South African Institute of International Affairs
Russia’s media playbook in Ukraine and Africa — let the great world spin
28th March 2022 Russian information operations are the first crucial step in many of its pursuits. In Ukraine, it is about painting Kyiv as the aggressor, Moscow... →
South Africa’s Corruption Nemesis
15th March 2022 A recent report highlights the urgent need for South Africa to implement reforms to combat state capture, reverse institutional decay, and restore... →
APRM @ 19 – How Far So Far?
9th March 2022 On 9 March 2022, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) celebrates its 19th birthday. Established in 2003 as the continent’s premier governance... →
Enter the exclusion zone – what is at stake in Chornobyl*?
1st March 2022 Barely a day into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian troops captured Chornobyl*, the site of the infamous 1986 nuclear disaster. The move to... →
The EU-AU Summit: Considering Africa’s Climate Priorities
17th February 2022 The EU-AU Summit takes place this year as Africa looks ahead to Egypt’s hosting of the twenty-seventh session of the Conference of the Parties... →
Bid to blast nuclear weapons into illegality
11th February 2022 The entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (the Ban Treaty) was a big milestone for nuclear disarmament. Activists... →
The politics of inequity – Science, transparency and travel bans
3rd December 2021 On the 25th November, scarcely hours after the South African minister of health had held a press briefing to announce that a new variant (Omicron)... →
COP26: Much Achieved, Huge Opportunities Missed
24th November 2021 Negotiations were tense at the twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow,... →
Development Cooperation & SDGs: What’s at Stake?
3rd November 2021 As the second year of the pandemic grinds on and vaccination rates in parts of the developing world, especially Africa, remain low, impacting on... →
COP26: Transitioning to a green hydrogen economy in the spotlight
22nd October 2021 Moving rapidly towards a green hydrogen economy would help South Africa secure its domestic energy supply and drive economic growth through the... →
Time for South Africa to Strongly Consider Internet Voting
19th October 2021 South Africa (SA), like the rest of the democratic world, faces the dilemma of having to conduct an election during a global pandemic. The health... →
Zimbabwean civil society organisations identify critical issues for country’s APRM process
18th October 2021 The Zimbabwean Government under President Emmerson Mnangagwa acceded to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in February of 2020. Zimbabwe... →
Nuclear Disarmament: What the World can Learn from Africa
8th September 2021 On 22 January 2021, the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (the Ban Treaty) entered into force. Under the Ban Treaty, states are... →
Russia’s efforts to promote cyber norms that serve its interests gain traction in Africa
26th August 2021 A proposal by Russia that the United Nations should consider a global cybercrime treaty has been adopted with the support of 30 African countries,... →
The BRICS’ Lagging Vaccine Diplomacy
23rd August 2021 The Covid-19 pandemic has tested the BRICS countries’ collective strength, and found them largely wanting. The bloc has therefore missed a chance... →
How Covid-19 Undermines Democracy in Africa
20th July 2021 As the recorded number of infections in Africa edges towards the six-million mark, it has become clear that Covid-19 is not only a public health... →
The Bear is back: Russian re-engagement with Africa is picking up with Putin in the driving seat
9th July 2021 Vladimir Putin has placed a high premium on rebuilding Russia’s stature as a global power, and these efforts extend to Africa. He first visited the... →
Nuclear Energy: A Possible Solution to Africa’s Electrification Shortfalls
22nd June 2021 Access to reliable sources of electricity has become the bedrock of socio-economic development in the 21st century. UN Sustainable Goal 7 also aims... →
This Youth Month let’s reimagine our future
17th June 2021 Every year on 16 June, South Africa celebrates Youth Day, honouring the student and youth uprisings that profoundly changed the socio-political... →
Can Kinshasa’s changing relations mark a new chapter for eastern DRC?
11th June 2021 Since President Tshisekedi took office in 2019, the Congo’s relations with key neighbours have changed significantly. In the last few weeks,... →
G7 summit: SA can help strengthen climate diplomacy
9th June 2021 South Africa could be part of a global collective strategy to retire coal within developing economies. SA, together with India, South Korea and... →
Young People Grapple with Governance This Africa Day
26th May 2021 Every year on 25 May, Africans commemorate the founding of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963. As the OAU transformed itself into the... →
Independent candidates can reignite youth participation
7th May 2021 The month of April marked 27 years since South Africa's first democratic national elections on 27 April 1994. This was the genesis of the country's... →
Your Voice, Your Planet, Your Future
23rd April 2021 This Earth Day, let’s get real! The planet is facing a climate crisis and the prosperity of future generations is at risk. We need to take urgent... →
South Africa has failed to champion human rights in the world. But that’s changing
23rd April 2021 The story of democratic South Africa and its approach to human rights in the rest of the world is a tale of woe. For two-and-a-half decades, its... →
Botswana civil society’s submission to the APRM
16th April 2021 The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) was introduced in 2003, as a mutually agreed instrument to monitor and promote governance to which African... →
Powering a green hydrogen economy workforce: What South Africa needs to do now
31st March 2021 Moving rapidly towards a green hydrogen economy would help South Africa secure its domestic energy supply and drive economic growth through the... →
Bracing for the second wave
24th March 2021 The synchronised, sudden stop in the global economy, together with radically reduced income sources fundamental to African countries (remittances,... →
Cameroon’s Authoritarianism Fuels its Anglophone Separatist War
17th March 2021 Cameroon is dealing with a deadly though insufficiently reported civil war in its two English-speaking (minority) regions of the North-West and... →
Zimbabwe Shows Potential to Lead e-Mobility Transition
8th March 2021 The adverse effects of the climate emergency mean that it is critical for the world to accelerate the transition to low carbon technologies to... →
The Road to a Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework: Considering African Priorities
3rd March 2021 The commemoration of World Wildlife Day on 3 March this year has added significance as global stakeholders work towards a new set of targets to... →
Electric vehicle battery manufacturing: Why SADC needs to act now
16th February 2021 As we try to navigate the disruption that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused to our lives and livelihoods, I listen to people talk about what they... →
US Capitol Breach Was a Shot Heard Round the World
20th January 2021 In this Council of Councils global perspectives roundup, members of five leading think tanks reflect on the impact of the January 6 insurrection at... →
How Chinese investment is contributing to economic transformation across Africa
9th December 2020 Every day, dozens of media pieces and articles discuss China’s presence in Africa. The focus is usually on China’s strategic interests, responses... →
Red lights are flashing over Russian dealings with Mozambique and Zimbabwe
7th December 2020 Russia is clearly keen to boost its presence in Africa. “Africa is one of the priorities of Russian foreign policy,” declared Russian deputy... →
Lives or livelihoods
2nd December 2020 The coronavirus crisis poses new and unprecedented challenges for every country, in particular developing nations. Our Chief Executive Elizabeth... →
Tshisekedi and Kabila fall out
2nd December 2020 Two-and-a-half years after striking a political deal with his erstwhile political enemy that saw him being handed the presidency of the Democratic... →
G20 and development
19th November 2020 Covid-19 has turned everything upside down. The global lockdowns, the stresses on weak health systems, the absence of fiscal space and social... →
Rebuilding Trust, Reliability, and Predictability
13th November 2020 Most parts of the world sighed in relief when the outcome of the US presidential election was announced—not only because the wait had been long,... →
Is BRICS past its sell-by date?
1st October 2020 The demise of the BRICS based on its apparent incoherence has long been predicted by pundits. But as Mark Twain observed about reports of his death... →
Does Egypt need to go nuclear?
1st October 2020 Egypt's venture into nuclear power has been planned from the top down, with environmental groups and rights organisations expressing reservations,... →
