African politics took on a humourous angle as Twitter users joked about their countries' affairs using high school analogies. The hashtag #AfricanNationsInHighSchool quickly went viral as Africans online weighed in with perceptions of their own nations and their neighbours, referencing everything from common stereotypes to current affairs. Mentions of the hashtag skyrocketed to nearly 50,000 uses in less than 24 hours.

2013 has seen governments in the Middle East and North Africa venture further into the world of digital diplomacy. Some have fully embraced it, while some linger tentatively on the sidelines. No matter what kind of approach governments take, digital is undeniably a vital element in the MENA diplomacy toolbox. Certain countries in the region have already demonstrated an impressive command of digital platforms.

Dennis Rodman's controversial and bizarre foray into diplomacy made headlines this week. Harvard Professor Nicholas Burns criticized the former NBA player for going to North Korea to essentially embrace a brutal dictator. Rodman certainly isn't the first athlete to take a political stance, or even the first NBA player to do so.

In recent years, Somalia’s al-Shabab militia has banned smoking, playing soccer, watching movies, wearing bras, anything it deemed Western. Now, the al-Qaeda-linked group has targeted something else common in most of the rest of the world: the Internet.

The Tuareg, known amongst themselves as the Kel Tamasheq, have long been recognised as warriors, traders and travellers of the Sahara Desert - known both for their grace and nobility as well as their fierce reputation. Tuareg communities in the Sahara, who have often felt overlooked and unrepresented by their governments, have been seeking self-determination for generations. And years of rebellion have escalated in recent times.

Central African Republic's interim President Michel Djotodia will face pressure to step down at a summit of regional leaders on Thursday amid frustration at his failure to quell his country's religious violence. Political sources in Bangui and French diplomatic sources said Djotodia was expected to step aside at the meeting of leaders from the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) in the Chadian capital N'Djamena.

It is time to divest ourselves of all our romantic delusions about South Sudan. We were all so focused on helping the South escape the repressive colonial clutches of Khartoum that we forgot about the need to prepare the South Sudanese people for self-government. Of all the African countries that came to independence since 1950, South Sudan has had the least amount of preparation.

It is an absolute certainty that 2014 will be a turbulent year for the United Nations. The organization is struggling with crises ranging from the chaos in the Central African Republic (CAR) to the plight of Syrian refugees. There is little hope that these challenges will dissipate soon. Yet two sets of peace talks this month could well decide whether the U.N. faces a truly dreadful year ahead, or just a very difficult one.