ISS, Institute for Security Studies
New panel on Sudan faces many obstacles
25th March 2024 Can the African Union’s new high-level panel succeed where other diplomatic efforts over the past year have failed? Sudan’s 11-month civil war is... →
Youth and the rising climate threat to Africa’s coastal communities
25th March 2024 Given fast-growing coastal populations, African youth should be the focus of climate adaptation efforts and the blue economy. Africa is highly... →
A new champion could drive home African Union reforms
20th March 2024 In 2016, African leaders recognised the imperative for a swift and substantial reform of the African Union (AU). The initiative led by Rwandan... →
When debt and terrorism intersect: the case of Mozambique
20th March 2024 Mozambique’s rocky road from grand corruption to a debt settlement offers hope, but the scars of mismanagement run deep. Financial mismanagement,... →
Online influence and disinformation – preparing for South Africa’s polls
18th March 2024 The electoral commission’s ground rules alone can’t be expected to insulate the country from harmful tactics. As South Africa goes to the polls on... →
Transition in Niger: avoiding the dangers of stagnation
14th March 2024 On 24 February, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) lifted the economic and financial sanctions imposed on Niger after its 26... →
UNMISS is crucial to free and fair elections in South Sudan
12th March 2024 This week, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meets to renew the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) for another year. It has... →
AU action to bolster elections should start at the top
11th March 2024 Twenty-one African countries are expected to hold elections in 2024, according to the African Union’s (AU) calendar. Already, the first two... →
South Africa struggles to get off the FATF grey list
11th March 2024 How is it that Africa’s most sophisticated, if not always largest, economy is still battling to get off the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF)... →
Russia’s Africa Corps – more than old wine in a new bottle
8th March 2024 The Russian military company Wagner appears to have been renamed the Africa Corps by Moscow, and brought under the control of Russia’s Defence... →
Ethiopia’s draft transitional justice policy: 10 key observations
7th March 2024 From 21-24 February, Ethiopia’s Justice Ministry held validation workshops on a draft policy to deal with the country’s violent past through... →
Organised criminals make Douala their gateway to global markets
5th March 2024 In May 2023, a customs official in Douala, Cameroon stamped a shipment of timber for export from the Central African Republic (CAR) to China. It... →
The installer must apply to the City to authorise the system for grid connection
4th March 2024 Somalia and Türkiye have forged a new defence and economic partnership. The agreement is one part of an intricate web of maritime pacts involving... →
France plans to terminate Mayotte’s ‘droit du sol’
1st March 2024 Mayotte’s status as a French department – despite being located in the Comoros archipelago off Africa’s east coast – continues to produce unique... →
Northern Cameroon is losing the battle against arms trafficking
29th February 2024 Northern Cameroon has for decades been a hub for ammunition, small arms and light weapons trafficking in the Sahel. The problem has fuelled... →
What kind of influence can Africa wield at the G20?
28th February 2024 The African Union’s (AU) recent inclusion in the G20 has raised questions about its readiness to represent Africa’s interests and influence global... →
African countries join a united front against Israeli occupation
27th February 2024 Between 19 and 26 February, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held a landmark sitting to hear oral arguments by 51 countries and three... →
Chad’s election dice are loaded as transition deadline looms
26th February 2024 After an unconstitutional takeover in 2021, Chad’s transition to democracy is entering its final phase, with the adoption of the new constitution... →
Africa’s proposed new financial institutions risk being Potemkin villages
23rd February 2024 The African Union (AU) has launched a drive to establish its own panoply of financial institutions to address what it regards as the failure of... →
Vote-based decisions could sharpen the Peace and Security Council
22nd February 2024 Chief among the many conflict situations discussed by the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC) in 2023 were the coups in Niger and... →
Gold and governance provide hope for Kenya’s artisanal miners
20th February 2024 Nestled in the vast semi-arid savanna of Dabel in northern Kenya, near the border with Ethiopia, lies the makeshift shanty mining town of Illo. The... →
South Africa is falling behind in Africa’s new ‘gold rush’
20th February 2024 South Africa was once Africa’s undisputed mining champion. It built its major economy on gold and diamonds, particularly in the 20th century. But... →
Senegal: breaking the election deadlock
16th February 2024 Opposition members from the Yewwi Askanwi parliamentary group have successfully challenged President Macky Sall’s attempt to delay the country’s... →
Only SA’s Parliament can authorise new armed police bodies
15th February 2024 Two recent South African law enforcement initiatives, one in Cape Town, and the other in Gauteng, have provoked interest and in some cases,... →
Failure to apply East Africa’s Mifugo Protocol keeps violence simmering
15th February 2024 At least 20-million people live in the Karamoja Cluster where Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia meet. The area is home to about 14... →
ICJ’s Gaza genocide case – big win, but with what effect?
13th February 2024 On 26 January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered provisional measures in South Africa’s case against Israel on allegations of... →
Impact of Red Sea crisis on Africa – red flag or red herring?
12th February 2024 Still reeling from the effects of COVID-19 and the Ukraine war, African countries face yet another geopolitical hurdle with the Red Sea crisis and... →
Once more into the breach: SADC troops in DRC
9th February 2024 The long-simmering conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is starting to boil over again. On 2 February, a South African... →
Proposed ECOWAS exits leave West Africa at a crossroads
8th February 2024 On 8 February, the Mediation and Security Council of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will hold a special session in Abuja.... →
Despite the hazards, Ghana’s illicit waste trade is booming
7th February 2024 Illicit waste trafficking generates around US$10-billion to US$12-billion worldwide every year, according to the Financial Action Task Force. Ghana... →
DRC misses another opportunity to build a democracy
7th February 2024 Following President Félix Tshisekedi’s contested victory in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) December 2023 elections, democracy hangs... →
Does Ethiopia’s transitional justice amount to quasi-compliance?
5th February 2024 Ethiopia’s post-2018 transitional justice process has been referred to as ‘quasi-compliance’ – aimed more at appeasing international demands for... →
Morocco outmanoeuvres SA at the UN Human Rights Council
5th February 2024 No one in South Africa was more delighted than International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor when the national soccer team Bafana... →
Africa’s oceans could pay dearly for the Red Sea Crisis
2nd February 2024 The Red Sea crisis has become a pressing concern largely due to its disruption of global trade. However, it also has far-reaching environmental... →
Does Africa’s Peace and Security Council need stronger members?
31st January 2024 At the upcoming African Union (AU) summit from 15-19 February, 10 new countries will take their seats on the Peace and Security Council (PSC) for... →
Northern Kenya’s disarmament dilemma
30th January 2024 Banditry and the proliferation of illegal small arms are critical drivers of insecurity in Kenya’s North Rift Region. Survey-derived baselines... →
Blinken’s Africa trip loops in new Atlantic Ocean partners
26th January 2024 United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken has taken time off from his hectic shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East to visit four African... →
Looser gun laws could deepen Nigeria’s security crisis
26th January 2024 Despite Nigeria’s strict gun ownership laws, the country remains the region’s largest illicit small arms market, adding to the nation’s dire... →
South Africa’s ICJ case has already altered its foreign policy space
26th January 2024 South Africa’s decision to take Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on charges of genocide has elicited polarised global responses.... →
Intelligence-led investigations can curb Ethiopia’s kidnappings
24th January 2024 Kidnapping and extortion are on the rise in Ethiopia, with cases even reported beyond the country’s borders. Ethiopian Electric Power announced in... →
Africa needs a stronger voice on resolving the Red Sea crisis
23rd January 2024 The Red Sea crisis is now a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) priority, with three meetings held this year already. Following several months... →
