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Sub-Saharan Africa

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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.

 

Alain ANTIL

Research FellowDirector of Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center

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Sina SCHLIMMER

Research Fellow, Coordinator of the Governing the Urban Transition in Africa research program, Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center 

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Benjamin AUGE

Associate Research Fellow, Sub-Saharan Africa Center / Center for Energy and Climate

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Elisa DOMINGUES DOS SANTOS

Associate Research Fellow, Sub-Saharan Africa Center and Turkey/Middle East Program

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François GAULME

Associate Research Fellow, Sub-Saharan Africa Center

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Mathieu PELLERIN

Associate Research Fellow, Sub-Saharan Africa Center

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Thierry VIRCOULON

Associate Research Fellow, Coordinator of the Observatory of Central and Southern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa Center

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Since 2016, the Observatory of Central and Southern Africa within Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center provides regular analyses to identify local and regional trends regarding political and security issues in the area. 55 notes were written between 2016 and 2020.&...
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Sub-Saharan Africa's cities are experiencing the fastest growth rates in the world. By 2050, most of the countries in the region will have made an urban transition, meaning that more than 50% of their population will live in urban areas. Urban growth is often presented as a cornerstone of the...
Nigeria Elections 2019
The Elections, Governance and Evolution of the State in Africa research axis whithin Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center covers electoral processes, domestic political dynamics, public policies, State governance practices, as well as State model evolutions on the...
Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Angela Merkel shaking hands before a meeting of African leaders with the German Chancellor in Berlin.
The Africa on the International Scene research axis whithin Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center aims at analyzing the African policies established by the traditional partners of the African continent (France, UK, etc.) as well as by the emerging States (China,...
Members of a Senegalese Formed Police Unit (FPU) of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali
The Security Issues research axis of Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center explores the security stakes at play in the Sahel and in the Great Lakes regions. It notably examines the armed movements, the economies of illicit trades and the tensions surounding natural...
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The Socio-economic Transformation of Africa research axis whithin Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center focuses on African middle-classes, on African cities as a growth factor, on the urbanization of the continent as an element of transformation of African societies...
workers maintain a thermal power station
The Energy Challenges in Africa research axis whithin Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center adresses the exploitation of extractive natural resources on the African continent. It also covers the geopolitical stakes that derive from it, and the governance practices in...
12/03/2024
By: Fathima Azmiya BADURDEEN

This paper looks at how terrorism has thrived in the East African region, the evolving nature of criminality and terrorism, and the crime-terror nexus in the coastal and maritime areas of East Africa. The emphasis of the analysis is on the Kenyan coastal regions with a focus on three counties,...

01/12/2023
By: Chloé JOSSE-DURAND, Mwongela KAMENCU

This paper aims to highlight how and why William Ruto won the 2022 presidential elections against Raila Odinga by focusing on his political strategy before, during and after the campaign. 

15/11/2023

Since the launch of the Opening Plan to Africa in 2003, Turkey's African policy has spread to the whole of the African continent, where its involvement is distinguished by its scope and diversity.

27/10/2023
By: Moussa BOBBO

Surprised and harassed by Boko Haram’s atrocities from mid-2013, the Cameroonian authorities initially responded with strong military and judicial responses that helped to contain the threat and regain control of the situation.

04/07/2023

North-South tensions are exacerbated at a time of unprecedented turmoil for both Europeans and Africans. European polycrises (geopolitical, energy-related and economic) echo the systematic vulnerability of Africans, which is reinforced by external shocks.

10/05/2023
By: Lise LESIGNE, Alain ANTIL, (ed.)

On February 27, 2023, Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech on French-African relations before traveling to Central Africa to meet with the leaders of four countries: Gabon, Angola, Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This briefing looks back at the key moments of his latest presidential...

12
Dec
2023
Tuesday 12 December 2023
from 13:30 to 17:00 - Seminars and Round-table Conferences

This conference will explore the major evolutions of the religious landscape in Central and East Africa. We will discuss the mutations observable in the Christian and Muslim worlds, the relations between religion and politics, and the development of various forms of radicalism, whether...

28
Nov
2023
Tuesday 28 November 2023
from 09:30 to 12:45 - Conférences

Debates on Africa’s urbanization have long focused on the continent’s capital- and megacities, such as Dakar, Lagos or Nairobi. Africa’s capital cities concentrate political offices, cultural goods, foreign direct investment as well as local economic production and businesses.

24
Nov
2023
Friday 24 November 2023
from 09:00 to 16:30 - Conférences

As Africa experiences a paradigm shift in its global positioning, characterized by the rise of multiple regional and international actors, it becomes imperative to examine how traditional European powers, such as France and Germany, navigate this transformed landscape.

09
Nov
2023
Thursday 09 November 2023
from 14:30 to 17:45 - Conférences

Over the past two decades, increasing attention has been paid to digital infrastructure development and funding on the African continent. Whereas massive infrastructure gaps in funding persist, especially in rapidly growing urban areas, investments in telecom and digital infrastructure have...

01
Feb
2023
Wednesday 01 February 2023 to Thursday 02 February 2023
from Wednesday 1 February 2023 15:00 to Thursday 2 February 2023 14:00 - Seminars and Round-table Conferences

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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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.