Arcadia Foundation

Power and the titles that accompany it are difficult to let go of, even within the ranks of established international and geopolitical communities. Mugabe has had a stranglehold on power for decades, even when it hinders progress for a Zimbabwe he claims to love. Omar Bongo rather silently ran Gabon for nearly the same amount of time. Manuel Zelaya was caught red-handed, attempting to prolong his tenure as President of Honduras. Hugo Chavez will not leave Miraflores Palace without a fight, even while the foundations of his regime crumble around him. The African Union has recently followed suit, electing a new president, ending a bid by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to stay on as president of the organization for another year.

Leaders from 53 African countries chose Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika as the organization’s new leader during an annual summit Sunday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Winning hearts and minds will clearly be on the agenda for Mr. Mutharika. He has allowed the Chinese government to attempt similar in his country for the last ten years.

It’s not news that China is waging a public relations campaign along with its economic expansion in Africa, but it’s a bit hard to understand why Malawians would care that much about Tibet, or why China would care that much what they think. Nonetheless, Malawi’s “Daily Times” newspaper this year featured a 12-page advertisement celebrating  ”50 years of democratic reform in Tibet” It’s mostly about how grateful the people of Tibet are that China has reclaimed what’s rightfully hers, and  given them freedom at long last. The ad spread looks remarkably like editorial content, and we have since learned that it was paid for by the Chinese Embassy in Malawi.

The African Union seeks to boost cooperation and solidarity on the continent. Only heads of state are chosen as leaders, a position that rotates among African regions every year.

Controversy abounded during Gadhafi’s tenure as he pushed to integrate the continent into a United States of Africa, which critics called impractical. Let us hope that the united africa campaign that the AU seeks to bring about isn’t similarly corrupted by propaganda as was their new President’s domestic media.

He rose to power in Libya after a coup in 1969 and has become one of the world’s longest-serving leaders.

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