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(This article was originally published on ISN) This month, we talk with Kate Almquist Knopf, who heads the Africa Center for Strategic Studies at the US National Defense University (NDU), Washington, DC. In our interview, Ms Knopf (1) describes ACSS’ mission and areas of activity; (2) highlights the African trends and developments that the Center... Continue Reading
Part 1: Identity Part 2: Faultlines Part 3: Extremism Part 4: Boko Haram Part 5: Strategies for combating extremism Part 6: Military professionalism Part 7: Maritime security Part 8: Governance Boko Haram emerged in 2002 in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State in Nigeria’s Northeast Region. Initially organized as a sect under the leadership of... Continue Reading
In this edition of Ask the Expert, Dr. Hussein Solomon, a leading expert on militant Islam and counterterrorism strategies in Africa—who lectures at the Department of Political Sciences at the University of the Free State in South Africa—assesses the state of fundamentalism on the continent.
(See more recent readings on this topic here.) Securing Legitimate Stability in the DRC: External Assumptions and Local Perspectives By Jaïr van der Lijn, Tim Glawion, and Nikki de Zwaan, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, September 30, 2019 Surveys and interviews conducted in South Kivu examine the roles of the Armed Forces of the DRC... Continue Reading
(See more recent readings on this topic here.) Ending ‘Forever War’ in Somalia: Negotiating with Al-Shabaab By Mohamed Husein Gaas and Stig Jarle Hansen, 2022 Sixteen years of a militarized approach toward al Shabaab has resulted in a stalemate. Negotiation between the two sides has yet to be explored in earnest. There are several barriers... Continue Reading
This three-week, in-person seminar is designed to facilitate participants’ engagement in interdisciplinary peer learning about strategic and adaptive leadership and its implications for the effective management of African security challenges.
As Africa urbanizes at a record pace, national security policies will need to adjust to the changing geographic locus and types of threats in urban versus rural settings.
A revolution in unmanned systems is reshaping the dynamics of Africa’s armed conflicts. Professional militaries must balance the tactical advantages of drones with an understanding of their limitations and risks.
Eighty percent of the record 163 million Africans facing acute food insecurity are in conflict-affected countries, including potentially 840,000 people confronting famine in Sudan, South Sudan, and Mali.
Fatalities linked to militant Islamist violence in Africa have surged by nearly 60 percent since 2021, though this is marked by widely varying regional threat trajectories, actors, and objectives.
The use of United Nations–assessed contributions to support African Union–led peace operations has the potential to revitalize peace operations in Africa.
Disinformation campaigns seeking to manipulate African information systems have surged nearly fourfold since 2022, triggering destabilizing and antidemocratic consequences.