Kenya: from chaos to cliche
The Kenya story is currently the most important in Africa and with its regional significance for security, possibly in the world. But are we getting it right?
A fascinating piece here on foreign coverage by a Kenyan newspaper and in the Observer by the hugely experienced and insightful Africa expert Richard Dowden.
In short, Dowden says we are falling back on old cliches about tribes and the alleged inability to Africans to cope with Western Democracy. While the Kenyan Nation piece swings both ways. It says that much Western media has resorted to the usual positions on Africa in which you simply change the name Mugabe for Kibaki. But it also points out that if an LSE-educated economist who has created a relatively successful modern state can go bad, then things are not looking good for the continent.
There have been some amazing blogs throughout the whole crisis, you can sample just some of them via the BBC World Service and especially the excellent Global Voices.
January 7th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I wrote a similar article myself on this topic. The BBC’s reporting of this has been shambolic only Al-Jazeera English has done a good job.
January 7th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
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