Africa’s Militaries: A Missing Link in Democratic Transitions
Institutionalization of democratic norms in Africa’s militaries often lags behind advances made in civilian institutions and civil society.
212 Search Results for "Kenya" …
Search our video library for "Kenya"
Optimizing Africa’s Security Force Structures
Combating irregular forces has become a common feature of the contemporary African security landscape. However, the security sector in most African countries is ill-prepared to conduct effective counter-insurgency operations. Realigning force structures to address these threats while building security sector professionalism to gain the trust of local populations is needed to do so.
Urban Fragility and Security in Africa
Estimates are that more than half of all Africans will live in cities by 2025. This rapid pace of urbanization is creating a new locus of fragility in many African states—as evidenced by the burgeoning slums around many of the continent’s urban areas—and the accompanying rise in violence, organized crime, and the potential for instability. These evolving threats, in turn, have profound implications for Africa’s security sector.
Democracy and the Chain of Command: A New Governance of Africa’s Security Sector
Download this Security Brief as a PDF: English | Français | Português As many African countries continue down the path of democratic reform, Africa’s defense and security forces must make fundamental changes to adapt to a democratic model of governance. In this paper, General Dominique Djindjéré puts forward five priority reforms Africa’s defense and security... Continue Reading
Nonstate Policing: Expanding the Scope for Tackling Africa’s Urban Violence
Download this Security Brief as a PDF: English | Français | Português The increasingly internal nature of Africa’s security threats is placing ever greater pressures on Africa’s police forces. Yet severe resource and capacity limitations, combined with high levels of public distrust, leave most African police forces incapable of effectively addressing these expanding urban-based threats in... Continue Reading
Cocaine and Instability in Africa: Lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean
Download this Security Brief as a PDF: English | Français | Português Africa is facing an increasingly menacing threat of cocaine trafficking that risks undermining its security structures, nascent democratic institutions, and development progress. Latin America has long faced similar challenges and its experience provides important lessons that can be applied before this expanding threat... Continue Reading
Misinterpreting Ethnic Conflicts in Africa
Ethnic conflicts in Africa are often portrayed as having ages-old origins with little prospects for resolution. This Security Brief challenges that notion arguing that a re-diagnosis of the underlying drivers to ethnic violence can lead to more effective and sustainable responses.
Navies versus Coast Guards: Defining the Roles of African Maritime Security Forces
African states’ maritime security structures are often misaligned with the challenges posed and need coast guard capabilities and an array of intra-governmental partnerships.
U.S. Security Engagement in Africa
A significant development in Africa over the past decade has been the generalized lessening of violent conflict. Revitalized, expanded international peacekeeping, bolstered by a newly launched African Union determination to tackle security challenges, has reinforced this trend. But, much more cohesive interagency coordination under strong White House direction is required if the United States is to contribute to Africa’s sustained stability given the region’s persistent conditions of poverty, inequality, and weak governance.
Advanced Area Studies 201 Workshops (AFRICOM/CJTF-HOA/MARFORAF)
This advanced-level seminar provides a thorough examination of leading security issues in Africa, including governance challenges, transnational threats, and engagement by the United States and other external actors on the continent. Each seminar session includes a presentation from a subject matter expert who will raise key issues and themes and facilitate discussion among participants. As an... Continue Reading
Effective Counter-Insurgency (COIN) Strategies in Africa
The program examines COIN strategies within the context of African security sector institutional capacity and work to identify African-driven problem-solving approaches to address conflict, violence, and instability that are having a negative impact upon the security of the state and the populace.
Security-Development-Governance Nexus
This project examines strategic-level implications of the mutually-reinforcing relationship between economic development prospects and persistent insecurity in Africa’s fragile states.