At the FPA Africa Blog

In the long process of restoring normalcy to my parambulating life I am back to regular posting at the Foreign Policy Association's Africa blog. Today I put up two posts. One on the passing of South African cricket legend Basil D'Oliviera, the other on the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I thank you for checking them both out.

South Africa Sport Report

Over at the FPA I have written a postmortem on the Springboks and Bafana Bafana. The Boks lost 11-9 to Australia in the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup in a game they absolutely dominated in every way but the scoreboard. Bafana crapped out of the African Cup of Nations in a way that boggles the imagination with the sort of coaching decision you'd expect from Andy Reid.

The Rugby World Cup is Underway

I've written a somewhat lengthy post over at the Foreign Policy Association Blogs about the early days of the IRB Rugby World Cup which is underway in New Zealand. In keeping with my work at the FPA, the focus of my piece is predominantly on the two African teams, Namibia and South Africa, with particular focus on the latter. And in keeping with the history and politics of sport and especially rugby in that country, I talk a bit about the issue of race and transformation and how that issue will linger for some time even if right now the focus should be on the Springboks.

Boston Sports From a Distance

I may be thousands of miles away from the United States. And my mind might be primarily occupied by South African sport (namely the Super Rugby semifinals today in which the Western Cape Stormers are South Africa's hope for a title). But I can still very much enjoy this.

"The Death of Doubt?" (Self Indulgence Alert)

The newest issue of The Georgetown Journal of International Affairs is out, and the theme of its "Forum" section, which leads off each issue and provides the cover stories, is "Match Point: Sports, Nationalism, and Diplomacy." It includes an article by yours truly, "The Death of Doubt? Sport, Race, and Nationalism in the New South Africa."

Here is a view of the cover:



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