The Chinese People’s Liberation Army attends the opening ceremony of China’s military base in Djibouti — its first overseas naval base — in August 2017. Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images Washington’s interests on the African continent are poorly defined. This lack of strategic attention is illustrated by the Pentagon’s publication of regional strategies for Europe and … Continue reading The US does not have an Africa strategy, but China does

Photo Credit: Hurst & Company What Britain did to Nigeria: A Short History of Conquest and Ruleby Max SiollunHurst & Company, 390 pp., $29.95 Since the apparent global ascent of the far-right in popular support and electoral success (the Alternative für Deutschland in Germany, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, and of course the election of Donald … Continue reading A Page in the Colonial Ledger: Nigeria, Britain, and the Ghosts of Colonialism

A Chinese manufactured armored personnel carrier on the streets of Zimbabwe. Photo Credit: Voice of America China’s Growing Exports Africa has emerged as an increasingly important region amidst discussions of renewed great power competition between the United States and China. Weapons sales constitute a critical, yet often underexplored, component of this competition in Africa. Since … Continue reading Assessing the Impact of Chinese Arms in Africa

Niger's electoral commission prepares ballot boxes for the presidential election runoff on 21 February. Photo Credit: AFP-ISSOUF SANOGO The deteriorating security situation in the Sahel underscores an urgent need for an innovative policy to combat terrorism and insecurity. While this failure to ameliorate the security environment has long been evident, a series of elections in Niger, … Continue reading Amid Growing Instability, Elections in the Sahel Should Signal a Shift in US Security Policy

Photo Credit: Mission de l’ONU au Mali - UN Mission in Mali Mali has been a thorn in the side of international peacekeeping and security proponents for the better part of a decade. Since a 2012 coup overthrew the democratically-elected government, the country has been plagued by conflict and civil strife, which the international community … Continue reading Has Mali Gotten Too Messy? The Case for Hope amidst Uncertainty

Bridge over Rio Lúrio in Cabo Delgado. Photo Credit: F H Mira Over the last year, the Mozambican Salafi-jihadist group Ahl al-Sunna wa Jama’ah (ASWJ)[i] has grown in scope, committing twice as many attacks as in 2019.[ii] Although there has been low-level violence in the Cabo Delgado region of Mozambique for years, the extent of … Continue reading Understanding the Insurgency in Mozambique

Gulf of Guinea. Photo Credit: International Chamber of Commerce When people think of modern-day piracy, Somalia and the Horn of Africa region quickly jump to mind. In the late 2000s, a series of dramatic hijackings and hostage situations received widespread media attention, and even a Tom Hanks movie. However, on Africa’s West Coast lies another, … Continue reading Achieving Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea