ISS, Institute for Security Studies
Eswatini conducts a competent caricature of democracy
9th October 2023 Eswatini – or Swaziland as some of its citizens still call it – held last Friday what should be called a reasonably competent charade of a... →
Africa can end its rash of military coups
5th October 2023 Military coups were common in Africa during the Cold War, and now seem to be returning. Between January 2020 and August 2023, there were five... →
Kidnappings in the Sahel – a favoured weapon of war
4th October 2023 Over 180 kidnappings were recorded in the war-torn countries of Mali and Burkina Faso in the first half of 2023 – an average of one a day. This... →
Africa needs a people-centred approach to climate action
3rd October 2023 In September, Africa was struck by a devastating climate event when heavy rains caused two dams to collapse in Libya, flooding the east coast city... →
Going nowhere slowly at the UN General Assembly’s annual debate
29th September 2023 The general debate at the recent United Nations General Assembly’s 78th session concluded in much the same way as the many that preceded it – with... →
What does evidence-based policing offer South Africa?
28th September 2023 Four months into the rollout of the Crime Prevention Wardens in South Africa’s Gauteng province, media reports suggest they may be doing more harm... →
Anti-gay laws: Africa’s human rights regression
28th September 2023 In most of Africa – 33 out of 55 countries – homosexuality is a crime punishable by imprisonment. This year alone, six states (Kenya, Ghana,... →
Can China be a more attractive security partner for Africa?
26th September 2023 As China offers Africa an alternative to traditional Western partnerships, its deepening multilateral engagements could considerably impact the... →
The Gambia redoubles efforts to scupper maritime drug trafficking
26th September 2023 The Gambia is a key transit point for South American cocaine being smuggled to Europe. In February, over 800 kg of cocaine that had been... →
Fortress South Africa – open to the highest bidder
22nd September 2023 Securing borders against irregular migration has come to dominate global immigration policymaking and spending – driven largely by inaccurate... →
Can national dialogue settle Kenya’s recurring post-election instability?
21st September 2023 A 29 July agreement between Kenya’s President William Ruto and main opposition leader Raila Odinga ended months of street protests against tax... →
Ethiopia’s National Dialogue needs greater credibility and inclusivity
20th September 2023 In December 2021, at the height of the war between Ethiopia’s federal government and Tigrayan forces, authorities established a National Dialogue... →
Libya’s floods: a climate change and governance tragedy
20th September 2023 The catastrophic flood last week in Derna, north-eastern Libya, has claimed the lives of nearly 4 000 people. A significant number are still... →
Côte d’Ivoire must cut ties between terrorists and illicit markets
18th September 2023 Following a surge in terror attacks in 2020 and 2021, north-eastern Côte d’Ivoire has since seen a period of relative calm. Violent extremists... →
Biden’s BRI moment
18th September 2023 United States (US) President Joe Biden sounded positively Xi Jinping-ish this week when he said the New Delhi G20 summit provided a ‘new path’ that... →
Targeted killings and repatriation fail to deter Ethiopian migrants
14th September 2023 The rise in targeted killings of Ethiopian migrants by Saudi border officials highlights the brutality of efforts to stop irregular migration, and... →
Organised crime – the fuel that ignited 9/11
14th September 2023 The confluence between terrorism and transnational organised crime is as old as the history of each, though analysis of their relationship is... →
South Africa’s visa regime keeps badly needed skilled workers out
13th September 2023 South Africa’s work visa regime is laborious, lengthy and inefficient. The process deters foreign investment, widens the skills gap and throttles... →
Digital evidence – a step forward for South Africa
12th September 2023 In one of the first cases of its kind, South Africa’s 2020 Cybercrimes Act has been put to the test to secure a conviction of incitement based on... →
AU plunges into turbulent G20
8th September 2023 The African Union (AU) will likely be admitted as a permanent member of the G20 at the latter’s summit in New Delhi this weekend. To date, the AU... →
Ghana by-elections yield vital lessons for 2024 national polls
7th September 2023 Two by-elections this year were fiercely contested by Ghana’s leading political parties – the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the main... →
Benin must target the illicit activities that enable violent extremism
5th September 2023 Terror attacks in northern Benin have been on the rise since 2019. These incidents, attributed to the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims... →
Zimbabwe fails its democracy test
5th September 2023 Zimbabwe has again failed to hold free, fair and credible elections. The country remains locked in a trajectory of disputed polls that will... →
Ethiopia’s transition depends on both dialogue and transitional justice
1st September 2023 After persistent calls to heal deep societal divides and ensure accountability for human rights violations, the Ethiopian government has declared... →
Chinese markets deplete Lake Victoria’s Nile perch
1st September 2023 Sarah Ddungu, a former public health official turned fisherwoman, says the trade in Nile perch swim bladders has given her family a good life in... →
Brics+ and the tricky business of balancing global geopolitics
31st August 2023 The words of 13th century Persian poet Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, ‘As you start to walk the way, the way appears,’ certainly found new resonance... →
Whose tune will an expanded Brics dance to?
30th August 2023 On the face of it, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was the big winner of the 15th Brics Summit in Johannesburg last week. He evidently... →
Niger: another symptom of Africa’s weak crisis-response capacity
30th August 2023 Last month’s coup in Niger once again revealed Africa’s crisis of multilateralism. Political and security developments in Niger and other African... →
Brics+ and the future of the US dollar
28th August 2023 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and intensified United States (US)–China competition have had two important geostrategic consequences. They have blown... →
Towards a Brics Climate Club
25th August 2023 As the world reels from climate disasters, with little progress on climate change multilateral negotiations, it’s time for new alliances to... →
South Africa would benefit from a crime harm index
24th August 2023 Recently released police crime statistics show a 3% decline in murder for the second quarter of 2023 compared to last year. The number of murders... →
Risks of digital influence: lessons for South Africa’s 2024 election
21st August 2023 As South Africa heads for general elections in 2024 and the governing African National Congress (ANC) attempts to maintain its dominance, online... →
Thulani Maseko’s absence weakens Eswatini’s struggle for democracy
21st August 2023 Seven months after his murder, it is evident how much the absence of political activist and human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko has weakened... →
Why aren’t more African Union decisions on security implemented?
17th August 2023 Africa is contending with growing threats of violent extremism, entrenched localised conflicts that intersect with organised crime, coups and... →
Burkina Faso's ambitious move to depoliticise government
16th August 2023 Poor governance of public affairs has been cited as one of the reasons for Burkina Faso’s two coups last year, and the severe insecurity that has... →
Why Nigeria’s bandits are recruiting women for gunrunning
15th August 2023 Women are increasingly involved in banditry-linked arms trafficking in Nigeria’s north-west. Between December 2022 and February 2023, police... →
Extra BRICS shouldn’t be used to build a wall against the West
14th August 2023 This year’s Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) summit will have a distinctive African flavour. Hosted by its only African member, the... →
New Agenda for Peace: a reckoning for Africa on collective security?
10th August 2023 Conflict in Africa appears to be resurging owing to a cocktail of threats including terrorism, authoritarianism and coups, most recently in Niger,... →
ECOWAS must look beyond the use of force in Niger
10th August 2023 The military coup on 26 July that deposed Niger’s elected president Mohamed Bazoum is not the country’s first. It follows a failed attempt after... →
South Africa’s new police watchdog bill weakens rule of law
8th August 2023 A new bill before Parliament proposing amendments to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) Act raises the contentious question of... →
Africa, beware the dangers that digital influence poses for elections
7th August 2023 When William Ruto and Raila Odinga competed for Kenya’s presidency last August, ‘we knew that this election was going to be won on tech,’ a leading... →
