Maritime Safety and Security: Crucial for Africa’s Strategic Future
Maritime access gives Africa a major strategic advantage. Yet none of its 38 coastal states can fully claim sovereignty over territorial waters.
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Maritime access gives Africa a major strategic advantage. Yet none of its 38 coastal states can fully claim sovereignty over territorial waters.
As part of its mission to expand understanding and build enduring partnerships, the Africa Center maintains relationships and builds networks with thousands of alumni and 33 community chapters. Alumni stay in contact with the Center through bilateral programs, research publications, communities of interest, and ongoing exchanges.
The U.S. Department of State has honored the Africa Center’s Dr. Assis Malaquias with an award recognizing his unique contributions in advancing maritime security efforts in Africa. Dr. Malaquias has been leading the Africa Center’s maritime security portfolio since 2009. In this capacity he has facilitated numerous discussions with African governments and Regional Economic Communities... Continue Reading
The Hong Kong-based Queensway Group exemplifies the mechanics that perpetuate inequality, corruption, and instability in Africa’s resource-rich countries.
Nigeria has been developing its maritime security strategy to address piracy and crime in its waters. Strengthening maritime domain awareness must be a top priority.
Stronger national, regional, and international political commitments are needed to reverse the worsening trend of maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea.
The achievements and shortcomings of peacekeeping operations offer vital lessons for optimizing this increasingly central but still evolving tool.
DDR nitiatives are often under-prioritized and -conceptualized, contributing to the high rates of conflict relapse observed in Africa.
Airlift assets provide vital capabilities and multiply the effectiveness of Africa’s resource-limited militaries and collective peace operations.
Despite numerous peace agreements, Africa’s Great Lakes region has been in a persistent state of conflict for the past two decades. The contributions and shortcomings of some of the most significant previous peace initiatives, however, offer vital lessons as to how to mitigate the local level tensions, national political dynamics, and competing regional interests that have led to recurring outbreaks of violence.
Institutionalization of democratic norms in Africa’s militaries often lags behind advances made in civilian institutions and civil society.
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.