Search our video library for "Leadership"
In the 40 days since it was authorized by President Obama on September 16, 2014, to help contain the Ebola crisis in West Africa, the Joint Force Command–Operation United Assistance (JFC-OUA) achieved notable progress, including: Construction of a 25 bed hospital in Monrovia to treat infected health workers Establishment of 2 mobile testing labs Creation... Continue Reading
Burundi’s SSD program proactively addresses the politics of reform at the policy and operational levels, and can inform other African SSR initiatives.
The youth bulge, combined with high levels of unemployment, corruption, inequity, and disaffection with government represent an expanding recruitment pool for a wide range of extremist groups, urban gangs and other destabilizing actors. Yet, if channeled toward productive outlets such as trade schools, entrepreneurship, community leadership and reform campaigns, African youth can be a dynamic... Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Much of the debate about democracy in Africa focuses on the foreign, mostly Western origins of the concept and how it shapes Western, including American policies toward the continent, according to African and U.S. scholars. Little attention has been given to the concept’s African roots as well as the experiences, governance practices... Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A high-level seminar for senior military and civilian leaders opened June 9, 2014 as the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) began its two-week flagship program, the Senior Leaders Seminar, at National Defense University in the U.S. capital. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Africa Center, which conducted its first... Continue Reading
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senior African security-sector leaders met with their U.S. counterparts for the annual African Executive Dialogue (AED), organized by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM), and the U.S. Department of State. The three days of talks... Continue Reading
Nearly half of all uniformed peacekeepers are African and countries like Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa have provided troops to UN and AU missions almost continuously over the past decade. Despite such vast experience, African peacekeepers are often reliant on international partners for training before they can deploy on these missions. Institutionalizing a capacity-building model within African defense forces is a more sustainable approach that maintains a higher level of readiness to respond to emerging crises and contingencies on the continent.
The Africa Center’s International Alumni Chapter, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, recently met with Ms. Amanda Dory, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs, for an exchange of views on African peace and security and U.S.–Africa defense relations. The meeting, facilitated by the Africa Center’s Addis Ababa–based Regional Office for East Africa in... Continue Reading
The Center held symposia in Zambia on AU architecture and insecurity in SADC, national security and security sector reform, and collaboration between the military and police.
As the terrorist threat continues to evolve in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, the Africa Center through its various programs continues to bring together African, American and European civilian and military professionals to discuss its dimensions and possible solutions. Countering violent extremism On February 24–27, 2014, the Africa Center convened African Union (AU), United States... Continue Reading
On January 9, 2014, Kate Almquist Knopf, Former USAID Assistant Administrator for Africa and then-adjunct professor (now director) at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on the volatile situation in South Sudan, assessing the current crisis and offering several recommendations both for short- and long-term gains.
Kate Almquist-Knopf, then-adjunct professor (now Director) of the Africa Center, provides an overview of South Sudan’s struggle to establish a government that enjoys popular legitimacy and is accountable to its citizens.