There was a fair amount of nervous planning prior to the second Why Democracy? workshop, mainly due to the Zimbabwean government's intolerant attitude toward democracy-related discussions. What we discovered was that our northern neighbours certainly have a lot to get off their chests.

The two-day Harare workshop was an introduction to Steps, the films and the Learning Methodology. Like Nairobi, a range of civil society organizations were invited to discuss and participate in discussions about using film to stimulate debate in their communities.

I'm an optimist. Well, I try to be, but given events over the past few weeks I've had to carefully rethink the merits of believing that recent global events are just blips on a windy road toward mature democracies.

It is reasonable to assume that Zimbabweans are greeting the deal between Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC with something less than hope and/or elation. As the Guardian wryly observes in an editorial, talk is about the only thing that's cheap in Zimbabwe these days.

Just when we thought Zimbabwe was heading for complete meltdown #45, a historic agreement between the ruling party and the opposition has given its citizens a chance at peace.

My post yesterday ruminated briefly on the United States's declining global image, and so I was interested to read Thomas L. Friedman's column in the New York Times that reflected upon the potential consequences of a less-influential US.

Expectedly, the Zimbabwean presidential election was a sham. One man elections often are.

Interestingly, an article on openDemocracy discusses that Mugabe could now be facing the possibility losing domestic influence as international condemnation has reached its peak.

The New York Times offers a good analysis of the connections between South African President Thabo Mbeki and his Zimbabwean counterpart, Robert Mugabe, and examines Mbeki's seemingly odd (or nonexistent) diplomacy:

As the so-called election looms in Zimbabwe, international pressure is increasing and (now ex-) presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai calls again for negotiation. And although South African President Thabo Mbeki has been criticized his lack of action in the face of the growing horror in Zimbabwe, his predecessor, Nelson Mandela, has spoken out, calling the situation "a tragic failure of leadership."

Months after Zimbabwe's elections were held and results delayed, the usual result seems to have finally set in: using force and intimidation, Robert Mugabe has pushed his opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, out of the race, while the UN looks on. Tsvangirai has dropped out of the presidential runoff and has sought refuge in the Dutch embassy.

South Africans awoke this morning to incredibly disturbing pictures reminiscent of the dark days of apartheid brutality. The xenophobic attacks has reached a crisis point as 12 immigrants have been killed so far.