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With Africa's population expected to double by 2050, the rapid increase in the number of forcibly displaced Africans of the past decade will continue to expand unless key drivers are reversed.
Despite voters’ repudiation of corrupt governance practices, the ANC remains divided in its commitment to reforms.
Program materials for the Africa Center's 2019 program, “National Security Strategy Development Workshop: Central and Southern Africa.” Click here for syllabus, readings, and presentation slides.
Turkey has become increasingly prominent in Africa affairs since the “Open to Africa” policy began in 2005. Focused in the Horn of Africa and on political and economic engagements, Turkey’s role should not be discounted. Bilateral engagements with Somalia, Sudan, Djibouti, and Ethiopia include airline routes, schools, mosques, and commercial investment. Turkish engagement in the Horn of Africa can best be understood in light of its shifting domestic situation and the Erdogan government’s desire to project influence outside of the Middle East.
Russia has significantly expanded its engagements in Africa in recent years. These engagements often take the form of propping up embattled and isolated autocratic leaders of countries that are rich in natural resources. The United States can draw a distinction with Russia’s destabilizing role by pursuing a positive engagement strategy in Africa. The United States must avoid the Cold War trap of competing with Russia for the affections of corrupt, autocratic leaders in Africa, however, as such a policy would be disastrous for Africa while not advancing US interests.
The African Union will need to overcome a lack of political will and address structural challenges if it is to be effective in responding to security crises on the continent, consistent with its founding mission.
China's Belt and Road Initiative forges intertwining economic, political, and security ties between Africa and China, advancing Beijing’s geopolitical interests.
Ethiopia’s decision to build the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in 2011 triggered a three-way dispute between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan that remains unresolved. Settling the dispute before the dam comes online is critical for mitigating the risk for future conflict. Nile basin countries can take a number of trust-building measures to reduce mutual suspicion. In the short term, the three countries should reach an agreement on how quickly Ethiopia will fill the dam’s reservoir. In the long-term, negotiating a comprehensive transboundary resource management agreement could provide a lasting framework for resource sharing.
African governments increasingly use internet disruptions as a tool to prevent information sharing and popular mobilization during elections or periods of conflict. In the first three weeks of 2019 alone, the governments of Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Sudan, and Zimbabwe blocked citizens’ access to the internet and social media. Over the last three years, governments in Africa that are less democratic or have been in power for the longest are more likely to order internet disruptions. All the African countries that have disrupted internet access in 2019 are authoritarian. Internet blackouts threaten election freedom and human rights and cause serious economic disruptions.
Program materials for the Africa Center's 2019 program, “National Security Strategy Development Workshop: Central and Southern Africa.” Click here for syllabus, readings, and presentation slides.
The ADF, one of the least understood militant groups in the Great Lakes, has endured for over 20 years by instrumentalizing Islamist, ethnic, and secessionist ideologies to recruit and forge new alliances.
China’s growing military engagement in Africa is aimed at advancing Beijing’s economic and strategic interests, in particular its Belt and Road Initiative.