President Obama's weeklong visit to three African countries should reinforce trade and political ties and address some sentiments that the continent has been overlooked by the White House, writes CFR's John Campbell.

John Campbell examines escalating violence in Nigeria.

Robert Mugabe, age eighty-nine and in failing health, has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980. Zimbabwe faces numerous potential scenarios once he dies or, highly unlikely, if he is defeated in the upcoming summer elections.

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John Campbell explains Boko Haram's presence in Nigeria and potential implications for U.S. foreign policy.

President Obama's weeklong visit to three African countries should reinforce trade and political ties and address some sentiments that the continent has been overlooked by the White House, writes CFR's John Campbell.

With concise historical analysis and forward-looking prescriptions, Pathways to Freedom offers an authoritative and accessible look at what countries must do to build durable and prosperous democracies—and what the United States and others can do to help.

In this chapter preview from Pathways to Freedom: Political and Economic Lessons From Democratic Transitions, John Campbell explores Nigeria's transition, which, though successful in moving from military to civilian governance, has perpetuated a political system marked by corruption and patronage and an economy dominated by oil.

In this chapter preview from Pathways to Freedom: Political and Economic Lessons From Democratic Transitions, John Campbell explores South Africa's remarkable transition to nonracial democracy alongside its failure to extend economic opportunity to most blacks.

John Campbell examines escalating violence in Nigeria.

Robert Mugabe, age eighty-nine and in failing health, has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980. Zimbabwe faces numerous potential scenarios once he dies or, highly unlikely, if he is defeated in the upcoming summer elections.

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John Campbell examines Nigeria's ongoing problems: an Islamic insurgency, a security crackdown, and sectarian clashes.

A state of emergency in Nigeria's northeast signals that Islamist violence and the government's brutal response have rendered the region ungovernable, says CFR's John Campbell.

"Ansaru's new salience represents another, serious challenge to Nigeria's stability," writes 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 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.

As Zimbabwe moves closer to elections, the prospect for political violence grows. CFR Senior Fellow John Campbell argues that coordination on Zimbabwe policy can be the basis of a stronger overall U.S.-South Africa relationship to help promote free, fair and credible elections.

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.