For as long as many of us can remember, the West and its leading capitals of Washington and London have been a beacon of stability in a sea of uncertainty. It was from a soapbox in these capitals that they stood admonishing the rest of the world for a lack of civility and undemocratic practices. But if you were to stop for a moment and consider the world we live in today, you might remark that it is mired in some form of governance crisis. Lizz Truss’s 44 days as prime minister in Britain’s revolving door says a lot about the current state of things. Right-wing movements are in ascendancy across Europe – never the mark of a safer world.
An assured superpower in the East in China has turned the world on its head over the past three decades; the last ten have been punctuated with one economic crisis after another in the West, weakening their hold on emerging market nations such as our own. Environmental changes have left everyone uncertain.
In Africa, dominant parties are all facing struggles to maintain a hold on their people – the continuing slow burn from those Arab Spring days. In our world at the bottom of the continent, we have a governing party in the ANC splintering at the seams and opposition parties that aren’t certain of their sales pitch to an electorate looking for change.
As the Mail & Guardian, it’s a world that we will try our level best to make sense of. Through this new morning newsletter, we will highlight the main stories, podcasts and videos that we’ve curated to show these changes. I hope you’ll enjoy them and take advantage of an innovative and now growing Mail & Guardian that will be more aware of your ever-evolving habits and rapidly changing world.
Speak again tomorrow…
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Ron Derby | Editor-in-Chief @RonDerby
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