Africa Center Commentary & Analysis

Through high-level relationships and a track record of well-respected analysis, the Africa Center speaks directly to the stakeholders who matter, shaping policy on the foremost issues of this dynamic continent.

AfricaSource

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 […]

Africa English

Event Recap

Jun 8, 2018

Discussion on communal violence, security threats, and elections in Mali

By Africa Center

On Friday, June 8, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, in collaboration with the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), hosted a discussion on USHMM’s new report: Regions at Risk: Preventing Mass Atrocities in Mali. The event featured the report’s authors, Mr. Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, early warning […]

Africa Conflict

AfricaSource

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 […]

Africa English

AfricaSource

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

New Atlanticist

May 23, 2018

Congolese Opposition Leaders Join Forces

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Two prominent Congolese presidential hopefuls, speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington on May 23, announced that they were joining forces against the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s longtime president Joseph Kabila. Moïse Katumbi, who is tipped to win the election—if one is held and if he is allowed to participate—and Félix Tshisekedi, the president […]

Video

May 23, 2018

RDC: l’avenir Politique Selon Moïse Katumbi & Félix Tshisekedi

Quel avenir pour l’opposition en République démocratique du Congo ? Moïse Katumbi, candidat à la présidentielle du parti Ensemble pour le changement, et son compatriote Félix Tshisekedi du parti l’Union pour la démocratie et le progrès social, s’interrogent sur la situation politique en RDC et l’importance de l’appui international afin que les élections du 23 […]

South & Central Africa

Event Recap

May 23, 2018

Discussion with the Congolese opposition

By Africa Center

On Wednesday, May 23, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center hosted a discussion with Mr. Moïse Katumbi Chapwe, former governor of Katanga Province and leader of Ensemble pour le changement, a new political movement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Mr. Félix Tshisekedi, president of the Union pour la démocratie et le progrès social (UDPS), […]

Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo

AfricaSource

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

Video

May 9, 2018

Bekele Gerba and Eskinder Nega Discuss Ethiopia

In February 2018, Eskinder Nega (left), a prominent Ethiopian journalist and blogger, and Bekele Gerba (right), the deputy chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress, an Ethiopian opposition party, were released from prison. They were jailed for years under the country’s anti-terrorism laws. During a live conversation at the Atlantic Council, Eskinder and Bekele underscored the […]

East Africa Ethiopia

New Atlanticist

May 8, 2018

The United States Gets Tough With South Sudan

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump’s administration, expressing displeasure with the government in South Sudan, has started a comprehensive review of its aid programs to that country. In a sternly worded statement, the White House said that the leaders of South Sudan had “squandered this partnership [with the United States], pilfered the wealth of South Sudan, […]

East Africa