Dear CIHA blog readers,

Check out the important new post by Dr. Siba N'Zatioula Grovogui, "Looking Beyond Spring: An African Perspective on the Arab Revolt in World Order," on why the African Union sees the Libyan crisis very differently than NATO powers. Grovogui walks us through US, European, and UN interventionism in Africa, the orientalization of Libya, and the recent discourses that attempt to pull away North Africa from the rest of the continent, focusing on the contradictions in NATO powers' political and military strategy and the humanitarian consequences of their continued bombing campaign in support of rebel forces.

Longer than our usual posts, this piece highlights how external images of Africa and Africans continue to shape contemporary events on the continent, while for many Africans, the precedents set by numerous previous interventions raise serious questions about the legitimacy of this one. We hope you will comment on any of the critical issues raised by this piece, either by posting them on the blog or emailing us directly.

With your help, we are striving to create a growing forum to address the many contours and perspectives within ongoing debates about humanitarianism in Africa. Please help us grow (we now have a readership of approximately 1000 people across Africa, North America, Europe, and parts of Asia) by sharing our site with interested friends and colleagues, and letting us know!

Please also check out our In the News and Opportunities sections -- there are a number of new opportunities listed.

Sincerely,

Cecelia Lynch
CIHA Blog Editor, http://blogs.uci.edu/cihablog/
Professor, Department of Political Science, and Director, Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies
(http://www.cgpacs.uci.edu)

University of California, Irvine
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