home > by region > africa > horn of africa > Academic Module: Avoiding Conflict in the Horn of Africa: U.S. Policy Toward Ethiopia and Eritrea
Email
September 2007
| Author: | Terrence Lyons, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University |
|---|
This module features teaching notes by George Mason University professor Terrence Lyons, author of Avoiding Conflict in the Horn of Africa, along with other resources to supplement the text. In the report, Lyons presents a full picture of what is going on in the Horn of Africa and suggests what the United States needs to do to address the multiple challenges to stability.
What is a CFR Academic Module?
Academic Modules—featuring teaching notes by the authors of CFR publications—are designed to assist educators in creating or supplementing a course syllabus. The modules are customized packages built around a primary CFR text, such as a book or report, and include teaching notes; additional readings; video, audio, and transcripts of CFR meetings; Foreign Affairs articles; and other online resources. Use of these modules is free of charge. They may be used in part or in their entirety.
December 2006
Council Special Report No. 21
This report presents a full picture of what is going on in the Horn of Africa and suggests what the United States needs to do to address the multiple challenges to stability.
Graphics and multimedia explainers on the foreign policy, national security, and international financial issues of the day.
Current political and economic issues succinctly explained.
Updated: November 1, 2007
A profile of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a separatist group operating in eastern Ethiopia.
May 3, 2007
The creation of a new U.S. military command for Africa signals the continent’s growing strategic importance and its many development challenges.
February 16, 2007
The process of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of former combatants features in most of Africa’s post-conflict reconstruction programs. Though DDR programs have improved, problems with reintegration persist.
Updated: September 1, 2009
The African Union succeeded the old Organization for African Unity (OAU) in 2002. Since then, the new institution has struggled to reform governing bodies inherited from the OAU while shouldering challenging new peacekeeping missions.
September 2007
From Mugabe’s Zimbabwe to conflict in the Horn, Africa has moved off the back burner of U.S. foreign policy. To address the growing importance of this region, the Council on Foreign Relations and Foreign Affairs, the Council’s flagship magazine, present Beyond Humanitarianism, a citizen’s guide to deconstructing the complex issues and conflicts on the African continent and clarifying what’s at stake for the United States in Africa’s future.
February 2007
This report is a collaborative effort drawn up in a response to a request from Congress to examine the situation in Somalia, namely options for diplomacy.
January 2006
Task Force Report No. 56
This Council-sponsored Independent Task Force finds that Africa is of growing strategic importance to the United States in addition to being an important humanitarian concern. In a world where economic opportunity, security threats, disease, and even support for democracy transcend borders, a policy based on humanitarian concerns alone serves neither U.S. interests, nor Africa’s. Furthermore, the Task Force finds that critical humanitarian interests would be better served by a more comprehensive U.S. approach toward Africa; nor is it valid to treat Africa more as an object of charity than a diverse continent with partners the United States can work with to advance shared objectives.
March/April 2007
Summary
The Greater Horn of Africa, the hottest conflict zone in the world, is a legitimate concern of U.S. officials. But their overwhelming focus on stemming terrorism there is overshadowing U.S. initiatives to resolve conflicts and promote good governance -- with disastrous implications for regional stability and U.S. counterterrorism objectives themselves.
September/October 2005
Summary
Past attempts to fix failed states in Africa have gone nowhere for similar reasons: they have tried to restore good governance to places that have never enjoyed it in the first place. A radical rethinking is needed; in the hardest cases, international trusteeships offer the best chance for success.
August 22, 2007
Terrence Lyons, an expert on the Horn of Africa, says despite U.S. concerns about al-Qaeda, it is local rivalries driving conflicts in Somalia and elsewhere in the region.
July 17, 2007
Updated: May 30, 2007
A pair of Somalia experts, Terrence Lyons and Sadia Ali Aden, discuss U.S. policy options for the war-torn nation on Africa's Horn.
January 2006
Ethiopia in 2005: The Beginning of a Transition?
Author: Terrence Lyons
December 22, 2005
Ethiopia and Eritrea: Preventing War
Author: International Crisis Group
January 15, 2005
Unfinished Business: Ethiopia and Eritrea at War
Author: Dominique Jacquin-Berdal and Martin Plaut
April 1, 2001
Brothers at War: Making Sense of the Eritrean-Ethiopian War
Author: Tekeste Negash and Kjetil Tronvoll
June 27, 2007
A few years ago, with little fanfare, the United States opened a base in the horn of Africa to kill or capture Al Qaeda fighters. By 2012, the Pentagon will have two dozen such forts. The story of Africa Command, the American military's new frontier outpost.
May 16, 2007
This CRS report looks at U.S. interests and military efforts in Africa.
March 12, 2007
A Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report for Congress (PDF)entitled "Somalia: Current Conditions and Prospects for a Lasting Peace."
November 2006
Report
August 2006
The United Nations Department of Public Information has issued a release describing ten stories the world should hear more about.
Somalia's Second Chance?
| Speakers: | Vicki Huddleston, Charge d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia (2005-2006); Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa (1997-1999); U.S. Ambassador to Mali (2002-2005) and Madagascar (1995-1997) |
|---|---|
| Terrence Lyons, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution, George Mason University; Author, Council Special Report "Avoiding Conflict in the Horn of Africa: U.S. Policy Toward Ethiopia" | |
| Presider: | Tom McDonald, Partner and Government Policy Practice Group Coordinator, Baker & Hostetler; U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe (1997-2001) |
Recent weeks have witnessed a dramatic turn of events in Somalia, including the defeat of the Islamic Courts in the capital, international economic and development assistance to stabilize the country, and the introduction of an African peacekeeping force to replace Ethiopian troops. Join us for an in-depth discussion of the challenges and opportunities the country faces in the year ahead.
View the Council Special Report Avoiding Conflict in the Horn of Africa: U.S. Policy Toward Ethiopia.
Transcript: Somalia's Second Chance: [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service]
Audio: Somalia's Second Chance? (Audio)
This meeting is on the record.
Avoiding Conflict in the Horn of Africa: U.S. Policy Toward Ethiopia and Eritrea (Conference Call)
| Speaker: | Terrence Lyons, Author, Avoiding Conflict in the Horn of Africa; Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University |
|---|---|
| Moderator: | Princeton N. Lyman, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies, Council on Foreign Relations |
This meeting is on the record.
More Than Humanitarianism: A Strategic U.S. Approach Toward Africa
| Speakers: | Princeton N. Lyman, Project Co-Director; Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow, Africa Policy Studies, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|---|
| J. Stephen Morrison, Project Co-Director; Director, Africa Program, Center for Strategic & International Studies | |
| Christine Todd Whitman, Task Force Co-Chair; Former Governor of New Jersey; Former Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | |
| Presider: | Soledad O’Brien, Anchor, American Morning, CNN |
5:30-6:15 p.m. Cocktail Buffet
6:15-7:30 p.m. Meeting
Members may bring a guest to this event.
Transcript: More Than Humanitarianism: A Strategic U.S. Approach Toward Africa—A Report from a Council on Foreign Relations-Sponsored Independent Task Force [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service, Inc.]
Audio: CFR Task Force on U.S. Policy Toward Africa (audio)
Video: CFR Task Force on U.S. Policy Toward Africa (video)
This meeting is on the record.
A Strategic U.S. Approach Toward Africa: Beyond Humanitarianism: Report of an Independent Task Force
| Speakers: | Anthony Lake, Task Force Co-Chair; Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy, Georgetown University |
|---|---|
| Christine Todd Whitman, Task Force Co-Chair; Former Governor, New Jersey; Administrator, EPA |
10:30-11:00 a.m. Coffee reception
11:00-12:00 a.m. Meeting
**Please note special time & location**
This meeting will be on the record and is a guest event.
Transcript: More than Humanitarianism: A Strategic U.S. Approach to Africa—CFR Task Force Report Release [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service, Inc.]
Audio: More Than Humanitarianism: A Strategic U.S. Approach Toward Africa (audio)
Darryl G. Behrman Lecture on Africa Policy: The African Agenda
Related Project: Darryl G. Behrman Lecture
| Presider: | Princeton N. Lyman, Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow, Africa Policy Studies, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|---|
| Speaker: | Graca Machel, President, Foundation for Community Development, Mozambique; Chancellor, University of Cape Town; Chair of the Board, The Vaccine Fund |
**Special guest Nelson Mandela will attend the Lecture.
Transcript: Darryl G. Behrman Lecture on Africa Policy: The African Agenda
Audio: Darryl G. Behrman Lecture on Africa Policy: The African Agenda (audio)
Video: Darryl G. Behrman Lecture on Africa Policy: The African Agenda (video)
Islam in Africa
| Presider: | Princeton N. Lyman, Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow, Africa Policy Studies, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|---|
| Speakers: | Stephen Ellis, Senior Researcher, Afrika-Studiecentrum, Leiden University, Co-author, Worlds of Power: Religious Thought and Political Practice in Africa |
| Jeffrey Tayler, Correspondent, The Atlantic Monthly, Author, Angry Wind: Through Muslim Black Africa by Truck, Bus, Boat, and Camel | |
| Sulayman Nyang, Professor, Africa Studies, Howard University |
Africa has been experiencing a strong religious revival, with Islam gaining many of the new converts. With fundamentalist Islamic movements achieving prominence in some countries, what does this mean for the growth of Islam in Africa? Will a more tolerant strain take root or will extremist forces gain the upper edge? What will Islam’s interaction be with Christianity, another rapidly spreading faith in Africa?
**This meeting will be on the record.
Transcript: Islam in Africa
Audio: Islam in Africa (audio)
CFR offers a variety of email newsletters about up-to-date CFR.org material on what’s happening around the world.
Enter your email address and click 'Go' to subscribe.
CFR Experts are based in CFR’s New York and Washington offices. Each expert's bio page contains his or her contact information, professional and educational history, links to publications and current research, a downloadable one-page biographical narrative, and a high-definition photo.
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.
Global Economy 