Africa Center Commentary & Analysis

Kenya’s Fake News Problem

By Kelsey Lilley

Fake news has reared its ugly head in elections again—this time in Kenya. As East Africa’s most tech-savvy country went to the polls on August 8, its citizens were inundated with fake news that colored the campaign season and now threatens hard-won gains to prevent post-election violence. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his primary challenger, […]

Erik Prince’s ‘Reckless’ Proposal for Afghanistan

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Sean McFate warns against plan that would rely more on military contractors A proposal that would have the United States rely more heavily on private military contractors instead of US troops, and install what would essentially be a US viceroy in Afghanistan, is an example of “reckless foreign policy,” according to Sean McFate, […]

Anthrax to Zika: The lurking threat of outbreaks and bioterrorism in Africa

By Liviya David

The global HIV/AIDS epidemic and the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak varied in length, number of lives lost, and geographic areas affected. However, both posed national security risks to the United States, and both therefore prompted large-scale US government responses: the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and Operation United Assistance in Liberia, respectively. […]

Is it Time to Take Sudan Off the State Sponsors of Terrorism List?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council report recommends review of designation as part of an effort to energize ties US President Donald J. Trump’s administration should conduct a long-overdue review of the designation of Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism, according to a new report from the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center. The Clinton administration designated Sudan a state […]

Report launch: Sudan: a strategy for re-engagement

By Africa Center

On July 14, 2017, the Atlantic Council’s Sudan Task Force launched its latest report, Sudan: A Strategy for Re-Engagement by Ambassador Mary Carlin Yates with Kelsey Lilley. Atlantic Council Vice President and Africa Center Director Dr. J. Peter Pham welcomed attendees and introduced the panel’s work. The panel, which included Task Force members Ambassador Mary […]

Update on the humanitarian situation in the Lake Chad Basin

By Africa Center

On Thursday, July 13, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), hosted a roundtable discussion with Mr. Patrick Youssef, Deputy Regional Director for Africa at the ICRC. In his remarks, Youssef discussed the complexities of the protracted conflict in the Lake Chad Basin and the neutral, […]

Roundtable with Louis Mazel

By Africa Center

On Tuesday, June 27, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center hosted a roundtable discussion with Mr. Louis Mazel, former chargé d’affaires at the embassy of the United States to the State of Eritrea. In his remarks, Mazel stressed the importance of Eritrea’s extensive coastline and strategic location in the Horn of Africa. He also discussed Eritrea’s […]

Why Africa matters to US national security

By Africa Center

On May 25, 2017, on the occasion of the fifty-fourth celebration of Africa Day, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center launched its newest report, “Why Africa Matters to US National Security.” The author, former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council Grant Harris, argues that a re-assessment […]

This is Why Africa Matters to the United States

The cuts to foreign aid proposed in US President Donald Trump’s new budget, if passed, would drastically diminish US influence in Africa, threaten US security interests, and make way for countries like China to fill the void, according to a former White House official. “We can’t be ceding this space to China and to other […]

Roundtable with Somaliland foreign minister

By Africa Center

On Tuesday, May 23, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center hosted Dr. Saad Ali Shire, minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation of the Republic of Somaliland. In his remarks, Shire emphasized Somaliland’s continued status as an island of peace and stability in the troubled Horn of Africa region, its consolidation of security and governance gains, […]