Africa Center Commentary & Analysis

Briefing by the former executive president of the Coordination of Azawad Movements

By Africa Center

On Thursday, January 11, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center hosted Mr. Bilal ag Acherif, former executive president of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), for a private roundtable discussion on the status of the Azawad movement, the role of state and non-state actors in security affairs across the Sahel, and his hopes for the peace […]

Attack on Peacekeepers in DRC Indicates Increasing Extremist Activity

The attack on United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by lesser-known violent extremists called the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) indicates that the group poses a more serious threat than previously believed as it continues to ratchet up its activity in region, capitalizing on the persistent political instability in the DRC, […]

Africa’s political fault-lines: As Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis trends toward intensifying rhetoric and violence, how long can the movement last?

By Alexandra Fairbend

Cameroon’s crisis, which pits a marginalized group of English-speakers against the Francophone majority, has taken a dangerous turn. The conflict has its roots in the colonial era, when British and French territories were awkwardly combined to form modern-day Cameroon. Anglophones have wanted autonomy for decades, but in the past year, they have mounted a full-throated […]

Forging a new era in US-South African relations

By Africa Center

On Tuesday, November 29, the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council launched its newest report, Forging a New Era in US-South African Relations. Atlantic Council Vice President and Africa Center Director Dr. J. Peter Pham welcomed guests and underscored the need for a renewed US-South Africa relationship, which he said has taken on a lower […]

Africa’s political fault-lines: How Cameroon’s unique linguistic cleavage is widening

By Alexandra Fairbend

The primary political fault line running through Cameroon, a country in Central Africa, is not ethnic, but linguistic – the population is divided between its English and French speaking parts. In recent months, the linguistic cleavage has started to widen, with increasing demands for Anglophone autonomy and secession. This amplification of decades-old divides is in […]

With Mugabe’s Exit, Zimbabwe Will Need All the Help It Can Get

By Ashish Kumar Sen

In light of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s resignation, the United States should be prepared to work with his likely successor, a man who is subject to US sanctions, said the Atlantic Council’s J. Peter Pham. Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose ouster from the vice presidency by Mugabe early in November triggered the current political crisis in the […]

The End of the Mugabe Era

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The ongoing military intervention in Zimbabwe effectively marks the end of Robert Mugabe’s thirty-seven-year hold on power, according to J. Peter Pham, director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center. “In whatever way the developments of the last twenty-four to forty-eight hours play out, it is quite clear that the near-absolute grip that he had on […]

Addressing Africa’s Rampant Unemployment

By Rachel Ansley

Africa’s rising levels of unemployment, which threaten further instability on a continent already susceptible to unrest and violent extremism, must be addressed by building capacity within the sectors of government able to instigate positive change, according to an Atlantic Council analyst. “The jobs issue has really concerned most companies, policy makers, stakeholders across the board […]

The jobs gap: making inclusive growth work in Africa

By Africa Center

On Monday, November 6, the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council, in partnership with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, hosted a panel discussion on how governments and the private sector can tackle Africa’s jobs gap. The event coincided with the US launch of the Institute’s new report: The Jobs Gap: Making Inclusive Growth Work […]