Africa Center Commentary & Analysis

Conversation with Congolese Opposition Leaders

By Africa Center

On Thursday, May 19, the Africa Center hosted a roundtable with a delegation of Congolese opposition leaders led by the Honorable Olivier Kamitatu, the Vice President of the G7 coalition of political parties, on recent developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

America’s Friend in North Africa Deserves Better

By J. Peter Pham

It is written in the Book of Proverbs that “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” In other words, a true friend will tell another unpleasant truths, conveying things the other may not want to hear, but doing so for the sake of the other’s own good, which is valued more than even the friendship itself. However, […]

No ‘Silver Bullet’ for Kenya’s Security

By Kelsey Lilley and Julian Wyss

On May 6, the Kenyan government announced that it would cease hosting the estimated 600,000 refugees that currently call Kenya home. Days later, the government scaled back its initial threat, focusing instead on northeastern Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp, the world’s largest and home to 350,000 Somali refugees and their progeny. Despite providing little evidence, the […]

Joseph Kabila’s Ugly Legacy

By Julian Wyss

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) faces a “crisis in governance” under President Joseph Kabila, said panelists at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center on May 12, and, though Kabila is constitutionally ineligible for a third term as president, it’s becoming increasingly clear that he has no plans to step down […]

Launch of ‘Congo Blues: Scoring Kabila’s Rule’

By Africa Center

On Thursday, May 12, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center launched its newest issue brief, Congo Blues: Scoring Kabila’s Rule, by Pierre Englebert, H. Russell Smith Professor of International Relations and Professor of African Politics at Pomona College.

Obama’s ‘Commercial Diplomacy’ in Africa

By Kelsey Lilley and Stephanie Sparrow

Barack Obama’s historic election as President of the United States in 2008 was the first time an American of African descent had ever held the United States’ highest position. Because of the President’s Kenyan roots, many Africans were particularly excited for what they hoped would be the start of a new era in relations between […]

Zimbabwe in ‘Grave Danger’ of Political Violence

By Kelsey Lilley

Former opposition Member of Parliament cites ‘serious political vacuum’ in the country Zimbabwe is in “grave danger” of political violence and its fractured opposition is “poisoned” because of an undemocratic culture, according to David Coltart, a founding member of the country’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). “There is a very serious […]

‘The Struggle Continues’: A Conversation on Zimbabwe with David Coltart

By Africa Center

On Tuesday, April 26, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center hosted Senator David Coltart, Zimbabwean human rights activist and former Minister of Education, for a discussion on Zimbabwe. Africa Center Deputy Director Bronwyn Bruton welcomed attendees to the event, which took place on Capitol Hill. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce provided opening remarks, in […]

“Made in Africa”

By Julian Wyss and Erina Iwami

African economies currently face a double threat. First, commodity prices are at their lowest in decades, which has already caused a 16 percent drop in sub-Saharan Africa’s terms of trade (the ratio of export prices to import prices). Second, responding to its own slowing growth, China has scaled back its investment on the continent. As […]

Gambella Attack Exposes Ethnic Tensions between Ethiopia, South Sudan

On Friday, April 15, South Sudanese raiders crossed the border into Ethiopia to attack thirteen villages in the country’s Gambella region. Violence and carnage ensued, and the assailants escaped with 108 women and children and nearly 2,000 stolen cattle, according to Ethiopian government estimates. On Monday, the government announced that the death toll rose to […]