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Jun 21, 2018

Islamist terrorism in Mozambique: An emerging threat?

By James Wholley

In October 2017, a little-known Islamist insurgency by the name of “Ahlu Sunna wa-Jama” or “Swahili Sunnah,” attacked the town of Mocimboa da Praia in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province. The attack began a campaign of terror that has paralyzed Mozambique’s northern coast and threatened $30 billion in offshore natural gas projects, a key lifeline […]

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Jun 5, 2018

Cameroon’s anglophone crisis intensifies: Why the central government is ultimately responsible for perpetuating the escalating violence

By Alexandra Fairbend

In the past year, both national holidays commemorating Cameroon’s foundations—October 2017’s independence anniversary and May 2018’s National Day salute to the unitary state system—were marred by violence between the Francophone government and Anglophone secessionists. The secessionists, who formally declared independence for the “Republic of Ambazonia” in October, have struggled to establish a sovereign state comprising […]

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May 30, 2018

Congolese opposition unify ahead of presidential elections

By Pierre Englebert

Democratic Republic of the Congo opposition leaders Moïse Katumbi and Felix Tshisekedi are on a US and European tour to lobby for further sanctions against the regime of President Joseph Kabila and for continued Western pressure towards free and fair elections, scheduled for December. They have formed an alliance which, they hope, can unite the […]

Africa Corruption

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May 16, 2018

Burundi’s flawed constitutional referendum

By Kelsey Lilley

Burundians will go to the polls on Thursday, May 17 to vote in a constitutional referendum set to allow Pierre Nkurunziza, president since the end of the country’s civil war in 2005, an opportunity to stay in power until 2034.  The vote takes place amid a fragile domestic situation, and it is likely to deepen […]

Africa Corruption

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Apr 23, 2018

Somalia’s continuing crisis worsens with UAE dispute

By J. Peter Pham

While it is imperative to keep up military pressure on the militants, ultimately insurgencies like Somalia’s can only be defeated by political legitimacy.

Africa Corruption

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Apr 3, 2018

Who are the winners and losers of Africa’s new free trade agreement?

By Abdoul Salam Bello and Jonathan Gass

Last month, the leaders of forty-four African nations signed a framework agreement to form a continental free-trade zone that will encompass a billion people and up to $3 trillion of cumulative GDP. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) would be the largest free trade agreement since the founding of the World Trade Organization over […]

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Apr 3, 2018

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam marks milestone, approaches completion

By J. Peter Pham

The April 2 anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in 2011 passed largely unremarked amid the cascade of momentous news coming recently from Ethiopia, including several years of unrest, the sudden release of thousands of detainees in mid-February, the resignation of the prime minister one day […]

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Feb 17, 2018

Ethiopia’s counterproductive state of emergency

By Kelsey Lilley

Following Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s sudden resignation on Thursday, Ethiopian authorities announced a six-month country-wide state of emergency (SOE), effective yesterday. This order, the country’s second in two years, imposes draconian restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly, while granting extended powers to the country’s already powerful security services. This decision is counterproductive to the […]

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Feb 16, 2018

Ethiopia: At the precipice

By Bronwyn Bruton

Ethiopia’s declaration of a state of emergency (SOE) in the wake of widespread protests earlier this week suspends the few democratic rights that Ethiopian citizens enjoy and effectively empowers military decision-making above the civilian leadership of the country. As the ruling party has seesawed between peaceful and authoritarian gestures – first releasing dozens of important […]

Africa East Africa

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Feb 15, 2018

Ethiopia: In the eye of the storm

By Bronwyn Bruton

After overseeing the release on February 13 and 14 of thousands of political challengers to the regime, Ethiopian prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn has resigned amid continuing protests that potentially threaten the survival of the government. (For detailed analysis of those events, read this: https://buff.ly/2GeB15y ) Though in the midst of crisis, Ethiopia is enjoying a moment […]

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