africa, with the remainder set to return by month-end.
www.defenceweb.co.za/featured/fir...

Netanyahu wanted to strike Iran when Obama was president. Obama said no and he didn’t.

Netanyahu wanted to strike Iran when Biden was president. Biden said no and he didn’t.

Netanyahu wanted to strike Iran when Trump is president. Trump said no and he did.

W.E.B. Du Bois on Robert E. Lee:

“Either he knew what slavery meant when he helped maim and murder thousands in its defense, or he did not. If he did not he was a fool. If he did, Robert Lee was a traitor and a rebel–not indeed to his country, but to humanity and humanity’s God.”

The real enemy of this administration is cosmopolitanism. Whether in Los Angeles or South Africa, multiracial pluralistic democracy is a threat to them because it means their “us or them” model of the world is wrong. So they stir up trouble on purpose and gleefully lie.

Cuomo’s lead narrows as Mamdani gains ground in NYC mayoral race: poll NEW YORK (PIX11) — An internal poll from Zohran Mamdani’s campaign obtained by PIX11 News shows he is gaining on former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the race for mayor, although Cuomo remains t…

I have admittedly not been following the New York Mayoral race closely, but I just realized that one of the main candidates is Mahmood Mamdani’s son! If it means anything for NY-Africa relations is another question, but still very neat!
pix11.com/news/politic...

The #Trump Admin likes to state that 85% of #PEPFAR funding was restored - #Rubio parroted that this week in front of congress. However, this ignores how significant any break in care is for at risk populations, which occurred earlier this year. Decades of progress are being thrown away.

Exclusive: HIV patient testing falls in South Africa after US aid cuts, data shows South Africa has the world's highest burden of HIV, with about 8 million people living with the virus.

This is a five-alarm fire not getting sufficient attention. #PEPFAR funding in #SouthAfrica funded small clinics for key populations. If the figures are this high in RSA, where the public health system is more robust, they are likely much higher elsewhere. www.reuters.com/business/hea...

Coup rumours debunked as Côte d'Ivoire's President chairs cabinet meeting - Businessday NG President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d'Ivoire on Wednesday presided over a council of ministers meeting at the presidential palace in Abidjan, the Ivorian capital.

My phone was buzzing nonstop with messages from Abidjan about a coup- which was bogus. It is imaginable to see such messages leading to ppl pouring into the streets & subsequent unrest. This raises real questions of how to address information integrity in real time businessday.ng/africa/artic...

IMHO: stop calling the meeting an ambush. Ramaphosa had a plan:

- staffing his delegation (golfers, a billionaire, and a white minister of ag.)
- asking a few Trojan Horse Q’s (where is the video from?)
- letting POTUS spew without interruption
- letting the press ask the hard Q’s, rather than him

On Strategies I wrote President Biden's Africa Strategy. What went wrong?

Last week I posted my first substack on U.S. strategies toward Africa. What worked and what didn’t — including the one I wrote for President Biden.

open.substack.com/pub/poststra...

Mark Carney: democracy’s unTrump America’s 47th president plays unwitting ally to non-populists everywhere except at home

Some rare positive news for the global order from @edwardluce.bsky.social and @financialtimes.com, reinforced in #Canada and #Australia: "America’s 47th president plays unwitting ally to democracy everywhere except at home." www.ft.com/content/f063...

Australia re-elects Anthony Albanese as Labor rides anti-Trump wave to seal crushing win Opposition leader Peter Dutton fails to dissociate himself from Trump-like rhetoric and policies – and loses his seat

This is two global elections in ONE WEEK where the conservative candidate trying to become prime minister not only led his party to a big loss but lost their own seat in parliament (!) in huge upsets. We are global pariahs unseen since the end of the Cold War and need stronger domestic opposition.

Potential protests on Thursday in Cote D’Ivoire

Military Drone Proliferation Marks Destabilizing Shift in Africa’s Armed Conflicts – Africa Center A revolution in unmanned drone systems is reshaping the dynamics of Africa’s conflicts, providing militaries tactical advantages but also risks.

Military drone acquisitions have surged in Africa, but any decisive advantage drones provide may be further negated by the dynamics of proxy warfare. africacenter.org/spo...

'Shocked and scared': US clothing contracts killed as Lesotho faces 50% tariff | Business With the US set to slap a 50% tariff on Lesotho this week, the country's textile workers have warned that thousands of jobs will be lost. Meanwhile, Taiwanese garment maker, Hippo Knitting said its sh...

This is an example of how the misguided tariffs are already having a massive impact on Lesotho- one of the poorest (but in my mind most beautiful) countries on earth. This will push people into poverty & Impact companies from allied countries.. www.news24.com/fin24/econom...