Africa’s growth prospects are stagnating and have declined in recent years, as evidenced by slow GDP growth rates and limited improvements in human development indices. This downward trend is reflected in the revised and updated analysis of our Current Path forecast on the African Futures website published in December 2024.
Africas growth prospects stagnant and under pressure
ISS African Futures
The decision by the AfCFTA Secretariat to establish the AfCFTA Implementation Review Mechanism (AFIRM) was mainly prompted by concerns relating to states parties’ slow implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement under which full trading was expected to commence in January 2021, which has not yet happened.
The WTOs Trade Policy Review Mechanism: Lessons for the AfCFTA Review Process
South African Institute of International Affairs
The January 2025 Chief Economists Outlook explores key trends in the global economy, including the latest outlook for growth, inflation, monetary and fiscal policy. It discusses the impact of US policy on the global economy, investigates fragmentation trends and discusses the turbulent outlook for global trade.
Chief Economists Outlook
World Economic Forum
As Donald Trump prepares to take office again, a unique opportunity to influence Iran’s direction arises by renewing the combination of effective pressure and robust negotiations, mainly aimed at a permanent detailed weaponization ban, while providing Tehran with possible domestic benefits.
Could the Fall of Assad and the Return of Trump Lead to a Better Deal with Iran?
War on the Rocks
In 2024, there were important and positive shifts in the internal displacement policy landscape, as well as cause for concern. Take, for example, the Independent review of the humanitarian response to internal displacement. This was a welcome opportunity for much-needed critical reflection, but it also identified serious shortcomings in the humanitarian and development response
What next for internal displacement: Four priority actions for 2025
ODI Global
On January 15, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced that a cease-fire agreement — mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States — had been reached between Hamas and Israel to pause fighting in Gaza and begin a series of steps to end of the war. The agreement details three phases toward immediate humanitarian relief, hostage and prisoner exchange, redeployment of Israeli forces, and negotiations toward a longer-term end-of-hostilities and reconstruction of Gaza.
Reading of the Week: Israel, Hamas Reach Gaza Cease-fire Deal: What Happens Now?
United States Institute of Peace
Salam has promised to enforce accountability and implement the ceasefire with Israel; independent Shia cabinet ministers can help him reach those goals while showing there is an alternative to Hezbollah.
Lebanons New Prime Minister Approaches the Next Crossroads on Hezbollah
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
How can countries in the Middle East and North Africa capitalise on the transition to renewable energy to foster a sustainable, productive and inclusive economy? This column, which draws on the development strategy advice of Oxford economist Paul Collier, calls for a nexus approach to skill development, finance, research and education
MENAs transition to renewable energy: a new development strategy
Economic Research Forum
The Maghreb has high potential for solar and wind energy production, which could position the region as a key player in renewable energy, yet countries in the region are not pursuing a significant rollout of such safe and zero-emission electricity sources. While aware of the economic and climate potential of renewables, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and even Libya are instead demonstrating a growing interest in nuclear facilities.
Regimes in the Maghreb take a hard look at nuclear energy
Geopolitical Intelligence Services
Polling data from the Arab Barometer in 2021 reveals that a large majority of citizens—ranging from 89 percent in Tunisia and Lebanon to 61 percent in Morocco—believe that corruption is prevalent in state agencies to a large or medium extent. Fewer believe that governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are effectively combating it, and these numbers are steadily declining in many countries.
Reading of the Week: How Effective Are Arab Anticorruption Agencies? Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full?
Middle East Council on Global Affairs
With blue-helmet deployments shrinking, and facing political and financial headwinds, it may seem that the heyday of multilateral peacekeeping is over. But at UN headquarters in New York, the discussions about the subject are not quite so fatalistic.
Fresh Thinking about Peace Operations at the UN
International Crisis Group
Few relationships will determine the future of security, peace and prosperity in the Middle East more than the cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Israel and the United States. The reelection of President Donald Trump, who begins his second term on January 20, 2025, will be a dynamic factor in shaping this three-way relationship
A possible Saudi Arabia-Israel-United States triangle
Geopolitical Intelligence Services
The growing influence of Chinese energy firms in the Persian Gulf is part of a deepening trade and geopolitical relationship as China takes a leading role in the energy transitions underway in the Gulf states and the surrounding region. Several joint ventures (JVs) have been formed between Chinese firms and state-linked Gulf entities, mainly in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Shaping the Energy Transition: Gulf-China Collaboration
Baker Institute for Public Policy
The MENA region’s increasing access to digital information and internet usage has led to an explosion in e-commerce and widespread interest in cryptocurrencies. At the same time, cybercrime, which includes hacking, malware, online fraud and harassment, has spread across digital networks.
The threat of cybercrime in MENA economies
Economic Research Forum
This report focuses on the nature and dynamics of human smuggling along this Eastern Route from the Horn of Africa across the Red Sea between locations of origin in Ethiopia and points of arrival along the coast of Lahj Governorate in Yemen. It examines the role of smugglers, the services they offer, the financial aspects of the journey, and how migrants perceive their smugglers.
Necessity rather than trust: Smuggling dynamics on the Eastern Route through Yemen
Mixed Migration Centre
This essay examines how emerging technologies can address some of the continent’s most pressing challenges, including economic, environmental, social, and governance issues, and be a game changer for Africa’s development.
Leveraging AI and emerging technologies to unlock Africas potential
Brookings Institution
The September floods in the LCB disrupted the lives of millions. Extreme precipitation events since August 2024 have impacted over 4.4 million people in West and Central Africa. According to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the countries most affected include Chad, with 1.5 million people impacted, Nigeria, with over 1.1 million, Niger, with 710,767, and Cameroon, with 409,710.
Flooding and Climate Shocks: Their effect on local economies in The Lake Chad Basin
Policy Center for the New South
The African Union (AU) member states will elect a new senior leadership of the AU Commission in February 2025. The commission was originally conceived as the secretariat of the AU. Over the years it has become the driving force behind the pan-African project
African Union to get a new chair: 6 key tasks they must tackle
The Conversation
Les perturbations successives des chaînes d’approvisionnement durant la décennie 2010 et les premières années de la décennie 2020 ont incité les décideurs politiques et économiques, notamment aux États-Unis et en Europe, à réfléchir à des moyens pour atténuer les risques associés à une forte dépendance vis-à-vis d’un nombre limité de fournisseurs, en particulier la Chine
Minerais critiques: positionner lAfrique dans la recomposition mondiale
Le Grand Continent
During his early December visit to Angola, US President Joe Biden pledged an additional $600 million to the Lobito Corridor project—an ambitious, US-backed infrastructure initiative linking the port of Lobito on Angola’s Atlantic coast to Zambia through the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
What to know about the Lobito Corridor, and how it may change how minerals move
Atlantic Council
Oil-dependent economies in the Gulf are looking to Chinese tech firms to drive technological progress in the region. Contrary to the narrative that Beijing is imposing its “digital model” on Gulf states, Chinese firms have adapted their strategies to adhere to the local political and regulatory realities in Gulf nations
Local Agency Is Shaping Chinas Digital Footprint in the Gulf
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Les perturbations successives des chaînes d’approvisionnement durant la décennie 2010 et les premières années de la décennie 2020 ont incité les décideurs politiques et économiques, notamment aux États-Unis et en Europe, à réfléchir à des moyens pour atténuer les risques associés à une forte dépendance vis-à-vis d’un nombre limité de fournisseurs, en particulier la Chine
Minerais critiques: positionner lAfrique dans la recomposition mondiale
Le Grand Continent
Yemen’s 2024 unfolded as a pivotal year for regional power dynamics, with the Houthi armed group cementing its role as both a disruptive force and a significant player on the global stage. This development was heavily influenced by actions that began in late 2023
Yemen at Risk of Descending into Full-scale Civil War
International Centre for Dialogue Initiatives
The outcome of Iran’s massive April 13 and October 1 strikes on Israel has raised questions about the utility of its missile force and the military strategy built around it. In the April strike, Iran launched an estimated 110-130 ballistic missiles at Israel.
Can Iran Restore Its Missile Mojo?
The Washington Institute
More than a year has passed since the horrific attacks that took the lives of 1,200 innocent Israeli citizens on Oct. 7, 2023, a devastating day that led to many more devastating days in Gaza, where tens of thousands of innocent people have died and countless more have experienced suffering on an industrial scale
Saudi Arabias diversified support for a two-state solution
Middle East Institute
The Guide to empower women’s businesses in transition contexts in Africa is designed to advise practitioners, national and international development actors, and anyone supporting women’s entrepreneurship, on simple, targeted, and straightforward approaches to plan, implement, and assess interventions that aim to assist women entrepreneurs to pivot their businesses for resilience in times of tumultuous change, reduce risk, bounce back, and seize new opportunities.
Reading of the Week: Guide to Empower Womens Businesses in Transition Contexts in Africa
African Development Bank
Libya’s economic outlook relies heavily on the oil and gas sector, which constitutes a significant portion of its GDP, government revenue, and exports. With oil production expected to average 1.1 mbpd in 2024, GDP is anticipated to shrink by 2.7 percent this year
Libya Economic Monitor, Fall 2024: Stabilizing Growth and Boosting Productivity
World Bank
This report looks at the factors that impact the vulnerability of youth who are migrants in Sudan and Ethiopia. Sudan and Ethiopia are important migration crossroads in East Africa, and routes through this region are characterised by a substantial risk of abuse. The study presents a statistical analysis based on data collected in 2022–2023 in Sudan and Ethiopia
A Statistical Analysis of Migrant Youth Vulnerability in Sudan & Ethiopia
Mixed Migration Centre
This report analyses the evolution of Houthi strategy at sea over the twelve months since the start of the campaign, particularly with regard to targeting criteria, geographic scope and weapons systems used. It also considers the international military response, which includes several multinational naval missions, as well as the actions by Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States against ground targets in Yemen.
Reading Of The Week: Navigating troubled waters The Houthis campaign in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden
The International Institute for Strategic Studies
Faced with various threats and conflicts ranging from the persistence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the danger of a wider regional war to the rise of nonstate actors that systematically use violence in internal and external conflicts, today’s Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries are drawing in China and Russia to compete with the United States over military presence, arms sales, energy and trade ties, and security roles.
Russia in the Middle East and North Africa: Arms, Power Projection and Nuclear Diplomacy
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Les relations entre Téhéran et Moscou ont connu un nouvel élan depuis le début de la guerre en Ukraine, passant d'une relation transactionnelle et asymétrique depuis 1991 à la construction d'un véritable partenariat stratégique. Néanmoins, malgré l’approfondissement des coopérations militaire, spatiale, cyber, policière et nucléaire civile, Moscou se montre réticent à s’engager directement aux côtés de Téhéran contre les États-Unis et leurs alliés au Moyen-Orient.
La relation russo-iranienne à lépreuve de lescalade militaire au Moyen-Orient
Institut Français des Relations Internationales
Iraq is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Throughout the country, communities are seeing their livelihoods and everyday lives increasingly disrupted by scorching temperatures, water scarcity, extended droughts and dust storms. While the impacts of the climate crisis are widely felt, they can be especially pernicious in conflict-affected contexts as climate change exacerbates existing vulnerabilities and increases the risk of insecurity.
Community dialogue as a peacebuilding tool Insights from environmental dialogue in the Nineveh Plains of Iraq
SIPRI Research Policy Paper
A political crisis has wracked the interim capital of Aden as the internationally recognized government struggles to deal with the plummeting Yemeni rial. The currency now trades at over YR2,000 to the dollar, having lost over a third of its value since the year began. Riven by political infighting and lacking the vision or tools to arrest the slide, an acute economic collapse appears imminent if significant and sustained financial support does not arrive.
Rescuing Yemens Economy
Sanaa Center Economic Unit
Sudan’s civil war continues to rage, with no sign that either the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) or Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) are close to a military victory or open to a ceasefire. Over 10 million civilians are displaced within Sudan or into neighbouring countries. Its economy is in ruins, with business centres transformed into battlefields. Severe hunger afflicts half the population, with famine emerging in Darfur.
Sudan Chad and Libya knit together as illicit markets enable conflict economy
ENACT Africa
La Constitution du Niger promet de protéger les enfants, soulignant le rôle de l'Etat dans la préservation de leur santé physique, mentale et morale. Malgré cet engagement, de nombreux enfants sont confrontés à de dures réalités. Le Niger affiche le 11ème taux de mortalité des enfants de moins de 5 ans le plus élevé au monde, car des maladies évitables (pneumonie, diarrhée, paludisme…) se développent dans un contexte d'accès limité à l'eau potable, à l'assainissement et aux soins de santé.
Les Nigeriens approuvent les chatiments corporels
AFRO Barometer
In order for Egypt to respond effectively to the alarming environmental threats it faces, it must bring the large number of military-managed projects and production in the civilian domain under a single, integrated national framework for climate change mitigation and adaptation planning, monitoring, and accountability.
Do No Harm: Toward an Environmental Audit of Military-Managed Civilian Projects in Egypt
Carnegie Middle East Center
The Indo-Mediterranean region faces escalating instability, from Houthi missile strikes disrupting maritime routes vital to piracy and regional conflicts in the Horn of Africa. A strategic IndoMed Quad—comprising the United States, United Arab Emirates, India, and Italy—offers a pragmatic framework to address these challenges
Reading of the Week: The Case for an IndoMed Quad: India, Italy, UAE, and US Cooperation
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Africa’s economic prospects have improved but growth remains fragile amidst multiple global and domestic shocks. The continent’s average real GDP growth is now projected at 3.2% in 2024, compared to 3.0% in 2023. The revised growth outlook represents a downgrade of 0.5 percentage points relative to the May 2024 AEO projections
Africas Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook. November 2024 update
African Development Bank
This brief discusses the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technologies in meeting Africa’s development goals and argues that, for tech to make a real contribution to human development in the continent, the process of technology development should enable African agency.
The Role of AI and Digital Tools in Africas Development
Observer Research Foundation
Cities face constraints to work on migration and refugee issues, often due to a lack of decentralisation and resource constraints. Adopting an inclusive city approach can safeguard local authorities’ commitment towards providing protection to residents regardless of status, while not overstepping legal mandates.
City Diplomacy and Human Mobility in Africa
Institut français des relations internationales
The Middle East and North Africa will become one of the world’s foremost renewable energy producing regions and a hub for international renewable energy supply chains within the next 25 years. Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan are spearheading the trend in the region through the development of their respective green energy ecosystems
MENAs Emergence as a Hub for Renewable Energy Supply Chains
Middle East Institute
As military conflicts and civil wars in the Middle East intensify—and as the actors involved grow to include a complex array of states, armed groups, and militias—diplomatic efforts to end these hostilities have repeatedly faltered. The region is now plagued by immense human suffering and catastrophic material and moral losses, pushing it to the edge of collapse.
The Middle Easts New War of Attrition
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Tunisia faces a critical economic crossroads. With external debt exceeding 80% of GDP, a budget deficit over 7%, and food inflation at 9%, its financial vulnerabilities are acute. Financing the budget through the Central Bank risks worsening inflation, making a joint agreement with the IMF and EU a more viable solution.
The Importance of a Joint IMF and EU Agreement for Tunisia: Learning from Greeces Economic Turnaround
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
China closely aligns its global security expansion with its economic strategy, particularly in Africa’s Maghreb and Sahel regions. This relationship has historical roots, with China beginning engagement there as early as the 1950s by supporting national movements and decolonization efforts.
Chinas military and private security inroads in Africa
Geopolitical Intelligence Services
On 29 November, the deputy foreign ministers of Iran, France, Germany and the UK (the latter three known together as the E3) are due to meet in Geneva to discuss a range of security issues in the Middle East - including, apparently, the Iranian nuclear programme.
A Window of Opportunity on the Iran Nuclear File
The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies
The Africa Gender (AGI) is an authoritative source of data on gender equality and women’s empowerment in Africa. It draws together statistics from all 54 African countries across three dimensions (economic, social and empowerment & representation) into a single index. This enables African countries to track not only their own progress over time but also against regional peers.
Reading of the Week: Africa Gender Index 2023 Analytical Report
African Development Bank Group
Many fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS) face significant challenges related to energy access, which exacerbates instability and hinders development. Reliance on fossil fuel supply chains - frequently controlled by conflict parties - can also undermine the peacebuilding and peacekeeping efforts of UN missions often operating in these contexts.
Why renewable energy matters in the context of peace and stability
Clingendael
Russian information operations in Africa are a tool to expand Russia’s presence on the continent and to turn African countries into allies of Russia in its confrontation with the West. This article focuses on the ideological content of Russian information influence in African countries-specifically a set of narratives and ideas that Russia seeks to root in the information environment of African countries.
Ideological Agenda of Russian Information Influence in Africa
The Foreign Policy Research Institute
In early September 2024, China gathered fifty-three high-level African delegations-thirty-six of which were led by heads of state and prime ministers-to the ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit. Few countries can pretend to have such convening power, especially when it comes to Africa.
What FOCAC 2024 Reveals About the Future of China-Africa Relations
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Even now, in the midst of the current dreadful escalation in Israel-Palestine, there is an opportunity to change the trajectory of events and put the region on a path toward peace. To realize this opportunity, advocates of Palestinian Israeli peace must make a strategic investment in engaging with the mass media in the region.
Reshaping the public discourse is key to restoring support for Israeli-Palestinian peace
Middle East Institute
Saudi Aramco is not only the largest oil producer globally but also the most profitable business, surpassing tech giants like Apple and Microsoft. Aramco is evolving far beyond its traditional role, now positioning itself at the forefront of economic diversification, technological innovation, and sustainability, aligning with the broader vision set forth by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to transform the Saudi economy and reduce its dependence on oil.
Aramcos Diversification Strategy: Fueling Saudi Arabias Vision 2030
The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
The report represents a comprehensive analysis of the linkages between climate change and migration in Africa. Emphasis is given to the importance of recognizing the interlinkages between environmental and migration issues, with a view to undertaking comprehensive and multidimensional assessments that can feed into the design and development of sustainable and actionable policies across Africa.
African migration report: climate change and migration in Africa
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
Biodiversity is the foundation for security: myriad micro-organisms filter and purify fresh water, the most basic essential for survival; pollinators hold the front line of food production; complex interactions across ecosystems regulate pests and disease vectors; forests, lakes, and coral reefs sustain livelihoods and economic stability.
Gone Fishing: A Biodiversity Loss Security Scenario in the Lake Victoria Basin
Council on Strategic Risks
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a pivotal catalyst for global innovation, with the United States at the forefront of the development of this transformative technology amid its ongoing great power rivalry with China. However, a notable concern has emerged: the absence of an explicit conception of AI supremacy that threatens to undermine the US' long-term AI strategy
The Role of the Middle East in the US-China Race to AI Supremacy
Middle East Institute
The war in Ukraine has exacerbated the divide between the West and East. The latter, increasingly referred to as the Global South, is not a homogenous entity but rather a collection of groups of countries as well as separate big actors, such as India and Indonesia, that are motivated by varying degrees of anti-Westernism
For Gulf States, Gaza War Overshadows Ukraine
Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
The year 2024 has been dubbed ‘the election superbowl’ due to the higher number of elections taking place in different parts of the world, including in the United States and in the European Union. In Africa alone, over 20 countries have held or are approaching elections. South Africa and Rwanda already elected their presidents, while Ghana is preparing for its presidential election in December 2024
Artificial intelligence for electoral administration and management: A pathway for Africa-EU partnership
European Think Tanks Group
Over the past decade, and especially since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, Israel has assumed that its military, intelligence, and technological prowess can buy it allies among the Arab Gulf states. In more recent months, Israeli officials also came to believe that escalation would turn the regional equilibrium in their favor: a wider war between Israel and Iran and its proxies could force the Arab states, particularly Saudi Arabia, to finally and fully join with the Israelis.
The Saudi Solution
Foreign Affairs
The hydrocarbon-rich Gulf states play a significant role in supplying the energy that fuels economic growth and declines in poverty rates. This role is especially pronounced across the Asian continent and the Pacific, where fossil fuels account for 85 percent of energy consumption
The evolving roles of the Gulf states in the low-carbon energy transition
Atlantic Council
The war on Lebanon, while selective and impacting some sectors less than others, has left no sector untouched. Niche businesses in the real economy — those small, specialized enterprises that often represent the heart of the community — are more vulnerable than large enterprises
From Struggle to Strength: Lebanons Agro-entrepreneurs in Uncertain Times
Executive
Global tax cooperation and the fight against illicit financial flows (IFFs) have become crucial in international economic governance, especially for African countries. As the global economy becomes more interconnected, base erosion and profit-shifting (BEPS) practices by multinational enterprises (MNEs) have intensified, leading to significant tax revenue losses
Reading of the Week: African Strategies to Combat Illicit Financial Flows
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
In Somalia, climate change disproportionately disrupts agricultural and pastoral livelihoods, driving harmful practices, such as resource overexploitation, which exacerbate conflicts. To address these challenges, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) promotes regenerative agriculture as a part of a broader environmental peacebuilding approach aiming to replace negative coping strategies with sustainable practices for long-term resilience
Cultivating Change: Regenerative Agriculture and Peacebuilding in South-central Somalia
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Despite the prevailing narrative that Africa is falling behind in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), the continent is actually home to half of the world’s mobile money accounts, making it a pioneer in integrating 4IR technology into the financial services industry, according to 4C Group and GSMA.
Transforming the financial services sector in Africa with 4IR technologies
Brookings
Despite heightened focus in the West about dependence on China – and high-level efforts to recalibrate these relations at the strategic level – Europeans’ economic reliance on China has continued to grow in recent years. EU imports from China reached €515.9 billion in 2023, across a wide array of products, many of which are vital to advanced economies.
Reading Of The Week:Material world: How Europe can compete with China in the race for Africas critical minerals
European Council on Foreign Relations
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has not only resurrected the specters of the Korean War in the 1950s and the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s but has also driven a large wedge between Russia and Western nations, creating a rift deeper than any witnessed in recent history. Concurrently, Russia has been forging increasingly strong ties with other nations, including those in the Middle East.
Russias Great Energy Game in the Middle East
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The 2024 BRICS Summit made steady progress on cross-border payments and a new tier of international partners, signaling a shift in how non-Western nations approach financial cooperation. This year’s Summit reveals BRICS’ pragmatic moves toward a diversified global economy – how will shifting alignments influence the international order?
Reflections After the BRICS Summit: Membership, Payment Systems, and What Lies Ahead
Wilson Center
New Israeli legislation, if fully enforced, would prevent the UN Relief and Works Agency from serving Palestinian refugees in the occupied territories. Such a de facto ban would be disastrous. Questions about the agency’s future should wait until after the Gaza war ends.
Keep UNRWA Alive in Gaza and the West Bank
International Crisis Group
In February 2011, a group of teenagers in the southern Syrian city of Daraa spray painted a message on their high school wall, calling for the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to step down. Their arrest set off a chain of events that sparked a countrywide uprising a month later, with Syrians demanding political and economic reforms.
Sanctions on Syria: Irans Economic Gains and the Gulf-U.S. Divide
The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
On October 29, during Saudi Arabia’s annual Future Investment Initiative conference, Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman highlighted the kingdom’s plans for adopting low-carbon sources and renewables while maintaining “preeminence” in the oil sector. Dubbed “Davos in the Desert,” the high-profile conference is one of several events that show influential regional states increasingly prioritizing economic growth and energy diversification
Gulf Energy Transition: Assessing Saudi and Emirati Goals
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
The health impacts of climate change are happening now. This report tells the stories of communities in three countries across Africa. Burkina Faso, Malawi and Somalia were chosen because they are among the African countries most vulnerable to climate change (NDGAIN, 2024). All three countries have recently experienced climate-health events, including heatwaves, cholera outbreaks and tropical cyclones.
Under the weather: Stories from communities on the front lines of climate and health adaptation
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
Situated at the northwest borders of the continent, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, Morocco has established itself as a stable and dynamic economy and a gateway to Africa. A part of the Maghreb and Arab world, the country has for many decades embraced a policy of economic and financial openness, aiming to integrate its economy into global markets
How Africas Youth Can Change Its Destiny - The Case of Morocco
Policy Center For The New South
The Central African Republic (CAR) is highly exposed to the impacts of climate change due to socioecological vulnerabilities and ongoing insecurity. Drivers of vulnerability include the absence of state authority, natural resource mismanagement, and low household and community resilience. Although the security situation has improved in recent years, it remains volatile
Climate, Peace and Security Fact Sheet: Central African Republic
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
COP 29, which will be held in Baku between November 11-22, has been widely trailed as “the finance COP” and it is certainly true that decisions on how funding for mitigation and adaptation in the developing world is to be sourced and allocated will be fundamental to the success of the Conference.
Preparing for COP 29: Seven critical success factors
The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies
Whilst disinformation in politics predates the digital era, “the rapid expansion of access to mobile internet and to social media, combined with big data from platforms such as Facebook, Google and X, enabling the micro-targeting of millions of citizens with different messages for specific demographic groups, or individuals, has dramatically increased the reach and impact of digital disinformation”.
Countering digital disinformation: Opportunities for Europe-Africa collaboration
European Think Tanks Group
Africa has emerged as a pivotal partner in China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI), the maritime dimension of Beijing’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). One of the key footholds for Chinese inroads has been the Mombasa Port, located on Kenya’s south-eastern coast. Mombasa-the largest and busiest port in East Africa-serves as a gateway for landlocked countries in Africa and is central to regional trade.
Significance of Mombasa Port for Chinese outreach in Africa
Observer Research Foundation
Pressure is growing on companies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to accelerate their progress on sustainability. To achieve this will require regional guidelines, materiality assessments and political leadership. While the region faces considerable climate-related challenges, it is endowed with abundant access to solar and wind energy, a ready supply of capital and a long-term focus among many of its governments.
Reading of the Week: Prioritizing Sustainability in MENA. Mapping critical environmental issues for regional businesses
World Economic Forum and Bain & Company
For many years, Israel and Iran maintained an uneasy equilibrium of mutual deterrence and limited hostility. Iran had built up a “forward defense” strategy of allied Arab militias that it was satisfied could deter Israel and would keep the Iranian homeland safe. Israel was worried about this militia network - especially Hezbollah in Lebanon - but largely coexisted with those irritants and figured that neither would launch a major offensive attack.
The Middle Easts changing strategic landscape
Middle East Institute
In 1984, a sea mines act of sabotage, whose attribution remains debated, disrupted navigation across the Red Sea’s gateways - the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. In response to regional requests, a U.S.-led coalition conducted countermeasure operations, restoring safe shipping in the strategic waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.
If the Gaza War Continues, Will the Houthis Mine the Gateways to the Red Sea?
Stimson Center
Highly vulnerable to climate change and already facing significant climate impacts, the countries of East Africa require both domestic and international climate finance to meet their climate goals, adapt to the impacts of climate change and build resilience. This study analyses the public international climate-related development finance reaching Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, the three largest countries in the East Africa region.
Climate finance in East Africa
Danish Institute for International Studies
Ghana, Africa’s largest gold producer, launched its first refinery in August this year. The raw gold will come from the artisanal mining sector mainly because large, predominantly foreign-owned companies supply gold mined in Ghana to refineries outside Ghana in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland and India.
Illegal mining digs up multiple problems in Ghana
Enhancing Africa's response to transnational organised crime
Using panel data from a large group of developing economies and a Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator, we examine the effects of trade and other factors on female labor-force participation and wage employment. We focus particularly on comparing the effects of trade openness in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
Trade And Women In The Labor Market: How Different Is MENA From Other Regions?
Policy Center for the New South
On October 16, the European Union (EU) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are set to convene their first-ever summit in Brussels, marking a historic milestone in forging a strategic partnership between these two influential blocs. This inaugural summit underscores the mutual ommitment to enhancing economic, political, and security ties, setting the stage for a collaborative future.
Reading of the Week: Enhancing EU-Gulf Strategic Relations: An Analytical and Foresight-Driven Policy Framework
Brussels International Center
The digital revolution is not happening in a historical vacuum. It unfolds within a framework of confrontation or collusion between market forces and government forces. Depending on the market power that companies can exercise, the digital transition will have different impacts on income distributions between capital, labor, and land, as well as on income distribution within capital itself.
Capital, Labor, and Land in the Digital Transition
Policy Center for the New South
Despite the existence of widely recognized international frameworks, a gendered approach to addressing transnational organized crime is generally lacking. That women are often the victims of organized crime —human trafficking is a good example— is a widely recognized phenomenon. But responses to organized crime often overlook women’s roles within criminal groups, and how they are impacted by illicit economies in ways that are different from men. They also fail to notice how women are agents in building effective responses to organized crime.
The missing piece of the puzzle. Women and organized crime
Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
This report marks the first in a series of annual tracking publications commissioned by the COP28 Presidency to assess progress towards two key goals of the outcome of the First Global Stocktake: the tripling of renewable energy and the doubling of energy efficiency by 2030.
Delivering on the UAE Consensus: Tracking progress toward tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030
International Renewable Energy Agency
The longstanding shadow conflict between Iran and Israel has entered a new, more dangerous phase of open confrontation. For decades, both nations engaged in covert operations and proxy warfare in what was known as the “campaign between wars.” Hamas’ devastating attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, upended this dynamic.
Will Iran Withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?
Texas National Security Review
Since the Israel-Gaza war erupted one year ago, the Middle East has been gripped by escalating conflict, humanitarian disaster and regional destabilisation. Despite ongoing international efforts to broker a ceasefire, tensions remain high.
Amid this turmoil, key regional players remain deeply concerned about an uncontrollable escalation. Saudi Arabia, in particular, finds itself in a delicate position: it seeks to maintain solidarity with the Palestinian cause while keeping perspectives for a pragmatic engagement with Israel on the table.
In Light of Regional Escalation: Saudi Arabias Not Alone Approach
Brussels International Center
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a game-changer for Africa's economic development, and Ghana is uniquely positioned to reap the rewards. With a thriving digital economy and proactive government policies, Ghana is ready to embrace the opportunities presented by the AfCFTA's Protocol on Digital Trade.
Advancing AfCFTA digital trade implementation in Ghana
Overseas Development Institute
Reducing carbon emissions entails a fundamental shift in energy production and consumption. It requires significantly more mineral products, such as copper and lithium, to manufacture low-carbon and mobility products. However, accessing the critical raw materials (CRMs) and related cleantech products needed to keep global warming under the 1.5°C threshold is increasingly challenging.
Developing Green Value Chains: Collaborating for a Mutually Beneficial EU-Africa Partnership
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Sudan’s civil war disrupted the political transition and work of the UN’s former special political mission UNITAMS, forcing it to depart the country. Taking a step back from the current conflict, this report reflects on the Security Council’s attempt to support the protection of civilians in country in the few years preceding the war.
Civilian Protection in Sudan: Emerging Lessons from UNITAMS
Stimson
Since 2021, the Russian Orthodox Church has established an expanded presence in Africa, in competition with the Greek Orthodox Church in Alexandria, Egypt. Facing condemnation from the West since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has sought to expand its influence in Africa with soft power in addition to a military presence in the form of first the Wagner Group and now Africa Corps.
Reading of the Week: Russias Influence in Africa - The Role of the Russian Orthodox Churc
Foreign Policy Research Institute
In September 2024, authorities in Benin detained the country’s former sports minister and a prominent businessman for allegedly plotting a coup against the West African nation’s president, Patrice Talon. Had a putsch materialized, Benin would have joined a growing list of African countries to have experienced a military coup over the past four years.
Civilian Support for Military Coups Isnt a Bug - Its a Feature
Baker Institute for Public Policy
L’Inde, pays promoteur du mouvement des non-alignés et ardent défenseur de l’anticolonialisme, a manifesté sa solidarité pour la cause palestinienne lors des premières décennies du conflit israélo-palestinien. Les événements du 7 octobre 2023 ont toutefois mis en exergue une proximité avec Israël. La relation indo-israélienne, dont le fil rouge est le développement du partenariat de défense, leur est en réalité mutuellement bénéfique.
Le partenariat strategique entre lInde et Israel au XXIeme siècle
La Fondation Méditerranéenne D’études Stratégiques
Several Israeli attacks on Hezbollah communication systems, aerial attacks on its rocket launchers and caches, assassination of much of the movement’s top leadership and now an Israeli ground offensive form a macabre dance with assaults in the form of relentless Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel, as well as a direct Iranian missile attack more recently. The air hangs heavy with threats of retaliation.
The elusive Israeli quest for strategic victory
Fanack
Oman is actively stepping up its coastal security in light of ongoing challenges from the "axis of resistance." The activities of Iran’s allies in its “axis of resistance” have brought into focus the major challenge that Oman has always faced in securing its 3,175 km coastline. Oman’s ability to effectively police its own territorial waters is one half of the problem.
Oman seeks improve its coastal security
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), which replaced AMISOM in 2022, is a UN peacekeeping mission with the mandate to support the Somali Security Forces (SSF) in combating al-Shabaab and securing the country. As ATMIS is set to conclude by December 2024, discussions are underway for a follow-on mission, the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), to ensure continued support and prevent a security vacuum.
ATMIS Transition and Post-ATMIS Security Arrangements in Somalia
International Peace Institute
An estimated ten thousand cattle rustlers attacked an Eastern Equatoria community on 23 April, killing 32 people, stealing 16 000 head of cattle from herders - and abducting over 100 women and children. The abduction of women and children during cattle raids is fairly common along the South Sudan-Ethiopia border.
Cultural practices and state weaknesses drive South Sudan-Ethiopia abductions
Enhancing Africa's response to transnational organised Crime
Next year marks 25 years since the adoption of landmark United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). A persistent question in preparing for this event is how Security Council members that support WPS can make sure their efforts lead to changes on the ground. This is central in an era of pushback against women’s rights and gender equality in many parts of the world.
Reading of the Week: Time to Push for Next Step on Women, Peace and Security: Ensuring Positive Impact for Women in Conflict
International Peace Institute
The Africa-Europe adaptation partnership is facing significant challenges, with slow progress on the adaptation finance agenda at the heart of the issue. The optimistic rhetoric of “Two Unions, a Joint Vision” from the 6th European Union-African Union Summit in 2022 failed to reflect the underlying tensions. Africa’s frustration is growing due to the widening finance gap and lack of transparency, while the European Union appears increasingly fatigued by Africa’s criticism
How the EU Can Reset Its Adaptation Partnership with Africa
Instituto Affari Internazionali
Recently, the IDF began a ground operation in southern Lebanon, following the addition of “safely returning northern residents to their homes” to Israel’s war objectives. In this document we analyze potential achievements of a land manoeuvre in Lebanon and alternatives implementation.
The IDF Ground Operation in Lebanon. Goals, Alternatives and Consequences
The Institute for National Security Studies
Amid the turmoil, key regional players remain deeply concerned about an uncontrollable escalation. Saudi Arabia, in particular, finds itself in a delicate position: it seeks to maintain solidarity with the Palestinian cause while keeping perspectives for a pragmatic engagement with Israel on the table. Hence, the Israel-Gaza war presents a dilemma for Saudi Arabia, threatening its national, geostrategic and economic ambitions.
In Light of Regional Escalation: Saudi Arabias Not Alone Approach
Brussels International Center
A new public opinion poll finds the Iranian population in overwhelming, if contradictory, agreement: a majority say the country’s economic problems stem from the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy decisions, while citizens favor a continued Iranian military presence in the Middle East, approve of a new nuclear agreement with Western powers, and seek to normalize diplomatic relations with the US.
Key takeaways from new polling on Irans foreign policy and regional role
Middle East Institute
The long-running feud between Libya’s competing authorities over the Central Bank has flared up again, threatening an economic crisis that could lead to unrest. The parties should press ahead with UN-backed mediation to achieve a resolution.
Getting past Libyas Central Bank standoff
International Crisis Group
Sierra Leone’s Atlantic coastline stretches for 400 km and once contained abundant marine resources crucial to the nation’s economy. The fishing industry contributes up to 12% of the country’s national GDP, says the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and employs approximately 500 000 people out of a population of eight million – reflecting its significance in supporting livelihoods and sustaining the economy. Fish is also the primary source of protein for about 80% of Sierra Leone’s population.
Fighting the invisible fleet. Sierra Leones battle against IUU fishing
Enhancing Africa's Response to Transnational Organised Crime
Comme au Togo et au Gabon, la transition qui a eu lieu au Tchad de 2021 à 2024 a abouti à une succession dynastique.
Mahamat Idriss Déby a succédé à son père Idriss Déby Itno, qui fut président du Tchad de 1996 à 2021. Alors que la majorité des Tchadiens espéraient une alternance et un changement de gouvernance, le « système Déby » est parvenu à se maintenir.
De Déby à Déby. Les recettes d une succession dynastique réussie (2021-2024)
Institut Français des Relations Internationales
The 2024 BRICS summit, to be held in Kazan, Russia, from October 22-24, will take place amid an increasingly tense geopolitical atmosphere. The crises in the Middle East and Ukraine are likely to dominate the agenda, as member states explore the future of the alliance and their nations’ roles within it.
South-Africa faces new dynamics at BRICS summit
Geopolitical Intelligence Services
The Security and Development Dialogue on Environmental Crime, held virtually on 18 July 2024, was the first in a series of meetings to discuss how the challenges and weaknesses in existing responses to environmental crime can be addressed through the multilateral system. This series, hosted with financial support from the European Union through the ECO-SOLVE project, provides a unique platform for stakeholders from diverse backgrounds to share perspectives on the complex and evolving challenges posed by environmental crime.
Security and development dialogue on environmental crime
Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
The bilateral relationship between Morocco and India has passed through three distinct phases, culminating in the current stage of strategic partnership. Initially marked by diplomatic formalities and limited engagement, the relationship gradually transitioned into a period of economic and cultural exchange, laying the groundwork for more substantial collaboration.
This Policy Paper analyzes the historical trajectory of Morocco-India relations, tracing the development from these early interactions to the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Morocco-India partnership: Field of strength to be explored
Policy Center For The New South
Despite the operational and intelligence successes of Israel in Lebanon in September 2024, a troubling question hangs over the country: Who bears responsibility for the failure to anticipate the Oct. 7 Hamas assault that led also to the war in Lebanon and on other fronts? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his intelligence chiefs appear locked in a blame game, with each side offering conflicting accounts of whether warnings were issued and, if so, why they were not acted upon
Reading of the Week: Israels Oct. 7 early warning failure: Who is to blame?
Texas National Security Review
Yemen is experiencing brutal cycles of drought and deluge, a dangerous combination for a people already facing severe food insecurity. Water scarcity and desertification are among the most complex challenges facing Yemen. The country suffers from chronic water shortages and a high rate of desertification, not to mention natural disasters like floods, droughts, and changing weather patterns such as rising temperatures
From palms to sands. How climate change is destroying green Yemen
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
The continued lack of decisive action from Iran, while Israel steadily “salami sliced" the leadership of the Axis of Resistance, risked diminishing Iran’s influence in the region and over its partners and proxies
Why Iran Struck Israel Despite the Risks
Stimson
Absent rapid reform, Tunisia’s economic policies will plunge the country into an abyss. Already, a financial crisis is brewing. This is the worrisome outcome of the path the country has followed since President Kais Saied’s power grab in July 2021. The path is underpinned by two main aspects of economic policy.
Tunisias Economy in the Eye of the Storm
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Avec une croissance de 3,4% par an au cours de la période 1980-2019, la Mauritanie a enregistré de bonnes performances économiques au cours des quatre décennies précédant la période de Covid-19, qui l’ont fait passer au rang de pays à « revenu intermédiaire de la tranche inférieure ».
Impulser la transformation de la Mauritanie par la réforme de l'architecture financière mondiale
African Development Bank Group
Burkina Faso, a low-income country in the Sahel region of Africa, has improved many of its human development indicators in recent decades, including reducing child mortality rates. This has been achieved in part through investing to improve nutrition and women’s access to health care through the Universal Health Insurance Scheme
Improving food security and child health in Burkina Faso in a changing climate
The London School of Economics and Political Science
After winning India’s general elections in June by a slender majority, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has encountered deepening challenges in the Middle East – a region that generously credited him many foreign policy successes in the last decade. During his first two terms in office (2014-19 and 2019-24), Modi’s renewed focus and proactive approach toward the Middle East
Modi 3.0: India Confronts New Realities in a Chaotic Middle East
The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
In the post-Cold War era, the Middle East and Africa were defined largely by their geopolitical significance. The West, especially the United States and Europe, engaged with these regions through a lens focused on security, energy supply, and strategic alliances. However, this dynamic has shifted significantly over the last two decades.
Africa and the Middle East: The Shift from Geopolitics to Geoeconomics
Policy Center for the New South
This policy brief presents the gender representations theoretical framework to analyse how and why gender is used in the propaganda and politico-military strategies of violent extremist movements. It argues that violent extremist ideologies break down in-group and out-group collective identities into individual “good” and “bad” gender identities, or gender representations.
Why Gender matters in violent extremist propaganda strategy
International Centre for Counter Terrorism
A year after Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack in southern Israel, the Middle East is on the cusp of all-out war. Since Israel launched its military response in Gaza, the Biden administration has tried both to broker a ceasefire there and to manage the risk of regional escalation. But the lack of a Gaza deal has fuelled hostilities elsewhere, and today the regional containment effort is at grave risk.
Reading of the Week: A Wider Middle East War Can Still Be Stopped
International Crisis Group
China’s mega Belt and Road Initiative, once President Xi Jinping’s flagship project, does not lack leadership support. Yet, 11 years after its inception, the project has yet to take off as envisioned. Meanwhile, the global trade and investment strategy of the United Arab Emirates – a country of just 11 million people – is providing an alternative vision
The UAEs Network-Based Vision for Economic Integration
The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
On September 30, after a devastating ten-day stretch culminating in Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati announced his government’s support for implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701. The 2006 resolution was endorsed by Beirut, but the state never implemented its most important provision
In Lebanon, a Rare Moment of Opportunity
The Washington Institute
Population mobility in the Sahel is a multifaceted phenomenon. Economic factors play an important role, with many seeking better livelihoods, higher wages, and improved living standards in response to widespread poverty, unemployment, and limited job opportunities. The large scale of internal mobility reflects opportunities and challenges for migrants and their families
Population Mobility in the Sahel: Implications for Social Protection Programs and Systems
The World Bank
This report examines the record and participation of the African Group at the UN Human Rights Council from 2006 to 2022. The study considers 450 votes and 5 850 voting decisions, with the focus on the African states’ records on country-specific resolutions and civil and political rights. It uses five categories to classify the African Group’s commitment to human rights
African states on the UN Human Rights Council, 2006-2022
South African Institute of International Affairs
This report details the key trends and developments in human smuggling in Libya in 2023. In large degree, the year was one of continuity with the patterns seen in 2022. Over the course of the year, for example, 77 470 migrants departed the Libyan coast, only marginally higher than 2022’s figure of 75 500
Libya: Hybrid human smuggling system prove resilient
Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
In rural South Sudan, markets for food, labour and land are expanding, and women’s workloads are increasing. In the twentieth century, most rural women had two main labour burdens: they produced food for home consumption on family farms; and at home provided life-giving labour, like child-rearing, emotional support, cooking and cleaning. These two labour burdens were unpaid. But now, they have a third labour burden.
Reading of the Week: The triple burden: women selling their labour in South-Sudan
Rift Valley Institute
The crises of the last few years have split the states of the Middle East and North Africa into winners and losers. While major energy-exporting countries flourished as hydrocarbon prices rose, others have been hit by a succession of shocks that include rising import prices, capital outflows, and falling growth. Among the region’s faltering economies, Egypt and Tunisia have attracted particular concern in Europe, because of the risk that economic distress could lead to instability and irregular migration directly affecting European countries
Value for money. Why and how Europeans should support the failing economies of Egypt and Tunisia
European Council on Foreign Relations
À l’issue du 15e sommet des BRICS, qui s’est tenu du 22 au 24 août 2023 à Johannesburg (Afrique du Sud), il a été décidé d’inviter six nouveaux pays à rejoindre cette alliance : l’Argentine, l’Égypte, l’Iran, les Émirats arabes unis, l’Arabie saoudite et l’Éthiopie. En 2024, tous ces pays à l’exception de l’Argentine sont devenus membres des BRICS+.
Il est probable que l’adhésion de ces nouveaux pays, outre des avantages politiques et économiques, contribue à leur développement scientifique et technologique.
La Russie et les nouveaux membres des BRICS. Opportunités et limites d'une coopération scientifique et technologique
Institut Français des Relations Internationales
Yemen’s microfinance sector is undergoing a radical transformation. Despite initial success in empowering small businesses, the ongoing conflict has exposed deep vulnerabilities. Competition between the fractured central banks has driven a surge in microfinance bank (MFB) licenses. While this promises to expand financial inclusion, it raises serious concerns about long-term sustainability and financial stability.
Enhancing the Role of Microfinance Banks for Sustainable Impact in Yemen
Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies
With the U.S. presidential election heating up, jobs and taxes have become hot topics on the campaign trail. Employment initiatives and tax reform remain salient policy issues in the Gulf too, though the underlying political economy dynamics differ. In July, Oman’s government announced more than 30 new professions that non-Omanis would be prohibited from working in as of September 2. Meanwhile, a draft law on personal income tax – the first ever for a Gulf Cooperation Council country – is making its way through Oman’s Parliament
The bread-and-butter issues of jobs and taxes in the Gulf
The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
During the last year and a half, Iran has reportedly reactivated and accelerated activities at two former Amad Plan sites that were key to Iran’s development of nuclear weapons during its crash nuclear weapons program in the early 2000s, according to Western intelligence officials who decided to release officially the information to the Institute on the condition of remaining anonymous. The two sites, Sanjarian and Golab Dareh, were central to the Amad Plan’s development of a sophisticated multipoint initiation (MPI) system.
Renewed activity at the Sanjarian Amad site
Institute for Science and International Security
L'Indice 2021/2022 sur les femmes, la paix et la sécurité classe la Mauritanie au 157e rang sur 170 pays, soit le 13e pire rang mondial, en termes de statut et d'autonomisation des femmes. Une des raisons importantes en est la généralisation de la violence basée sur le genre rendue possible en partie par les tabous sociétaux et la faiblesse du système de protection et d'application de la loi
Bien que contre lusage de la force physique sur les femmes, les Mauritaniens estiment que la violence conjugale est une affaire privée
Afro Barometer
Protests in Kenya began on June 18, triggered by the country’s treasury announcing a set of revenue-raising measures.
The new levies included a 16 percent sales tax on bread, a 25 percent duty on cooking oil and the introduction of an
“eco tax” on several basic products. The measures were approved in the Kenyan National Assembly on June 20
Dysfunction and disillusionment in Kenya
Geopolitical Intelligence Services AG
In July, Iran and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) resumed diplomatic relations after eight years of a bilateral nadir. The agreement was already signed in October 2023, but the new Iranian ambassador, Hassan Shah Hosseini, was only received by SAF’s chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who dispatched a Sudanese ambassador to Tehran more than half a year later.
A New Old Player in Town: Reconciliation between Sudan and Iran and its Regional Implications
Brussels International Center
Relentless urbanisation often has a heavy environmental cost, arising from activities such as the consumption of fossil resources to fuel industrialisation and infrastructure development. The resulting surge in greenhouse gas emissions is one of the biggest contributors to climate change, which leads to frequent extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and heatwaves. Such events pose an existential threat to human life, infrastructure, and economic stability.
The Promise of Bioeconomy as a Solution for Sustainability
The Observer Research Foundation
Africa’s large reserves of critical minerals could boost continental industrialisation, while helping global measures against climate change. However, geopolitical tensions between the US-led Group of Seven (G7) and China are adding to some of the structural factors hindering African efforts to move up critical mineral value chains. This policy insight compares the role of Chinese actors in the DRC and Zimbabwe’s mineral sectors with emerging counter-initiatives led by G7 partners.
Africas critical minerals : Boosting development amid geopolitical challenges
The South African Institute of International Affairs
Saudi Arabia’s ‘Vision 2030’ set in motion a large-scale, mainly state-led and top-down modernization agenda to diversify the Saudi economy beyond oil, develop a new national development ethos, reshape Saudi identity and introduce greater lifestyle options while maintaining consolidated rule in the hands of the Al Saud. The envisaged transformation is fully in line with the vested interests of the Saudi monarchy and much of the business elite, as well as some of the country’s younger generations.
Drivers and strategic puzzles of Saudi modernization
Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
Youth form a distinct social group in Yemeni political culture. After experiencing marginalization and manipulation during the era of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the 2011 revolution gave hope for a new era of inclusion in which political parties would take Yemeni youth seriously as stakeholders and decision-makers on senior committees. However, the war that erupted following the Houthi takeover of Sana’a in 2014 erased gains made by youth during the transition period and led to divisions between youth activists inside and outside Yemen.
The impact of war on youth activism in Yemen
Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies
In July, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the war in Gaza and the future of the Middle East. Afterward, Harris stressed her commitment to a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians-in her words, “the only path that ensures Israel remains a secure Jewish and democratic state, and one that ensures Palestinians can finally realize the freedom, security, and prosperity that they rightly deserve.”
She is hardly alone in this sentiment.
A Two-State Solution That Can Work
Foreign Affairs
This report offers a contemporary analysis of the operations, the organization, the involvement in illicit economies and the financing of the Anglophone separatist armed groups in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon, as well as their relationships with civilian communities.
Reading of the Week: Non-State Armed Groups and Illicit Economies in West Africa: Anglophone separatists
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project
Le Bénin est confronté à des défis environnementaux majeurs liés à la pollution. Les principaux facteurs contribuant à cette situation préoccupante sont la croissance démographique rapide, l'urbanisation galopante et le développement industriel non réglementé.
Les Béninois restent sur leur soif en matière de lutte contre la pollution
Afro Barometer
This working paper develops a political sociology of roadblocks to demonstrate how roadblocks in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) contribute to the production and reproduction of public authority beyond their spatial and regulatory effects and while transcending particular claimants to authority.
Roadblocks at the rhythm of the country : a political sociology of roadblocks in DR Congo
Danish Institute for International Studies
The paper presents an overview of key migration trends in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. It discusses the domestic implications of an increase in migrant arrivals and analyses how governments have approached this issue.
Maghreb migrations: How North Africa and Europe can work together on sub-Saharan migration
European Council on Foreign Relations
Too often when disasters strike, structural impediments as well as inadequate political will and resources deadlock and disable the United Nations (UN) from coherently and effectively responding. Recent worldwide shocks with extraordinary humanitarian impacts, notably the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022), the cost-of-living crisis (2022–), and Russia’s resurgent invasion of Ukraine (2022–) have prompted calls for the Organization to play a more pronounced role in coordinating aid at the same time as other demands for UN reform have looked to confront injustices in its structure and operations.
Complex Global Shocks, Emergency Platforms, and United Nations Reform
Stimson
China’s recent third plenum highlights the Communist Party’s commitment to guiding the country’s economy through ongoing global tensions and domestic challenges by focusing on sustainable, high-quality growth fueled by advanced technologies. Despite a robust economic performance and a leading role in global green energy, China’s solar industry faces significant turbulence from overexpansion, fierce competition, and external tariffs.
Chinas Expanding Solar Footprint in the Gulf
The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
For the Middle East, the energy-climate dilemma is causing a shift in strategy. Oil-producing countries along the Persian Gulf are at the epicenter of the energy transition, but its slow pace suggests difficult times in coming decades rather than in the next year or two. Economic risks from softening oil demand loom largest, but others — including the potential reduction in strategic importance to Washington and rebalancing of domestic social contracts — add further exposures.
Middle East Outlook: The Energy Transition Roils the Land of Oil
Baker Institute for Public Policy
The ongoing conflict in Yemen has had devastating effects on the economy, fracturing it along the lines of the warring parties. The country is effectively split between the internationally recognized government, which theoretically controls much of the south but is actually based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the Houthi rebels, who hold sway over the north, including the capital, Sanaa.
Engaging Yemens Private Sector in Peacebuilding Amidst Ongoing Conflict
Manara Magazine
Israel should maintain its traditional position of opposing the establishment of an independent nuclear fuel cycle in Saudi Arabia, given the negative strategic ramifications of such a move. Specifically, Israel should insist on applying the nuclear “gold standard,” as was the case with the United Arab Emirates.
The Proposal for a Regional Nuclear Fuel Bank in Saudi Arabia
The Institute for National Security Studies
A U.S.-led peace initiative to end Sudan’s brutal civil war took place in Geneva over the last two weeks. But despite invitations and extensive international pressure, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) declined to send a delegation to Switzerland altogether, while the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) sent a delegation.
Reading of the Week: Without Sudans Warring Parties in Geneva, Whats Next for Peace Talks?
United States Institute of Peace
Somalia is experiencing significant impacts of climate change, including higher air temperatures, increased evaporation and more variable inter annual rainfall, all of which lead to more frequent and severe droughts and floods. These changes have direct consequences for the estimated 72 per cent of the national population that relies on farming and pastoralism.
From conflict to collaboration: Co-funding environmental peacebuilding in South-Central Somalia
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Le contexte du Burkina Faso se caractérise par une crise sécuritaire depuis 2015, une crise humanitaire et alimentaire et une instabilité politique, affectant ainsi les perspectives économiques du pays. Le Burkina Faso, affecté par les changements climatiques, a une économie peu diversifiée et vulnérable aux chocs externes.
Rapport Pays 2024 - Burkina Faso - Impulser la transformation du Burkina Faso par la réforme de larchitecture financière mondiale
African Development Bank Group