Tuesday, May 14, 2024
The Latest @ USIP: African Youth Ambassadors on Youth, Peace and Security
The youth, peace and security agenda is relatively new for many parts of Africa, where young people are often absent from institutions and leadership positions that have a major impact on their lives. Several of the African Union’s youth ambassadors explore how the recent U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit offers a chance to build partnerships — especially at the local level — that promote youth-led peacebuilding efforts, as well as how African countries can draw on U.S. experience in addressing some of the major societal challenges facing African youth, such as violent extremism, unemployment and access to services like education and health care.
The Latest @ USIP: Security in the Taiwan Strait
Taiwan represents the most dangerous issue in the broader U.S.-China relationship, as well as the most likely flashpoint for a war in East Asia. But while the security situation in the Taiwan Strat has grown more strained in recent years, the prospect of conflict is not inevitable. Scott Kastner, a professor for government and politics at the University of Maryland, College Park, says the immense cost of a possible war remains a major deterrent — but to maintain a peaceful status quo, the U.S.-China relationship cannot devolve into a new Cold War that makes Chinese leaders feel less invested in the current global order.
The Latest @ USIP: Women’s Role in the South Sudan Peace Process
When South Sudan achieved independence in 2011, many South Sudanese women hoped it would lead to improvements on gender and security issues. In the years since, recurring civil conflict has unfortunately delayed these aspirations — but as with the independence movement, women have been at the forefront of the country’s resurgent peace process. Rita Lopidia, executive director of the Eve Organization for Women Development and the 2020 recipient of USIP’s Women Building Peace Award, discusses how South Sudan’s national action plan on women, peace and security helped guide women’s involvement in the revitalized peace agreement as well as how her organization is working with both men and women on gender and peacebuilding issues.
Ask the Experts: How Can Renewed U.S.-African Partnerships Counter Terrorist Threats?
Too often, the United States and its partners have failed to prioritize Africa in global counterterrorism efforts — leaving the door open for violent extremist movements to further destabilize the continent. The U.S. Institute of Peace’s Andrew Cheatham spoke with retired Lt. Gen. Michael Nagata, former director of strategy for the National Counterterrorism Center and a current member of USIP's Senior Military Advisory Group, about the evolution of violent extremism in Africa.
U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Amplifies African Civil Society Voices
At the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the United States made a point to listen and support Africans’ solutions to the continent’s security, humanitarian and development challenges. While the summit did help deepen ties with African leaders, it also offered a platform for African civil society leaders to make their voices heard in the conversation. USIP spoke with several participants of the summit’s Civil Society Forum to discuss the importance of peacebuilding for everyday Africans, the need to amplify marginalized voices in African politics and public life, and what the summit can do to help open up African societies to a more diverse array of contributions from their citizens.
Ask the Experts: What’s Next for U.S. Policy in Africa
USIP’s Andrew Cheatham spoke with Ambassador Johnnie Carson — the newly named special presidential representative for U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit implementation — to discuss the Biden administration’s post-summit goals, what African leaders hope to take away from the talks, and why this moment offers a unique chance to reframe the U.S. approach toward Africa.
In Douar Hicher, Tunisian Women Are Breaking the Cycle of Violent Extremism
Since ISIS emerged in 2011, an estimated 5,000 young men from Tunisia have joined violent extremist organizations in Syria, Iraq and Libya — the highest per-capita population of foreign fighters in the world.
The Latest @ USIP: Russia's Influence in the Middle East and North Africa
When Russia intervened in the Syrian civil conflict in 2015, many analysts believed it marked Russia’s return as an influential actor in the Middle East and North Africa. But the war in Ukraine — and the Russian military’s lackluster performance in that war — have since altered Russia’s standing in the region. Eugene Rumer, director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, discusses how Russia has expanded its presence in the Middle East and North Africa in recent years, how the invasion of Ukraine has affected Russia’s geopolitical goals, and trends that might affect Moscow’s commitments there going forward — from overextended military resources to global oil prices.
The Latest: Africa’s Coups and Transitions
In recent years, a spate of coups throughout Africa has threatened the continent’s peace, stability and development. While coup leaders often cite popular discontent to justify their actions, post-coup environments in Africa have only exacerbated longstanding issues with security and governance. Without a path for a democratic transition back to civilian rule, many countries controlled by coup regimes are risking further fragility that could spread beyond their borders. As the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit unfolds, USIP’s Chris Kwaja, Joseph Sany and Susan Stigant look at how several post-coup transitions have unfolded in Africa — as well as how the summit can help get them back on track.
The Latest @ USIP: Africa’s Security Challenges
African countries are grappling with a wide range of cross-national security threats, from illicit trafficking to extremist groups such as Boko Haram and al-Shabab. At the same time, China and Russia have expanded their involvement in Africa while U.S. engagement has waned in recent years. Retired Admiral James Foggo, who served as commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, discusses his experience working with African security partners, explores ways the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit can bring the continent back to the forefront of U.S. foreign policy, and explains how expanded NATO-African Union cooperation opens doors for engagement with all 54 African countries at once.