ISS, Institute for Security Studies
Malawi must put climate adaptation first
25th January 2023 Drought, flooding and late-onset and erratic rainfall have disrupted food systems and food security throughout Malawi’s history, causing... →
Nigeria’s presidential hopefuls make vague promises on security
24th January 2023 Eighteen presidential candidates will participate in Nigeria’s polls on 25 February. Three stand out – Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All... →
Sergey Lavrov back to Africa with a vengeance
23rd January 2023 To call it a new ‘scramble for Africa’, as some like to do, is clearly hyperbolic. Nonetheless, it can’t be denied that the Big Powers are... →
Ghana’s split Parliament has failed to meet public expectations
19th January 2023 Since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1992, Ghana’s Parliament has been dominated by governing party members. In 2020 that changed when –... →
Can China breathe fire into Africa’s economies?
17th January 2023 With continuing global economic uncertainty in 2023, there’s been precious little to cheer about for Africa. However, China’s recent reopening... →
Ubuntu could help push Africa’s free trade agenda
17th January 2023 Applying the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement has always been described as a marathon, not a sprint. This has proven true as... →
How Ruto can transform Kenya’s economy
12th January 2023 Despite William Ruto’s narrow win to become Kenya’s president in August last year, the transition occurred peacefully. Now his challenge is to... →
Africa’s approach to countering terrorism still misses the mark
12th January 2023 At the end of October 2022, the Somali capital Mogadishu suffered another suicide bomb attack, which killed 121 people and injured more than 300.... →
Risks of Burkina Faso’s new military approach to terrorism
10th January 2023 Fifty thousand Burkinabe civilians have joined the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) to fight the violent extremists currently... →
What role for the AU ahead of Tunisia’s elections?
15th December 2022 Tunisia has witnessed several key political developments over the past 18 months that could threaten its status as the Arab Spring’s only... →
Brinkmanship is a losing proposition in the Eastern DRC
15th December 2022 The resurgence of the March 23 (M23) Movement, a non-state armed group mainly comprising Congolese Tutsi fighters, has spurred armed violence and... →
Can by-laws improve safety if they help to finance municipalities?
13th December 2022 Municipalities in South Africa are constitutionally mandated to promote a safe and healthy environment through the administration of local affairs.... →
Free trade and mobility crucial for Africa to prosper
12th December 2022 Regional integration is key for Africa’s prosperity. A continental economic community where goods, services and people move freely can help address... →
Will next week’s US-Africa summit revive relations?
9th December 2022 United States (US) President Joe Biden’s US-Africa summit next week is set to be a big ‘jamboree’. Over three days, around 42 African heads of... →
Scapegoating in South Africa: Busting the myths about immigrants
9th December 2022 Public officials and politicians routinely blame immigrants for a range of social and economic problems in South Africa. This reinforces negative,... →
To heal South Africa, we must first stop the bleeding
8th December 2022 From overcoming South Africa’s energy crisis to creating jobs and delivering services, government priorities depend on a safe socio-economic... →
Gender inequality is forcing African women to face the storm
7th December 2022 Women are disproportionately impacted by climate change due to gender inequalities and gender roles and responsibilities. They are 14 times more... →
What does a wounded ANC mean for South Africa’s prospects?
6th December 2022 Much ink will be spilt and tweets posted about the future of South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, his governing African National Congress... →
What it will take to prevent SA’s gender-based violence
5th December 2022 The annual campaign of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence that kicked off on 25 November will temporarily sustain the focus on South... →
São Tomé and Príncipe’s hidden turbulence
5th December 2022 São Tomé and Príncipe, the archipelagic island state just off the coast of Gabon, is regarded as a beacon of democracy in Africa. It consistently... →
Gender equality is key to harnessing Africa’s free trade benefits
1st December 2022 Africa could benefit greatly from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), but for all Africans to enjoy the fruits of freer trade,... →
Can a new wave of drone tech make Africa’s seas safer?
30th November 2022 On 29 October, Ukraine attacked Russian naval ships in the Crimean port of Sevastopol using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned surface... →
Ethiopia needs a peace coalition to underpin its new accord
29th November 2022 After a devastating two-year civil war, the Ethiopian government and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed a cessation of hostilities... →
UN peacekeeping in Africa needs tighter parameters
29th November 2022 Peacekeeping is one of the United Nations’ (UN) most important conflict management tools, but policymakers, host countries and experts agree that... →
Equatorial Guinea: how not to rig, or observe an election
28th November 2022 Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has clearly not read Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas’s book How to Rig an Election, which... →
Going for gold: Africa’s young footballers exploited by smugglers
24th November 2022 Amid the excitement of the FIFA World Cup that kicked off on 20 November, there can be no denying that transnational organised crime is part of the... →
Women have a vital role in Cameroon’s reintegration process
24th November 2022 Women in Cameroon need a role in encouraging Boko Haram members to leave the group and reintegrate back into communities. Many of the terror... →
Police could do far more to make South Africa safer
22nd November 2022 Rising levels of murder and robbery, gender-based violence, embedded organised crime and police corruption characterise South Africa’s crime... →
Putting cyber resilience in Africa centre stage
21st November 2022 With global attention on the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm-el-Sheikh, the question of how to make long-term,... →
Could G20 or BRICS be Africa’s route to global influence?
18th November 2022 Africa lacks a permanent seat on the United Nations (UN) Security Council – a situation that will likely remain for a long time. Does membership of... →
No silver bullet to stop cattle rustling in East Africa
17th November 2022 In April, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni launched a disarmament exercise in north-eastern Uganda and deployed the military to carry it out. The... →
Can Mozambique’s march to authoritarianism be stopped?
17th November 2022 In his first three years after becoming president in 2015, Filipe Nyusi’s governance led Mozambique to fall in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s... →
Could COP27 still shift views on climate migrants?
15th November 2022 While climate-linked migration and displacement (‘mobility’) feature throughout discussions at the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference... →
Options for reviving security cooperation in the Sahel
14th November 2022 The Sahel is experiencing increasing political and security upheavals. A series of unconstitutional changes in government have occurred in Mali,... →
Are red flags about Islamic State in South Africa alarmist?
11th November 2022 Alarm bells about the threat of terrorism in South Africa have recently been sounding more stridently and more often. Are these false alarms or is... →
Climate change, flooding and Nigeria’s tide of corruption
11th November 2022 Africa’s big message at the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt is that the countries responsible for causing climate... →
Mali’s women mediators shape local talks with terrorists
9th November 2022 In central Mali, local communities have entered into peace agreements with terrorist groups to regain a sense of calm. Residents in the area have... →
Peace agreement pledges transitional justice for Ethiopia
9th November 2022 On 2 November, the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front signed an agreement in Pretoria to end the two-year... →
China vs the West: a contest that will hurt Africa’s future
7th November 2022 A new long-term scenario analysis confirms that China will overtake the United States (US) as the most powerful country in the world by... →
Will we hear Africa’s youth at COP27?
3rd November 2022 Africa faces a trio of issues that are accelerating youth migration – the youth ‘population bulge’, high unemployment and mounting climate impacts.... →
South Africa must rethink its community safety system
3rd November 2022 Community Police Forums (CPFs) were foundational to South Africa’s 1990s transition to democracy. When first established, they provided a bridge... →
