Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is not monolithic. While crises in the Sahel have attracted a great deal of attention, other regions also need to be monitored, and not just through the prism of security.
Related Subjects
Claiming "The People": Youth Booms, Ailing Authoritarians and "Populist" Politics in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania
This study analyses the emergence of so-called “populist” political tendencies in three East African countries: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It builds its analysis on a wider discussion of the term “populism”, its use and applicability in (eastern) African settings before going on to examine the drivers of three cases of populism: William Ruto’s 2022 election victory in Kenya and the “Hustler Nation”; Bobi Wine’s opposition to Yoweri Museveni in Uganda; and John Magufuli highly personal style of government in Tanzania.
Japan resumes its wooing of Africa, a counter to China’s efforts
Japan, which began developmental programmes in the 1990s, has been eclipsed in recent years by China, now Africa’s leading trade partner.Pledge to invest US$30 billion on the continent includes a focus on training Africans to run their economy.
Solar power shines through after a slow start in Africa
The case for the renewable energy source is becoming clearer on the ‘sun continent’
Africa-France: Can Macron’s ‘new partnership’ succeed?
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.
C.Africa's Leap Into Bitcoin Leaves Its People Bemused
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.
Yet the CAR has just followed El Salvador in adopting bitcoin as legal tender, a currency that requires access to the net to be bought, sold or used.
EU Winds Down Military Training Operations in Mali
The European bloc is involved in two training missions in Mali – the EUTM and the EUCAP – to coach soldiers and police.
Why France is losing its 'Great Game' in western Africa
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 extremists are winning.
Chad’s president Déby killed ‘on the frontline’
President Déby was killed while visiting troops on the frontline, according to an army spokesman.
What is the state of democracy in Africa?
An interview with Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria.
France girds for long fight against Islamists in Africa's Sahel
Days before French President Emmanuel Macron visited West and Central African leaders this week to talk security, Islamist fighters sent a defiant message -- a suicide attack on the headquarters of a five-nation force that is supposed to take the lead in fighting terrorism in the region.
Last year Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger agreed to set up the 5,000-member force dubbed the "G5 Sahel", urged along by pledges of training and support from France.
China, Russia rise in CAR as Western influence shrinks
Russia and China are muscling their way into the Central African Republic as Western clout in the mineral-rich, strategically important nation seems to wane, analysts say.
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Related centers and programs
East and Central Africa Observatory
The East and Central Africa Observatory is a 3-year research project (2023-2025) that Ifri is carrying out jointly with the French Institute of Research in Africa (IFRA) in Nairobi for the French Ministry of Defense, and more specifically its International Relations and Strategy Division (DGRIS). This observatory focuses on the main political, security and geopolitical developments taking place in the geographical areas covered by itself. This is achieved through the regular production of research notes, in English or French and the organization of an annual seminar around a key theme. For our research notes and conferences, we call on internationally acknowledged experts in the topics covered. This Observatory began in 2016, under the title of Observatory of Central and Southern Africa within Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center. 55 notes were drafted between 2016 and 2020.
Sub-Saharan Africa Center
Founded in 2007, Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa center produces an in-depth analysis of the African continent and its security, geopolitical, political and socio-economic dynamics (in particular the phenomenon of urbanization). The Center aims to be both, through various publications and conferences, a space for disseminating analyzes intended for the media and the public but also a decision-making tool for political and economic actors with regard to the continent.
The center produces analyses for various organizations such as the Ministry of the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the French Development Agency (AFD) and even for various private supports. Its researchers are regularly interviewed by parliamentary committees.
The organization of events of various formats complements the production of analyzes by bringing the different spheres of the public space (academic, political, media, economic and civil society) to meet and exchange analytical tools and visions of the continent. The Sub-Saharan Africa Center regularly welcomes political leaders from different sub-Saharan African countries.