ISS, Institute for Security Studies
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... →
From Russia, with little to show for it
4th August 2023 Russian President Vladimir Putin was hoping for a record turnout of African leaders at the second Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg last week... →
Turning away from terrorism: lessons from the Lake Chad Basin
3rd August 2023 Terror groups in the Sahel are becoming more resilient, making it hard for governments and their partners to degrade them. As the region explores... →
Africa-Europe migration deals cost lives and undercut democracy
2nd August 2023 Leaders attending Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s 23 July Rome conference were invited less for their interest in migration and development... →
Conflict and organised crime are razing CAR’s rainforests
1st August 2023 Forests cover just over one third of the Central African Republic’s (CAR) territory. The forestry sector is a vital source of income and... →
Development funders must seize climate migration opportunities
31st July 2023 Despite contributing only 3% of historical carbon emissions, climate-related disasters cost Africa up to US$15 billion annually. The continent... →
France and the US’s possible Faustian Pact with CAR’s Touadéra
28th July 2023 Signs are emerging that France and the United States (US) are contemplating a deal with the Central African Republic’s (CAR) President... →
Lessons from Mali’s referendum for its transition process
27th July 2023 Mali’s 18 June referendum has returned a ‘yes’ vote of 96.91% to approve the new constitution, which was drafted by a commission created by decree... →
Zimbabwe heads for yet another disputed election
26th July 2023 Zimbabwe is on course for another contested election. Current conditions don’t conform with the Southern African Development Community’s election... →
Has Côte d’Ivoire found the solution to violent extremism?
25th July 2023 No significant terror attacks have been reported in northern Côte d’Ivoire over the past two years, suggesting that its approach to addressing the... →
The mighty dollar is rhetorically endangered but safe, for now
24th July 2023 Brazilian President Lula da Silva attacked the global economic order at last month’s international financing summit in Paris, criticising the... →
Pretoria’s ‘get out of jail free’ card
21st July 2023 After months of speculation, a decision has finally been made – Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t attend the August Brics... →
Sanctions alone won’t shut down Libya’s illicit economies
20th July 2023 Twelve years on from Libya’s revolution, the country remains fragile. The government has limited reach, with de facto power exercised by competing... →
Will the Russia-Africa Summit balance pageantry and politics?
19th July 2023 The second Russia-Africa Summit on 27-28 July in St Petersburg is viewed by Moscow as the preeminent stage to rekindle relations with Africa. The... →
Winning talk doesn’t mean Mozambique’s insurgency is over
19th July 2023 The presidents of Mozambique and Rwanda have been making victory speeches about the Cabo Delgado insurgency being almost over. They are creating... →
Communication blackout: impact of power grid collapse on ICT
17th July 2023 Eskom, South Africa’s electricity utility, insists a grid collapse is ‘unlikely’ and that it would take an ‘unforeseen and sudden sequence of... →
Ruto hustles to dodge a debt trap
14th July 2023 Ten months into his presidency, Kenya’s President William Ruto is battling strong headwinds. He won office as the champion of the ‘hustlers’ – the... →
Elite unit brutality reflects widespread police impunity in SA
13th July 2023 The assault on three occupants of a vehicle by Presidential Protection Unit (PPU) security officers assigned to Deputy President Paul Mashatile has... →
Kenya’s rise in al-Shabaab attacks calls for localised solutions
13th July 2023 In the past three weeks, over 30 security force officers have been killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in more than 10 attacks across... →
Risks and rewards of AI for organised crime in Africa
11th July 2023 In 2019, a British company was defrauded of US$243 000 when the voice of the chief executive was impersonated by criminals using artificial... →
Sudan’s crisis could delay South Sudan’s already slow transition
10th July 2023 The war that erupted in April between elements of Sudan’s security apparatus could hamper its neighbour South Sudan’s already sluggish peace... →
Macron’s financing summit provides more momentum than money
10th July 2023 The New Global Financing Pact summit, which French President Emmanuel Macron convened in Paris last month, was certainly ambitious. ‘We are clear... →
MINUSMA leaves Mali: will regional leaders step up on security?
7th July 2023 On 30 June the United Nations (UN) Security Council voted unanimously to end the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali... →
Africa’s Ukraine-Russia mediation needed a clearer AU footprint
7th July 2023 Food, fertiliser and fuel are among the reasons Africa needs the Russia-Ukraine war to end quickly. With Africa becoming an arena for geopolitical... →
School terror attack highlights Uganda’s security gaps
4th July 2023 On 16 June, militants stormed Mpondwe Lhubiriha Secondary School in western Uganda, near the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) border, killing... →
Africa’s bond walls and ballot trains
3rd July 2023 Since Covid-19, African economies have muddled through a series of internal and external shocks. While some moved swiftly to arrest the rut, others... →
President Bola Tinubu tackles Nigeria’s economy
30th June 2023 Not even a month after Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s inauguration on 29 May, he’d carried out major economic reforms advocated for by... →
Prigozhin’s rebellion throws Wagner’s African future into doubt
29th June 2023 The brazen but brief rebellion that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin launched in Russia at the weekend, and the deal he cut with Russian President... →
Touadéra’s perilous referendum project
28th June 2023 In May, Central African President Faustin-Archange Touadéra announced a constitutional referendum for 30 July 2023. This announcement was the... →
Boko Haram brings IEDs back to Cameroon
27th June 2023 Boko Haram’s return to using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) is a major worry for Cameroon’s Far North Region. Until recently, the region... →
Journalism on trial in Africa: fortitude and fake news
26th June 2023 The world of journalism has been somewhat emboldened since 7 June when judges in a South African High Court threw out a private prosecution brought... →
African peace mission: one step forward, one step back?
23rd June 2023 Africa’s Ukraine-Russia peace mission represents a significant milestone for the continent. It is the first time African states have taken the lead... →
