Since 2012, the proliferation of jihadist groups across the Sahel has monopolized the attention of the authorities.forced by the threats they represent and the weakening of their regal power, states are gradually withdrawing from their peripheral rural territories. As a result, populations...

Sub-Saharan Africa

Founded in 2007, the Sub-Saharan Africa Center of the French Institute of International Relations - Ifri works to address the cross-disciplinary issues that the African continent is facing. The Center achieves its mission through quality analyses available in various formats.
Aimed at renewing interpretative frameworks and nurturing public debate, the Center’s expertise offers helpful tools for policy-makers in Africa. The Center also provides analyses for some key actors in Africa such as the French Ministry of the Armed Forces (Ministère des Armées), the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères), International Crisis Group, the OECD or the World Bank.
Launched in 2008, l’Afrique en questions covers topics of broad and current interest. In addition, the Policy Papers and Reports published by the Center provide more comprehensive analyses. These publications are combined with public events where politicians, academics, companies and civil society can promote dialogue about Africa and share analytical tools.
Afrique Décryptages, the Sub-Saharan Africa Center’s blog, provides information regarding the Center's activities, publication announcements, conference reports, and links to the Center's research fellows’ public appearances. Afrique Décryptages also works as a forum where the research fellows share their opinions about topical issues and stimulate debates and discussions.
Research Fellow, Director of Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center
...Research Fellow, Coordinator of the Governing the Urban Transition in Africa research programme, Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center
Project Officer at the Sub-Saharan Africa Center and Turkey/Middle East Program
...Associate Research Fellow, Sub-Saharan Africa Center / Center for Energy and Climate
...Associate Research Fellow, Sub-Saharan Africa Center
...Associate Research Fellow, Sub-Saharan Africa Center
...Associate Research Fellow,Sub-Saharan Africa Center
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While a state of siege was declared a year ago in two Congolese provinces and Kenyan authorities organized a meeting in Nairobi between the Congolese government and armed groups, the pacification of the Congolese East remains unresolved. This study looks back at the Tshisekedi government's...
In the context of growing regional rivalries between major powers in the Indian Ocean, the stakes of Sino-Malagasy relations are major.
China and Africa share a strong relationship since the wave of African independences in the 1960s. Nevertheless, China-Africa trade has experienced an unprecedented surge since the late 1990s and has been accompanied by the rise of a discourse of "win-win" partnership between China and Africa....
After several decades of reforms, the situation in centralized power sectors has hardly changed. The sub-Saharan power sector remains underdeveloped, and power sectors are experiencing significant financial difficulties that have been further exacerbated first by the effects of the pandemic...
Addressing remotely the 8th Japan-Africa TICAD Summit held in Tunis between August 27th and 28th, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged $30 billion in public and private contributions to the African continent over the course of the next three years. This is a quite a remarkable...
For its 41st edition, RAMSES 2023. Europe at War, written by Ifri's research team and external experts, offers an in-depth and up-to-date analysis of geopolitics in today’s world.
Germany, despite the reluctance of its public opinion, is committed to supporting security in the Sahel, notably through its participation in the European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM) and recently in Niger, and in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in...
This study highlights the particular situation of the Mbororo minority, which has settled in the Northwest English-speaking province that is more conducive to livestock farming than the Southwest.
The Far North region of Cameroon has been shaken since 2013 by the Boko Haram conflict, which originated in the northeast of Nigeria (Borno State) and spans four countries (Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger). The complex interactions between the Boko Haram jihadist movement and the local...
4x4 Directors Forum 2023 African-European Think Tank Dialogue
The Policy Center for the New South (PCNS) and the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) are organizing the fifth edition of the 4x4 Directors Forum on February 1-2, 2023, in Rabat, Morocco.
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Geopolitics of Urban Infrastructure Financing in Sub-Saharan Africa
Investment in infrastructure is promoted as a key tool for sustainable urban development. According to the African Development Bank, it would require between 130 and 170 billion dollars annually to meet infrastructure needs.
After TICAD 8 - COVID, war in Ukraine and the cooperation with Africa: Views from Japan and France Webinar
The TICAD 8 – the 8th edition of the Japan-Africa Summit – was held on 27-28 August 2022 in Tunis.
How Realistic is a New Partnership Between Europe and Africa? Seminar
An open discussion organized within the framework of the partnership "Schwarzenbergplatz Forum" between the Austro-French Center and the French Embassy in Austria
Governing Africa's Urban Transitions Ifri's Conference
Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center is launching a new research program dealing with the major socio-economic and geopolitical challenges of urban dynamics on the continent.
The European Union-African Union Summit: A new impetus for sustainable development Ifri Webinar
With the European Union (EU) - African Union (AU) summit due to take place on February 17-18, 2022, sub-Saharan Africa's sustainable development challenge has never been so pressing. Despite past progress in electrification, the number of people without access to electricity rose again in 2020...
Sustainable Urban Growth in Africa: the Role of Governance, SMEs and Disruptive Technologies Ifri Webinar
In 2030, half of the African population will be living in urban agglomerations. Rapid urban growth has been defined as major challenges, but also a potential opportunity for the continent’s socio-economic development. Creating inclusive, sustainable and resilient cities is one of the 17 United...
The Development of Healthy Cities In Sub-Saharan Africa: Stepping Up Clean Electricity Uses Webinar organized in partnership between Columbia - Global Centers Nairobi, SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) and Ifri’s Center for Energy & Climate
Affordable and reliable electricity access from renewable energy sources is a prerequisite for the development of sustainable and healthy cities in sub-Saharan Africa.
Security issues : China’s presence in Africa Cycle : China’s policy towards Southern and Central Africa 3/3
As part of the Central and Southern Africa Observatory, a research partnership between Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center and the Directorate General for International Relations and Strategy (DGRIS) of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, Ifri is hosting a series of three research webinars...
The Sub-Saharan Africa program and its Associate Fellows are accustomed to sharing their expertise with the media. Our experts mainly speak French, but they can also intervene in English. Consult our researchers’ geographic and thematic specialties on their profile.
From Benin to Mozambique, President Paul Kagame is flexing his small country’s military muscle—and transforming the continent’s security landscape.
Africa has occupied a significant place in Emmanuel Macron’s political agenda but he will need more than fine speeches to change the longstanding paternalist image of France on the continent.
In the Central African Republic (CAR), nine out of 10 people do not have internet, and only one in seven has electricity -- that is, when there are no power cuts.
...The European bloc is involved in two training missions in Mali – the EUTM and the EUCAP – to coach soldiers and police.
Paris and Beijing have agreed to build infrastructure projects in Africa, South East Asia and Eastern Europe. But will this help shine light on China’s opaque foreign investments? Or just give the appearance of doing so?
An interview with Olumide Abimbola, founder and director of the Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI).
The British used to call it "the Great Game" — the military and political jockeying of great powers in the late 19th century in Afghanistan, India and the areas around southern Russia. France, too, has played its "Great Game" in western Africa for 150 years. Now it's losing. Islamist...
President Déby was killed while visiting troops on the frontline, according to an army spokesman.
An interview with Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria.
The Think Thank 7 (T7) is an engagement group that brings together the leading Think Tanks from the G7 countries in order to analyze and make recommendations on key issues of the G7 presidency.