Political pacts have been common among Kenya’s elites throughout the country’s post-colonial period. The most recent has been the Building Bridges Initiative agreed between arch-rivals President Uhuru Kenyatta and leader of the main opposition Raila Odinga. Karuti Kanyinga explains how political pacts are driven by Kenya’s elites to maintain power. And how, because they are self-serving, they are never built to last.
Former US national security adviser John Bolton has angered President Trump with his tell-all book, The Room Where It Happened. Bolton seems to be enjoying his moment, but he may face trouble ahead, according to an expert on American history.
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Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (left), and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga
Getty Images
Karuti Kanyinga, University of Nairobi
The Building Bridges Initiative is best understood by recognising that Kenyan politics is fundamentally shaped by competition between political elites and their ethnic groups.
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Friends no longer: US president Donald Trump with his then national security adviser John Bolton in 2018.
EPA-EFE/Justin Lane
Kaeten Mistry, University of East Anglia
The former national security adviser seems likely to be sued and could face criminal liability.
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Politics + Society
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Ken Chitwood, Concordia College New York
Saudi Arabia is barring international visitors for the hajj. A scholar explains a long history of disease, politics and war that have previously prevented people from making the journey to Mecca.
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Gwendolyn Sasse, University of Oxford; Félix Krawatzek, University of Oxford
Russians are heading to the polls from June 25 to July 1 in a referendum on constitutional changes. A new survey found young Russians think Vladimir Putin should step back from power.
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Health + Medicine
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Adam Kamradt-Scott, University of Sydney
While those of us from Australia and New Zealand might be starting to relax as restrictions ease, the pandemic is actually growing at an increasing rate worldwide.
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Simon Cotton, University of Birmingham
A history of the drug crystal meth.
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En Français
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Vitaly Ordomsky, Université de Lille; Andrei Khodakov, Université de Lille
Utiliser l’énergie solaire pour transformer le méthane en éthane à température ambiante pourrait permettre de fabriquer des plastiques, par exemple, sans émettre de CO₂.
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Christophe Benzitoun, Université de Lorraine
La grammaire s’arrête-t-elle à des prescriptions sur ce qu’il faut dire ou ne pas dire ? Pour les linguistes, elle consiste aussi à explorer la diversité de la langue !
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