Africa Center Commentary & Analysis

Securing North Africa’s oasis of stability

By J. Peter Pham

As the cloud of uncertainty continues to hover North Africa—with the ultimate outcomes of the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt still to be determined and unrest spreading in Algeria, especially in the Kabylie region, to say nothing of the fate of the revolt in Libya—it is somewhat befuddling that the Obama administration has not done […]

Goodluck’s Win—and Nigeria’s

By Peter Pham

 When on Monday evening Attahiru Jega, chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declared incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan the winner of the country’s presidential election, he modestly declared, “We have done our best to satisfy the aspirations of Nigerians for free, fair, and credible elections.”

What Next in Ivory Coast?

By Peter Pham

As the Ivory Coast’s former president, Laurent Gbagbo, stubbornly clings to power, his writ confined to a bunker under his house in the commercial capital of Abidjan and surrounded only by his combative wife Simone and a coterie of diehard supporters, the relevant questions are less about the fate of the besieged strongman than what […]

Why Nigeria Matters

By Peter Pham

With everything from the ongoing fighting in Libya to the massive anti-regime protests in Yemen to the vicious endgame playing itself out in Côte d’Ivoire all happening at once, policymakers and analysts might be forgiven for not having paid much attention to the two postponements over the weekend of the Nigerian parliamentary elections which were […]

Libya and Africa

By Peter Pham

As Western-led operations against forces loyal to Libya’s Colonel Muammar Gaddafi continue, most analysis in the media has situated events in the context of the developments in the Middle East and its impact on it. Largely forgotten, however, is that Libya is an African power whose fate has significant implications for the rest of the […]

Jones: Making Africa Better Place Makes World Safer Place

By James Joyner

Former National Security Advisor Jim Jones says tackling the "real 21st century challenge" of maritime security and political instability in West Africa is "something we must do" as well as something we should do.  He called on the United States and its NATO Allies to work together on these issues "Not only to make Africa […]

Rwandan Election: Proper Perspective Needed

It has been little more than a week since incumbent Paul Kagame won Rwanda’s August 9 presidential election with 93% of the vote. It was not a vote for an open, Western style democracy but rather one for continued security and stability, which, not surprisingly, are highly valued by Rwandans since the 1994 genocide.

Terrorist World Cup in East Africa

By David Smith

The first half of the World Cup final game was drawing to a close when that universal cry of combined disappointment and relief arose from restaurants and bars around the world.  Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas had made a spectacular save.  But at that very moment, cries of anguish arose from Kampala’s Ethiopian Village Restaurant—a suicide […]

Nigeria: Internal Stability and International Order

By Martin Kimani

“Clean!” was Nigerian Acting President Goodluck Jonathan’s emphatic response when asked for a promise about the upcoming 2011 elections.  At the formal launch of the Atlantic Council’s Ansari Africa Center, Dr. Jonathan spoke to a standing room only crowd about his vision for good governance and accountability, youth and hope, peace and security.  The speech […]

Africa: Partner or Problem?

By Nikolas Gvosdev

Had there been more time, I would have be interested in pursuing some of the tantalizing statements about Nigeria’s foreign policy that Acting President Goodluck Jonathan made in his remarks launching the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center yesterday.