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Dr. Noureddine Jebnoun, an Africa Center faculty member who focuses on governance and security in North Africa and the Sahel, authored an article titled “Changing Security Dynamics in North Africa and Western Sahel,” recently published in the Portuguese Journal of International Affairs, No. 8 (Spring/Summer 2014). In the article, Dr. Jebnoun provides an overview of... Continue Reading
The achievements and shortcomings of peacekeeping operations offer vital lessons for optimizing this increasingly central but still evolving tool.
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.
DDR nitiatives are often under-prioritized and -conceptualized, contributing to the high rates of conflict relapse observed in Africa.
Despite growing security concerns across the Sahel and Maghreb, regional security cooperation to address these transnational threats remains fragmented. Algeria is well-positioned to play a central role in defining this cooperation, but must first reconcile the complex domestic, regional, and international considerations that shape its decision-making.
Increasing narcotrafficking and a more active Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb are elevating concerns over instability in the Sahel. However, the region’s threats are more complex than what is observable on the surface. Rather, security concerns are typically characterized by multiple, competing, and fluctuating interests at the local, national, and regional levels. Effectively responding to these threats requires in-depth understanding of the multiple contextual layers in which illicit actors operate.
(See more recent readings on this topic here.) 32 Million Africans Forcibly Displaced by Conflict and Repression By Margaret E Peters and Michael K Miller, International Studies Quarterly, December 10, 2021 Authoritarian leaning governments find solace in emigration. It not only acts as a pressure valve releasing likely instigators of political contestation, but it also... Continue Reading
(See more recent readings on this topic here.) A Light in Libya’s Fog of Disinformation By Africa Center for Strategic Studies, October 9, 2020 Divisions within Libya’s civil war have been amplified by foreign-sponsored disinformation campaigns. Reconciliation and peacebuilding will require local actors to reclaim Libya’s digital spaces. Russian Disinformation Campaigns Target Africa: An Interview... Continue Reading
(See more recent readings on this topic here.) Global Illicit Flows and Local Conflict Dynamics: The Case for Pre-Emptive Analysis and Experimental Policy Options By Mark Shaw and Tuesday Reitano, Crime-Conflict Nexus Series No. 2, United Nations University Centre for Policy Research, May 31, 2017 The linkages between transnational illicit economies and local conflicts are... Continue Reading
(See more recent readings on this topic here.) IMobile money and organised crime in Africa By Interpol, ENACT, June 30, 2020 Peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers are the most used mobile payment services globally, and providers already operate in at least 45 African countries. Transnational criminal syndicates have also embraced P2P technology: to facilitate money laundering, extortion,... Continue Reading
(See more recent readings on this topic here.) The Growing Complexity of Farmer-Herder Conflict in West and Central Africa By Leif Brottem, July 12, 2021 The rise of farmer-herder violence in Africa is more pernicious than fatality figures alone since it is often amplified by the emotionally potent issues of ethnicity, religion, culture, and land.... Continue Reading
(See more recent readings on this topic here.) Responding to the Rise in Violent Extremism in the Sahel By Pauline Le Roux Violent activity involving militant Islamist groups in the Sahel—primarily the Macina Liberation Front, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, and Ansaroul Islam—has doubled every year since 2015. Employing asymmetric tactics and close... Continue Reading