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External

Oct 25, 2013

IntelBrief: West African Piracy

By J. Peter Pham

Bottom Line Up Front Gulf of Guinea piracy remains a persistent, potential danger, with significance for commercial shipping and local economic development The lucrative take from theft of cargo, fuel oil, and crew and vessel ransom drive the motivation of the criminal networks Frequent, local ‘seaway robbery’ and sale of stolen crude on the oil […]

North & West Africa

External

Sep 18, 2013

IntelBrief: Guinea-Bissau: The World’s First Narco-State

By Zachary Feinstein

In the latest in the series of “IntelBriefs” on African security issues being produced by the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center in partnership with the Soufan Group, an international strategic consultancy, Africa Center intern Zachary Feinstein analyzes Guinea-Bissau’s narco-corruption and political instability.Read the IntelBrief 

Africa North & West Africa

New Atlanticist

Jul 25, 2013

Mali’s Election: Good enough, but not sufficient

By J. Peter Pham

Nearly a year and a half after a coup brought down its elected government, inadvertently paving the way for the takeover of the northern two-thirds of the country by ethnic separatists temporarily aligned with al-Qaeda’s regional affiliate and other extremists, and seven months after a French-led military intervention turned back the insurgents, scattering the militants […]

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Jul 11, 2013

How France ‘Set the Standard’ for Crisis Intervention

By Julian Lindley-French

A very senior British general said of Operation Serval in Mali that France had “set the standard” for crisis military interventions. Praise indeed and not easily given. One can always tell when a crisis is being managed to effect as the press lose interest.

France Sahel

New Atlanticist

May 23, 2013

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.

National Security Sahel

New Atlanticist

May 22, 2013

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, […]

National Security North Africa

Congressional Relations

Apr 17, 2013

Former French Prime Minister François Fillon, Senator Chris Coons discuss threats in Northwest Africa in Capitol Hill briefing

By Africa Center

The Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center organized a briefing on Capitol Hill on “Collective Security Threats in North and West Africa” featuring a keynote presentation by former French Prime Minister François Fillon and remarks by Senator Chris Coons, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs. Also participating in the event, […]

Conflict Extremism

Event Recap

Apr 2, 2013

The African state and the failure of US counterterrorism initiatives in Africa

By Africa Center

The Michael S. Ansari Africa Center hosted a luncheon presentation by Hussein Solomon, senior professor in the department of political science at the University of the Free State in South Africa, on “The African State and the Failure of US Counterterrorism Initiatives in Africa.” Drawing upon his recent research on Mali, Nigeria, and Somalia, among […]

Sahel Security & Defense
French Mirage over north africa 2

New Atlanticist

Mar 4, 2013

Toward Stability in Mali

By Dustin Dehez

The current crisis in Mali came largely as a shock to the international community. Yet, with the conflict having gone from local insurgency to full scale war and back, plenty of analyses have begun to formulate an early consensus among analysts: the conflict, it is argued, is a direct result of the 2011 civil war […]

Politics & Diplomacy Sahel

New Atlanticist

Feb 25, 2013

Niger needs more than drones

By J. Peter Pham

President Barack Obama informed Congressional leaders on Friday that approximately one hundred American military personnel have been deployed to Niger to “provide support for intelligence collection and . . . facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali, and with other partners” fighting al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and its allies. While […]

National Security Sahel
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Experts

Fellow

Bachir Ismael Ouedraogo

Nonresident Senior Fellow, N7 Initiative

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Africa Energy & Environment

Fellow

Aminata Niang

Visiting Fellow

Freedom and Prosperity Center

Africa Future of Work

Fellow

Stanislava Mladenova

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Afghanistan Conflict

Fellow

Peter Mandaville

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Freedom and Prosperity Center

Civil Society Freedom and Prosperity

Fellow

Rabah Arezki

Distinguished Fellow

Freedom and Prosperity Center

Africa Economy & Business

Fellow

David H. Young

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Afghanistan Conflict
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