Over the past five decades, Africa has experienced great transition and change. Many positive developments are taking shape on the continent. Overall, human development is improving, conflict has declined and sustained economic growth presents genuine opportunities for development. Yet many structural challenges persist, and the pressure to tackle these simultaneously is probably the most complex task the continent faces today. Africa needs to deepen its strategic reflection in order to anticipate the future with confidence. It must think more systematically about long-term trends and plan for the future if it is to take advantage of opportunities arising from economic growth.

About the author:

Julia Schünemann is a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, where she leads the African Futures Project. her research interests relate to statebuilding, peace and conflict studies, human development in Africa and strategic forecasting. She holds a PhD in international relations from Madrid’s complutense University in Spain and an MA in communication, political science and economics from the Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, germany.

This paper was made possible with support from Foresight for Development. The Institute for Security Studies is also grateful for support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation and from the members of the ISS Partnership Forum: the governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the US.