Africa Center Commentary & Analysis

Obama in Africa: Take Two

By Sam Fishman

Africa is occupying a larger space on the world stage. Security threats posed by new Islamic extremist groupings, the continent’s rapid GDP growth, and a bullish China blowing past the US in bilateral trade suggest that the continent will rise higher on the presidential agenda.  Presidents Bush and Clinton took a special interest in Africa, […]

Conflict and Opportunity on the Nile

By Peter Pham

Last week, Ethiopia’s parliament unanimously ratified a treaty with five of its neighbors that opens the way for broad regional cooperation on the use of the waters of the Nile River. In response, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, whose government was not part of the pact, angrily declared that “all options are open,” implying that force […]

Crisis in the Sahel: Trafficking

By Rudolph Atallah

Organized crime—especially various forms of smuggling and narco-trafficking—is the lifeblood of the vast under-governed expanse of the Sahara. It is within this largely decentralized and politically corrupt milieu that terrorists and criminals work together to access weapons and money to sustain their symbiotic operations.

Crisis in the Sahel: Transnational Terrorism

By Rudolph Atallah

While some suggest the threats in the Sahara and Sahel are local or regional in scope, their impact is global. Even a cursory overview of the involvement of North Africans as itinerate jihadists linked to al-Qaeda demonstrates this. 

Crisis in the Sahel: Mali Terrorism Threat Growing

By Rudolph Atallah

Over the past year, things have escalated dramatically in Mali, causing further instability in the Sahara and the Sahel. Many skeptics underestimated the Islamist threat and claimed that the Saharan branch of Al-Qaeda in the Magreb (AQIM) was only focused on kidnappings for ransom and illicit trade, rather than jihadist activities.

Crisis in the Sahel: Overview

By Rudolph Atallah

North Africa and the intertwined Sahel, from Egypt to Mauritania, is a region that has undergone profound and destabilizing political and social change in the last several years, especially since the “Arab Spring” of 2011. Nascent political systems, newly empowered non-state actors, and underlying structural problems in the region contribute to an increasingly volatile mix, […]

Briefing by Abel Epalanga Chivukuvuku, Leader of Angolan Opposition Political Coalition CASA-CE

The Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center hosted a briefing and roundtable discussion today with the leadership of Angolan opposition political coalition, the Convergência Ampla de Salvação de Angola—Coligação Eleitoral (CASA-CE).