Erin Conway-Smith is
GlobalPost's South Africa correspondent.
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Articles by
Erin Conway-Smith
Protesters carry a cardboard mock up coffin reading 'Run Guptas run' and with the names of the people implicated in the Public Protector "State Capture" report as members and supporters of the South African opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), demonstrate against South African president Jacob Zuma and in support of the release of the South African Public Protector "State Capture" report in Pretoria on November 2, 2016.
South Africa's anti-corruption watchdog on November 2 called for prosecutors to investigate alleged criminal activity as it released a report into President Jacob Zuma that fuelled further calls for him to resign. Zuma, whose presidency has been engulfed by multiple scandals, had fought to block the release of the Public Protector's report, but his lawyers made a surprise U-turn and dropped their legal appeal. The report was released hours later, further undermining Zuma after a series of court rulings that have tarnished his time in office and the ruling ANC party that led the fight to end apartheid rule. / AFP / GIANLUIGI GUERCIA (Photo credit should read GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - A Democratic Alliance (DA) party's supporters holds a placard reading "Jacob Zuma must go" during a march against South African president Jacob Zuma on April 7, 2017 in Johannesburg.
Thousands of protesters marched through South African cities on April 7, 2017 demanding President Jacob Zuma's resignation, as a second ratings agency downgraded the country's debt to junk status. Zuma's sacking of respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan last week has fanned public anger, divisions within the ruling ANC party and a sharp decline in investor confidence in the country.
/ AFP PHOTO / JOHN WESSELS (Photo credit should read JOHN WESSELS/AFP/Getty Images)
A woman holds up a poster with a photo of Nelson Mandela , during the Nelson Mandela tribute concert, called, " A life celebrated", at Cape Town Stadium on December 11 2013, in Cape Town. Mandela, South Africa's first democratically elected president, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, died at his home in Johannesburg on December 5, 2013.
AFP / RODGER BOSCH (Photo credit should read RODGER BOSCH/AFP/Getty Images)
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - DECEMBER 14: South African president Jacob Zuma speaks during an African National Congress (ANC) led alliance send off ceremony at Waterkloof military airbase on December 14, 2013 in Pretoria, South Africa. The ANC held an official send off ceremony as the body of former South African President prepares to make one final journey to his hometown of Qunu for burial. Mr. Mandela passed away on the evening of December 5, 2013 at his home in Houghton at the age of 95. Mandela became South Africa's first black president in 1994 after spending 27 years in jail for his activism against apartheid in a racially-divided South Africa. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Students from Johannesburg and Witts universities, hold placards reading 'Zuma must fall', as they arrive at the African National Congress ruling party (ANC) headquarters, on October 22, 2015, in Johannesburg, to protest against university fee hikes. University activism has been increasing this year as students vent their anger over the limited racial transformation in education since racist white-minority rule ended with Nelson Mandela's election in 1994. Many students says higher fees -- which could rise by 10 percent a year -- will further prevent poorer black youths gaining university education. AFP PHOTO / MUJAHID SAFODIEN (Photo credit should read MUJAHID SAFODIEN/AFP/Getty Images)
Can U.S. President Joe Biden really support Ukraine against Russia for “as long as it takes,” as he has pledged? Congressional support for this aid has largely been bipartisan and wide-r...Show moreanging, but Ron DeSantis and other leading Republicans are beginning to question whether the United States is prepared to keep it up. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Moscow, as the competition between the United States and China intensifies and the diplomatic relationship dives to a new low.
Heading into a possible reelection year, FP’s reporters will discuss if and how Biden can juggle these substantial foreign-policy issues—and how the campaign trail might change things. They’ll also talk about the budget and what it reveals about the administration’s foreign-policy agenda.
Plus, as always, there will be a glimpse into the reporters’ notebooks, with insider insights into what Washington is really talking about when it comes to geopolitics. Tune in for the inside scoop and watch FP’s reporters in conversation with the magazine’s executive editor, Amelia Lester.
Protesters gather during a rally against the government's controversial judicial overhaul bill in Tel Aviv on March 18.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been protesting weekly against their government’s plans to overhaul—and weaken—the country’s judiciary. Several former military officials have ...Show moreaccused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a judicial power grab, raising the question of whether serving officers will disobey what they might see as an illegitimate government.
How will Israel’s constitutional crisis develop? What happens if an internal mutiny actually takes place? And how does the United States continue its partnership with a country it once lauded as the sole democracy in the Middle East?
Ehud Barak, Israel’s former prime minister, who also served as the country’s defense minister and army chief, will join FP’s Ravi Agrawal for a live discussion about the future of Israel’s democracy and what happens next in the current standoff.
BEIJING, CHINA - MARCH 05: A general view of the Great Hall of the People during the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivers a speech in the opening of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress at The Great Hall of People on March 5, 2023 in Beijing, China.China's annual political gathering known as the Two Sessions will convene leaders and lawmakers to set the government's agenda for domestic economic and social development for the year. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Every year, the top Chinese legislative and advisory bodies meet for two weeks to rubber-stamp decisions already made by the Chinese Communist Party. It’s called the “two sessions,” ...Show moreand it began on March 4. This year’s meeting is the first since the end of zero-COVID restrictions; it’s also an opportunity to get an inside look into the Chinese leadership’s fears and priorities.
Beyond the headlines, what can the world expect from the convening? What will it mean for China’s economy, defense budget, and foreign policy?
Join FP’s Ravi Agrawal in conversation with a panel of China experts as they decipher the news from Beijing: Ryan Hass is the former China director at the National Security Council under President Barack Obama and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Zongyuan Zoe Liu is an FP columnist and fellow for international political economy at the Council on Foreign Relations, and James Palmer is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy and the author of the magazine’s China Brief newsletter.
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