CSS Evening Talk: Conflicts and Security in the Maghreb and North Africa

On October 20 2015, as part of the CSS Evening Talk series, Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou, Deputy Director and Academic Dean of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), and Lisa Watanabe, Senior Researcher at the CSS, discussed conflict dynamics in the Maghreb and North Africa.

Both speakers agreed that there has been a dramatic loss in state power throughout the region and that non-state actors, in particular the so-called Islamic State (IS), are on the rise. While transformation and transition processes in all states will certainly need time to unfold, Tunisia has the highest chances of implementing democratic principles and achieving social stability.

In the meantime, European and other Western countries should limit their efforts to reform assistance, for instance in the security sector.