France says it will withdraw from Mali once an African peacekeeping force is in place. To keep Islamists at bay, the United States is considering increasing its military presence in the region. A better approach is to focus on fixing the governance issues that fuel radicalism to begin with, says John Campbell.

The radical Islamist group Boko Haram has contributed to widespread and deadly violence in Nigeria, but the government sercurity services are also at fault, write CFR's John Campbell and Asch Harwood.

The miners' strike reveals the growing frustration over the political bargain that ended apartheid but did little to ease systematic economic inequalities, writes CFR's John Campbell.

The exploitation of Congo's vast resources by competing elites and militaries for personal enrichment promotes insecurity and stymies development. Only very strong Western and African public outcry and a change in China's nonintervention approach might open the possibilities for change.

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France says it will withdraw from Mali once an African peacekeeping force is in place. To keep Islamists at bay, the United States is considering increasing its military presence in the region. A better approach is to focus on fixing the governance issues that fuel radicalism to begin with, says John Campbell.

The miners' strike reveals the growing frustration over the political bargain that ended apartheid but did little to ease systematic economic inequalities, writes CFR's John Campbell.

John Campbell argues that converging views on Zimbabwe provide an opportunity for the United States and South Africa to improve their bilateral relations. Both countries want a peaceful and credible transition in Zimbabwe. Working together on a coordinated approach that would pressure the Mugabe regime to ensure free, fair, and credible elections could launch a U.S. partnership with South Africa on other regional African issues.

John Campbell examines religion and security in Nigeria in the Routledge Handbook of Religion and Security.

Weak governance and radical jihadists are at the heart of Mali's crisis, says CFR's John Campbell, who cautions that any intervention should focus on humanitarian aid and diplomacy, not the security threat.

John Campbell says that as oil-rich Nigeria continues to suffer from decades-long dysfunctional governance and tensions between the Christian South and the Muslim North are rising, Nigeria is in need of creative American diplomacy.

John Campbell argues, "Only genuine reform of Nigeria's political economy can pull it back from the brink."

In this Markets and Democracy Brief, CFR’s John Campbell and Asch Harwood note the potential dangers of elections in weak and divided African countries, but they urge continued U.S. support for elections because Africans themselves embrace them.

John Campbell says diplomacy and democracy--not firepower--is the best way to undermine Nigeria's growing Islamist threat.

John Campbell discusses Nelson Mandela's contributions to South Africa.

John Campbell states, "Rather than resolving the generations-long Sudan crisis, Juba's independence on July 9 merely opens a new chapter in a familiar, complicated story."

South Sudan's independence July 9 could encourage secession efforts elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, but elites in those countries will likely stymie those attempts at challenging colonial borders, at least for now.

John Campbell and Asch Harwood discuss the challenges facing Nigeria's newly elected president, Goodluck Jonathan.

Hostilities in Sudan might be relieved by a deal hammered out by former South African president Thabo Mbeki, but ethnic and religious divides, resource battles, and looming southern independence remain contentious issues, says CFR's John Campbell.

John Campbell says both Norway and Nigeria offer lessons for the Arab Spring countries on how to handle oil revenues.

John Campbell argues that the elections in Nigeria reveal the need for the United States and its allies to reach out to Nigeria's North.

The apparent victory of incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria's presidential elections brings charges of fraud and ballot stuffing, similar to past flawed polls, writes CFR's John Campbell. It also deepens concerns about heightened rifts between Christians and Muslims.

John Campbell and Asch Harwood ask, "Can the new government in Abuja overcome Nigeria's many challenges?"

John Campbell says clarifying the distinction between the north and the south in Nigeria is relevant to understanding the debates and conflicts around who will be Nigeria's next president.