Publications

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has undertaken increasingly frequent and effective attacks in the past year, posing a dangerous and growing threat in Africa’s Sahel region. Reversing this trend...chevron_right

This Security Brief argues that 1) the African maritime security challenge is defined by the need to monitor wide geographic expanses with limited resources; 2) science and technology are invaluable m...chevron_right

While not often considered a hub in global terrorist networks, South Africa has seen a steady and growing pattern of domestic and al-Qaeda-linked terrorist activity over the past decade. Coinciding wi...chevron_right

This Brief argues that 1) Africa’s senior defense and security officials must adopt higher standards of leadership to reshape Africa’s security forces into professional bodies capable of handling cont...chevron_right

In this publication the author assesses the role civilian protection plays in peace operations, lessons learned from past civilian protection efforts, and notes progress that has been made. He also co...chevron_right

The increasingly internal nature of Africa’s security threats is placing ever greater pressures on Africa’s police forces. Yet severe resource and capacity limitations, combined with high levels of p...chevron_right

Twelve of the twenty states deemed by the Failed States Index (FSI) to be at greatest risk of collapse in 2010 are in Africa. These fragile and failed states account for much of the continent’s ongoin...chevron_right

This Security Brief argues that 1) the dollar value of cocaine trafficked through West Africa has risen rapidly and surpassed all other illicit commodities smuggled in the sub-region; 2) experience fr...chevron_right

Ethnic conflicts in Africa are often portrayed as having ages-old origins with little prospects for resolution. This article challenges that notion arguing that a re-diagnosis of the underlying driver...chevron_right

This brief reviews the major strategic and operational lessons learned from the 40 peace operations that were deployed to Africa since 2000 with the aim of making these and future operations more effe...chevron_right

Piracy, illegal fishing, and narcotics and human trafficking are growing rapidly in Africa and represent an increasingly central component of the threat matrix facing the continent. However, African s...chevron_right

A significant development in Africa over the past decade has been the generalized lessening of violent conflict. Revitalized, expanded international peacekeeping, bolstered by a newly launched African...chevron_right

This report updates regional security complex theory as developed by Buzan and Waever in the context of the Southern African Regional Security Complex (RSC). The report argues that the Southern Africa...chevron_right

This briefing note was written for the 5th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Ministerial Conference, held in Beijing in July 2012. It discusses three priority areas: crisis response and confli...chevron_right

The articles in this edition of Conflict Trends look at 1) an adaptive approach for coping with complexity in conflict resolution and peacebuilding; 2) the African Solidarity Initiative (ASI), which a...chevron_right