Africa Center Commentary & Analysis

Let’s Give Somalia’s Government the Non-Recognition It Deserves

By J. Peter Pham

One year ago the Obama administration broke with the Somalia policy of its three predecessors by according diplomatic recognition to the government of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Last month, in his annual Worldwide Threat Assessment report to Congress, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper bemoaned that the Somali regime’s “persistent political infighting, weak leadership […]

Morocco’s Struggle Against Jihad in Africa

By Atlantic Council

By most accounts, French president Francois Hollande had a successful visit to Washington last week. From my perspective, one of the most promising public outcomes was an op-ed piece, signed by Hollande and President Obama in Washington Post, in which they conveyed together their hopes as well as their fears about the future of Africa.

Addressing the Food, Water, and Energy Nexus

The relationship between food, water, and energy resources are shaping our world and its future, and managing the “nexus” of the interdependencies among these goods is arguably one of the most critical challenges facing policymakers in the transatlantic area. A draft report discussed at an Atlantic Council event today argues that Africa plays an especially […]

Pham Discusses South Sudan on VOA

By J. Peter Pham

Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham joins VOA’s “On the Line” program to discuss the political rivalry between South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar, the origins of the current fighting in the country, and the implications of the violence for South Sudan, the region, and the world.

Saving South Sudan

By J. Peter Pham

The new year opens with the very real possibility that the world’s youngest country, South Sudan, may fail at statehood without ever having acquired more than its pro forma trappings: a flag, an anthem, and a seat at the United Nations. The government and rebel forces continued to fight over the weekend and failed to […]

South Sudan on the Edge

By J. Peter Pham

Not even thirty months after it achieved independence, South Sudan teeters on the edge of a profound abyss. What started a barely week ago as an “attempted coup”—at least according to President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s version of events—quickly transformed into an orgy of ethnic violence which, in turn, precipitated a renewed call to arms by […]

Pham Remembers Mandela on Fox News

Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham spoke with Fox News on the passing of former South African President and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.

Nelson Mandela: Visionary Pragmatist

By J. Peter Pham

The passing of former South African President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is a loss not only for his beloved South Africa, but also for Africa as a whole and, indeed, for the world. Mandela will be rightly remembered as one of the great figures of our time. The manner in which he led his country’s transition […]

South Africa’s Next Ten Years: Major Trends and New Scenarios

The Atlantic Council’s Africa Center hosted a luncheon presentation by Dr. Frans Cronje, deputy CEO of the South African Institute of Race Relations, on “South Africa’s Next Ten Years: Major Trends and New Scenarios.”