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Part 4. Now that President Kabila has crossed the threshold of his two-term limit without securing a new mandate, the security sector will be instrumental in navigating the mounting political crisis.
Part 3. The DRC’s nascent institutional checks and balances are too weak to curb executive overreach. And when state institutions are compromised, reform must come from the outside.
After years of decline, conflict in Africa has recently been increasing. Paul Williams, Phillip Carter, and Ibrahim Wani provided insight on why conflict persists in Africa at a roundtable hosted by the Africa Center.
African leaders have tried many different ways to evade term limits in recent years. The tack taken by Joseph Kabila is particularly straightforward—and brazen. He is simply avoiding holding elections for his successor altogether.
Part 2. The DRC’s oversight institutions have been actively undermined by the ruling party, dimming prospects for a genuine democratic transition.
Term-limit advocates are not framing their struggles within the context of Western norms. Rather, it is seen as an African normative framework that is being violated by the continent’s leaders.
The vast majority of African refugees are hosted by neighboring countries, highlighting the regional costs of conflict and political instability.
“Compatriots, fellow country men and women, Congratulations. With this agreement we have ended the longest war in Africa, 50 years of war out of 55 years of independence. Today, we bring this half a century of war to a dignified end.” The date is January 9, 2005, and the place is Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi,... Continue Reading
Africa Center Research Director Joseph Siegle testifies on the political and security crises in Burundi before U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy.
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.
Surging demand for ivory and rhino horn, mainly in Asia, has put wild African elephants and rhinoceroses on the path to extinction. More than an environmental tragedy, however, wildlife poaching and trafficking has exacerbated other security threats and led to the co-option of certain African security units. African states need to develop a broad range of law enforcement capabilities to tackle what is effectively a transnational organized crime challenge. Asian and other international partners, meanwhile, must take action to reduce runaway demand for wildlife products.
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.