Africa Center Commentary & Analysis

Obama’s ‘Most Strategic Itinerary’ in Africa

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s J. Peter Pham says President has important reasons to visit Kenya and Ethiopia US President Barack Obama’s decision to visit Kenya and Ethiopia this week underscores the strategic significance of these two sub-Saharan nations to the United States, says the Atlantic Council’s top Africa analyst. Obama arrives in Kenya, his late father’s homeland, […]

President Buhari Comes to Washington

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Boko Haram, trade will be at the top of the agenda, says Atlantic Council’s J. Peter Pham Nigeria’s war on Boko Haram will be at the top of the agenda when US President Barack Obama meets his Nigerian counterpart Muhammadu Buhari at the White House July 20, says the Atlantic Council’s J. Peter Pham. The […]

Ahead of Obama’s Africa Trip, the DC Launch of The Next Africa

By Africa Center

On Tuesday, July 14, the Africa Center hosted the official Washington, DC launch of a new book, The Next Africa: An Emerging Continent Becomes a Global Powerhouse, by Africa Center Senior Fellow Aubrey Hruby and coauthor Jake Bright.

At Four Years Old, South Sudan is the ‘World’s Most Failed State’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Pham says President Salva Kiir must step down to give his country a chance Four years after it won independence from Sudan following decades of war, South Sudan is once again trapped in a vicious cycle of conflict that has turned the world’s youngest nation into a failed state, says the Atlantic Council’s […]

Is Nigeria’s Other Insurgency Making a Comeback?

By Dafe Oputu

Even as Nigeria struggles to fight against Boko Haram insurgents in its northeast, a dangerous but forgotten conflict on the other side of the country is resurfacing. Before the rise of Boko Haram, the conflict in the southern Niger Delta region had long been considered the most potent threat to Nigeria’s security. Over the years, […]

Burundi: Dust Settles after Parliamentary Elections

By Kelsey Lilley

Burundi, the central African nation entering its third month of political crisis, held parliamentary elections last week. Seventeen opposition parties formally boycotted the polls (though several others appeared on the ballot); preliminary results suggest that the ruling party of incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza—whose announcement that he would seek a third term sparked widespread protests—won a […]

Briefing by the Foreign Minister of Burundi

By Africa Center

Since late April, the small, central African nation of Burundi has been wracked by a political crisis, marked by sometimes-violent demonstrations as well as refugee flows into neighboring countries, following a decision by incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza to seek a controversial third term in office. On Tuesday, June 23, the Africa Center hosted a briefing by […]

Obama’s Upcoming Visit to Ethiopia Recognizes Country’s ‘Enormous Importance’

Atlantic Council’s J. Peter Pham applauds decision to add Ethiopia to African itinerary Nearly 112 years after the United States and Ethiopia established diplomatic ties, US President Barack Obama will become the first sitting American leader ever to visit the East African nation—a visit the Atlantic Council’s J. Peter Pham says is long overdue. “This […]

Roundtable with Côte d’Ivoire’s first lady

By Africa Center

On Monday, June 22, the Africa Center hosted a luncheon roundtable discussion with Dominique Ouattara, First Lady of Côte d’Ivoire, to speak about her country’s work toward eradicating the child trafficking, exploitation, and labor. After a welcome and introduction from Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham, Mrs. Ouattara discussed both the progress and obstacles to […]

Boko Haram and Escalating Regional Terror

By Dafe Oputu and Kelsey Lilley

Bottom Line Up Front: • A multinational joint task force consisting of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger has driven Boko Haram from key territorial strongholds in northeastern Nigeria; on June 18, the Chadian military conducted airstrikes against six Boko Haram bases in Nigeria • But the terror group continues to launch deadly, near-daily attacks throughout […]