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Rise of China and increased Chinese engagement across the globe, have attracted mixed and varied reactions of approval and disapproval in a number of host countries. Against this background, this study brings into perspective rise of anti-Chinese sentiments in Africa, with a Kenyan case study, examining who, why and where anti-Chinese sentiments are most prevalent. The study finds anti-Chinese sentiments being most prevalent among Kenya’s small scale traders who have been displaced by Chinese capital flow and trade in the country. The finding is contextualized within broader framework of globalization and its resultant effects on free movement of capital, trade and investment. More precisely, Chinese capital flow and trade have had distributional consequences of winners and losers with potential to displace Kenya’s small scale traders hence the rise of anti-Chinese sentiments. The anti-Chinese sentiments are equally evident among section of Kenya’s politicians and intelligentsia, who have questioned the viability of Chinese built infrastructure. Further, anti-Chinese sentiments have been found among ordinary citizens who have experienced, albeit isolated, incidences of Chinese misconducts in the country. Notwithstanding these negative reactions, Chinese engagement in Kenya is still pronounced and has popular support from government, general citizenry and among classes of Kenyan who have benefited from Chinese involvement in the country. The segmented nature of anti-Chinese sentiments has not been strong enough to undo general goodwill, attitude and perceptions, that ordinary citizen hold towards Chinese engagement in Kenya.

In this article, the political–security relations between the United States and Pakistan in the Post-Cold War era are analyzed. The allied relationship between the two countries during the Cold War was abruptly disrupted following the conclusion of the Cold War in 1991 and the United States imposed a series of sanctions against Pakistan following the nuclear issue in 1990. However, the September 11 attacks of 2001 and the global anti-terrorism war launched by the G. W. Bush government resumed the relationship. Again, Pakistan became one of the principal allies of the United States and bilateral political–security relations were promoted unprecedentedly thanks to their collaboration against terrorism. The war against terrorism, however, has also produced many contradictions, which brought the relationship between the two countries into disputes and crises. This article discusses the U.S.–Pakistan relations in the Post-Cold War Era with special attention to the political–security aspects. Attempts will be made to clarify the nature, impacts and tendencies of the relationship. The U.S.–Pakistan relationship is a typical example of the international relationship between a superpower and a middle power, and it is also typical of the U.S.’s changing alliance relations.

Mathematics is an art as old as civilization. Most of the time hidden and respected, sometimes appearing in bright light, mathematicians have always had a privileged role in society, as problem solvers, guardians of an art, deeply attached to values of intellectual freedom and opinion challenge. “The essence of mathematics lies in its freedom”, said Georg Cantor. But mathematicians are also accountable to society, which is in need of keeping a link to its most singular and respected science, especially at a time of algorithmic transformation. I was lucky enough to experience the role of mathematician as a public spokesperson, advocating for mathematical sciences as both an art and a technology creator. Later, as a member of Parliament, then head of the Scientific Parliamentary Office, I experienced the intensity and complexity of science in politics, at a time when public action needs to rest on science and when human factors are more challenging than ever.