Will Kenya's elections produce a representative government or deepen its democratic decline? CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick offers a prescription for reversing the retreat of emerging states like Kenya.

The exploitation of Congo's vast resources by competing elites and militaries for personal enrichment promotes insecurity and stymies development. Only very strong Western and African public outcry and a change in China's nonintervention approach might open the possibilities for change.

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Secretary John Kerry and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave these remarks before their meeting on February 14, 2013. They outlined the main issues they would discuss: North Korea's nuclear test and Six Party Talks, negotiations with Iran, the crisis in Syria, and France's intervention in Mali.

France says it will withdraw from Mali once an African peacekeeping force is in place. To keep Islamists at bay, the United States is considering increasing its military presence in the region. A better approach is to focus on fixing the governance issues that fuel radicalism to begin with, says John Campbell.

Some experts believe al-Shabaab is at its weakest point in years following an African-led counterinsurgency campaign, but others warn of the group's resiliency in an unstable Somalia.

Jihadists were already finding it hard to operate in North Africa before the Arab Spring of 2011. Since then their problems have become almost insurmountable: they thrive only in countries where Islamists are in prison, not where they are in the ascendant or contesting elections. As for Europe, the last attacks instigated by al-Qaida date back to Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005. Jihadism looks less like a rising phenomenon in the north of Mali than a force in retreat. The French intervention may well give them purpose and greater coherence.

Secretary of Defense Panetta held this press conference previewing his final international trip as secretary, on January 14, 2013. His travel will include Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Great Britain.

In the run-up to Kenya's March 2013 elections, Joel D. Barkan argues that the United States should take proactive measures to prevent a repeat of the electoral violence that broke out across the country in 2007.

A recent agremeent between Sudan and South Sudan to restart oil exports is likely to improve the macroeconomic situations of the countries, while paving the way for future negotiations over land disputes, says expert Alex de Waal.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf discusses the progress she has made as head of state and the challenges facing her country.

Jendayi Frazer, CFR's adjunct senior fellow for Africa Studies, discusses preventing conflict between Sudan and South Sudan.

The situation in Mali challenges U.S. goals of promoting stability, democracy, civilian control of the military, and effective counterterrorism in Africa, and raises questions regarding the strategic design and effectiveness of existing U.S. efforts to do so.

Weak governance and radical jihadists are at the heart of Mali's crisis, says CFR's John Campbell, who cautions that any intervention should focus on humanitarian aid and diplomacy, not the security threat.

UN Security Council Resolution 788 regarding Liberia was adopted on November 19, 1992.

Two groups wage a bitter fight for control over the West African nation, writes Andy Morgan for al-Jazeera.

CFR Senior Fellow Isobel Coleman speaks with Boris Weber, director of ICT4Gov at the World Bank Institute, on how technology is being leveraged to promote good governance and increased transparency in fragile states and emerging markets.

This was a meeting of the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Roundtable series.

With Mali's north under rebel control, fears are growing that a breakaway Islamist state could emerge, writes Xan Rice at the Financial Times.

In this United States Institute of Peace special report, freelance journalist Andrew Walker explains the history of Boko Haram, an extremist Islamic sect in Nigeria, that has created havoc across the north of the country and its violent attacks on government offices, the United Nations, and churches.

Jendayi Frazer argues that the conviction of Charles Taylor is in large part due to the Bush administration's investment of attention, energy, and diplomatic and financial resources to implement a comprehensive strategy in Liberia and the region.

The Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Residence, and Establishment was adopted on May 29, 1979.