AQIM Ten Years On
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s (AQIM) emergence ten years ago this month was a Hail Mary. In 2004, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had orchestrated […] More
Africa
Mali’s Instability: Advantage, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s (AQIM) propensity for kidnapping was back on display earlier this week, as al Qaeda’s North African branch released a […] More
Mali’s Persistent Jihadist Problem
Four years ago, French forces intervened in Mali, successfully averting an al Qaeda-backed thrust toward the capital of Bamako. The French operation went a long […] More
Jammeh to Cede Power, Leave The Gambia
Yahya Jammeh – who ruled The Gambia for more than 22 years – is stepping down and leaving the country the internationally recognized new President […] More
Military Intervention in The Gambia Now More Likely
The Gambia’s Supreme Court was supposed to hold a hearing on a petition to annul the December presidential election, brought by the country’s current President […] More
A Pariah State in West Africa
After more than two decades in power, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh lost the December election to his opponent, Adama Barrow. However, Jammeh now says he […] More
A Legacy in the Making: Obama's Approach to Security Sector Assistance
From drone warfare to the targeting of Osama Bin Laden, President Barack Obama’s legacy on peace and security issues is largely being defined by a […] More
The International Criminal Court, Under Pressure, Turns Eyes on U.S.
The United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Yet Americans could still be indicted by the Court for alleged crimes […] More
Mass Withdrawals from the ICC Unlikely
A number of countries are pushing back against the International Criminal Court (ICC). South Africa notified the UN-Secretary General in October that it is withdrawing […] More
The ICC Lacks Legitimacy
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has, in many ways, had a strong year. Two new preliminary investigations have been opened, in Burundi and the Gabonese […] More
Security Dynamics Amidst Africa's Armed Conflicts
There has been a downward trend in large-scale warfare on the African continent since the number of wars peaked in the mid 1990s. However, new […] More
The African Migrant Crisis: The EU Takes Action
More than 160,000 migrants and refugees arrived in Italy this year, compared to just over 142,000 during the same time last year. Of those taking […] More
Making Deals with Africa
The European Union (EU) is entering into partnership deals, or “compacts,” with at least five African countries to try to stem the flow of migrants […] More
Uptick in African Refugees Expected to Continue
Irregular migration from Africa to Europe is increasing. As Africa’s population continues to grow, the European Union (EU) will need to figure out how to […] More
The Lord’s Resistance Army: Still a Threat
Exactly five years ago this October, about 100 United States Army Special Forces deployed in Central Africa to assist the Ugandan military in its fight […] More
The DRC: Strong Grip on Power, Weak Handle on Governance
Late on Sunday, Bruno Tshibala, the Deputy Secretary and spokesman of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)’s largest opposition party, the Union for Democracy […] More
Changing the Political Calculus
African leaders have tried many different ways to evade term limits in recent years. Usually these take a form of reinterpreting when an incumbent’s first […] More
Exacerbating an Already Difficult Situation
With the recent announcement that presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be postponed until at least 2018, tensions have been rising […] More