Author
Keith Richburg
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Opinion – What’s the biggest threat to an authoritarian? Look around the world.
Leaders in Myanmar, Uganda and the Republic of Congo this year extended their rule through fraudulent elections, with the opposition cowed or eliminated. Kazakhstan’s dictator…
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Opinion – Don’t fall for Myanmar’s election of generals
The pattern is familiar. A military man seizes power. Opponents are jailed or forced into exile. A sham election is held, the ruler swaps his…
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Opinion – Only a certain type of leader wants his face everywhere
Early in March came the surprising news that North Korea had unveiled the first known statue of its “supreme leader,” Kim Jong Un — surprising…
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Opinion – ‘People Power’ is not what ends dictatorships
Forty years ago this month, an estimated 1 million Filipinos took to the streets of Manila to topple an obdurate dictator and added a new…
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Opinion – What dictators in Africa survive on
As Uganda’s Museveni seeks a seventh term at age 81, his erratic son waits in the wings. He campaigns for president wearing a bulletproof vest…
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Opinion – Which country is the banana republic now?
The roster of former presidents and prime ministers imprisoned or under indictment in 2025 reads like a who’s who of some of this young century’s…
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Opinion – Why Trump’s ‘peace deals’ keep unraveling
THE WASHINGTON POST December hasn’t been kind to President Donald Trump’s global peacemaking efforts. On Dec. 4, Trump hosted the presidents of Rwanda and the…
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Opinion – A youthquake in Africa points down a long, bloody road
They are angry about a collapse of public services. Widespread protest erupted in Morocco in September after the death of eight women during childbirth at…
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Opinion – Here are the real chances of militants giving up their guns
That’s a key lesson I’ve learned from years of covering violent conflicts and their aftermaths in Asia and Africa. Those reporting experiences came back to…
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Opinion – South Africa’s ‘Iron Lady’ poses a test for identity politics
Zille has universal name recognition and credentials as a veteran anti-apartheid campaigner. For the past two decades, she has been a senior member of the…