About our work
Africa’s dynamic role in the global landscape is shaped by its vast potential and strategic importance. The Africa Center’s work focuses on advancing opportunities across the Atlantic Basin, addressing challenges in the Sahel, and redefining Africa’s place in global affairs. The center aims to unlock economic prosperity by analyzing the global financial system’s impact on Africa and fostering transformative partnerships, including unleashing the full scope of US economic engagement with the continent.
Through research and dialogue, conducted in partnership with the Policy Center for the New South, the Africa Center strives to support sustainable growth, achieve regional stability, and solidify Africa’s place as a critical voice in international institutions.
Audiocards
As part of this partnership, we host a regular audio series that aims to highlight pressing and pertinent issues and developments in Africa
Commentary, analysis & reports
Atlantic Policy Briefs
Following a decade-long partnership, the Policy Center for the New South and the Atlantic Council have joined their forces around a new project focused on power of the Atlantic. This series of publications and webinars will focus both on opportunities (sustainable energy and minerals development) and challenges (piracy in the Gulf of Guinea) around the basin.
The Atlantic basin plays a key role in the core missions of both the Policy Center for the New South and the Atlantic Council, which have dedicated themselves towards promoting transatlantic relationships since their founding. Every year, the Policy Center for the New South hosts its flagship event, the Atlantic Dialogues, and releases its annual report, the Atlantic Currents, while the key Atlantic Council’s programs, from the Transatlantic Security Initiative to the Transatlantic Climate and Energy Security Program, contribute to shaping transatlantic policies.
This project was launched in June 2025 against a backdrop that included World Ocean Day, the 2025 UN Ocean Conference, and the continuing work of the Group of Twenty (under South Africa’s presidency) within the Oceans 20 engagement group.
As the second-largest ocean, the Atlantic covers 17 percent of the world’s surface and borders about a hundred countries in the Americas, Europe, and Africa. The Atlantic Ocean is of paramount importance to Africa. The African nations on the ocean’s shore represent 46 percent of the continent’s population, 55 percent of its gross domestic product, and 57 percent its trade. The blue economy is crucial for Africa as the continent’s economies see new changes brought upon by issues related to the maritime energy transition, the port revolution, maritime transport, fishing, and control over exclusive economic zones. African countries have accordingly developed frameworks, through the African Union, for action in the region and declared 2015-2025 the “Decade of Africa’s Seas and Oceans.”
However, an “Atlantic consensus” has not yet been achieved. For example, it took UN members two decades of discussion to agree on a new treaty on protecting high-seas biodiversity, which was adopted in June 2024, but has been ratified by only a limited number of countries. On the African shore of the Atlantic, many challenges—from piracy to illegal deep-sea mining exploration to fishing—threaten the costal Africa and require a renewed efforts by scientists, entrepreneurs, engineers, and regulators.
The Policy Center for the New South and the Atlantic Council are committed to providing thought leadership on the Atlantic dialogue and assisting policy makers in addressing these complex challenges as well as promoting constructive engagement in Atlantic affairs. Only dynamic approaches will contribute to the emergence of an Atlantic community on the South side of the ocean.
Karim El Aynaoui
Executive President
Policy Center for the New South
Amb. Rama Yade
Senior Director
Africa Center, Atlantic Council
Events
Atlantic webinar
The Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, in collaboration with the Policy Center of the New South, organized a webinar titled “Sustainable Energy and Minerals Development: The Atlantic Case”, on Thursday, March 27th at 1:30 pm (GMT).
Changes in the global economy are altering the nature of economic activity across maritime environments. As nations seek to protect the world’s oceans, development of port and maritime transportation infrastructure, illegal fishing, maritime cable traffic, oil and gas discoveries, potential offshore wind and other renewable ocean energy and mineral projects are dramatically shaking up maritime economies across Africa. In addition, African countries in the Atlantic basin face a series of security issues such as combating terrorism, organized crime, maritime piracy, and immigration routes. These issues impact all nations bordering the Atlantic basin.
Featuring
- Sabrine Emran, Economist, Policy Center for the New South
- Elizabeth Eide, Executive Director, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
- Dan Hamilton, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution’s Center on the United States and Europe
- Kelly Kryc, Senior Fellow, Wilson Center
- Bakary Sambe, Chairman, Timbuktu Institute
- Moderated by William Yancey Brown, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
Marine Energy Webinar
The Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, in collaboration with the Policy Center for the New South, organized a webinar titled “Marine energy: Harnessing the power of the Atlantic”, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 9:30am ET. This webinar also served as the launch of the inaugural policy brief of joint programming dedicated to the opportunities of the Atlantic basin.
This issue brief by William Yancey Brown highlights the vast energy and mineral potential of the Atlantic Ocean and how African nations bordering the basin can manage resources responsibly and fairly. The issue brief launched with a backdrop that includes World Ocean Day, the 2025 UN Ocean Conference, and the continuing work of the Group of Twenty (under South Africa’s presidency) within the Oceans 20 engagement group.
The Atlantic Ocean is of paramount importance to Africa. The African nations on the ocean’s shore represent 46 percent of the continent’s population, 55 percent of its gross domestic product, and 57 percent its trade. The blue economy is crucial for Africa as the continent’s economies see new changes brought upon by issues related to the maritime energy transition, the port revolution, maritime transport, fishing, and control over exclusive economic zones. African countries have accordingly developed frameworks, through the African Union, for action in the region and declared 2015-2025 the “Decade of Africa’s Seas and Oceans“.
Featuring
- William Yancey Brown, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
- Benjamin Mossberg, Deputy Director, Atlantic Council, Africa Center
- Agnès von der Mühll, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of France, Washington D.C.
- Moderated by Sabrine Emran, Economist, Policy Center for the New South
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The Africa Center works to promote dynamic geopolitical partnerships with African states and to redirect US and European policy priorities toward strengthening security and bolstering economic growth and prosperity on the continent.
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