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Africa

The Kids are Alright: U.S. Soft Power, Aid, and Youth in Africa

Jeremiah A. Carew

The Kids are Alright: U.S. Soft Power, Aid, and Youth in Africa

OPINION — A recent survey of African youth challenges conventional wisdom on foreign aid. Policymakers should take heed of their views as they design [...] More

Alternative Perspectives Africa

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Expert Q&A: The Major African Terror Group You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Levi West

Expert Q&A: The Major African Terror Group You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

EXPERT Q&A — The major news headlines of the day often focus on Ukraine, the Middle East and China, rarely mentioning Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam [...] More

Africa
Experts Warn of Insurgents' Paradise in West Africa

Experts Warn of Insurgents' Paradise in West Africa

CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING– A terrorist group with links to Al Qaeda now controls a swath of territory five times the size of Texas, threatens the [...] More

Terrorism Africa Counterterrorism

Expert Q&A: What the M23 Rebels Want in the Congo Conflict

Darrell Blocker

Expert Q&A: What the M23 Rebels Want in the Congo Conflict

EXPERT Q&A — The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, who stunned the world with their seizure of the major city of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic [...] More

Africa Darrell Blocker
Whatever Happened to Russia's Wagner Group?
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deep dive

Whatever Happened to Russia's Wagner Group?

DEEP DIVE — More than a year after the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the infamous leader of the shadowy Russian mercenary outfit known as the Wagner [...] More

Africa Russia Europe Reporting
Russia v. Ukraine – in an African Desert 
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Russia v. Ukraine – in an African Desert 

EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — The column of Malian government soldiers and Russian mercenaries from the former Wagner Group was advancing through a shallow [...] More

Africa Reporting
As U.S. Military Draws Down in Africa, Fears of Terrorism Rise

As U.S. Military Draws Down in Africa, Fears of Terrorism Rise

SUBSCRIBER+ EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — Last month, the U.S. and Niger announced that 1,000 American troops would withdraw from Niger “no later” than [...] More

Africa Reporting

South Africa Reminder: Freedom Fighters Don't Always Make Good Rulers

Tim Willasey-Wilsey

South Africa Reminder: Freedom Fighters Don't Always Make Good Rulers

In Cold War Angola in the early 1980s, all the liberation movements were located in the Rua da Liberdade on the eastern outskirts of the capital, [...] More

Africa Cipher Brief Expert View Tim Willasey-Wilsey
After Saying "Never Again," Will the World Respond to Genocide in Darfur?

After Saying "Never Again," Will the World Respond to Genocide in Darfur?

SUBSCRIBER+ EXCLUSIVE REPORTING - Afraid to show his face and wedged into an overstuffed refugee camp on Sudan’s border with Chad, a middle-aged man [...] More

Africa Reporting
UN Peacekeepers on the way out as Terrorists gain ground in Mali

UN Peacekeepers on the way out as Terrorists gain ground in Mali

CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING — As the Mali government grapples with political turmoil, a splinter faction of the militant group ISIS, known as ISIS-GS or [...] More

Africa Terrorism Reporting
Africa's 'Coup Belt' is a Problem for the West

Africa's 'Coup Belt' is a Problem for the West

EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIBER+ INTERVIEW – The former head of Gabon’s presidential guard has been sworn in as the country’s new president, just days after a [...] More

Africa National Security Reporting
Exclusive Interview: BRICS Offers a Glimpse of What a New Global World Order Could Look Like

Exclusive Interview: BRICS Offers a Glimpse of What a New Global World Order Could Look Like

SUBSCRIBER+ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – If there were an indicator of what a new world order could look like, it was likely on display during last week’s [...] More

Africa Russia China Europe Asia Reporting

What's Happening in Niger Should be on Everyone's Radar

Glenn Corn

What's Happening in Niger Should be on Everyone's Radar

OPINION — In late July 2023, the democratically elected President of the West African nation of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, was overthrown by members of [...] More

Africa Cipher Brief Expert View Russia