Horn of Africa

Ask CFR Experts

Have U.S. relations with Somalia improved since stronger maritime security measures have decreased piracy?

Asked by Charlotte Stafford, from Columbia University

The United States restored official relations with Somalia in January 2013 after years of civil unrest there, reflecting an increasingly stable Somali political environment. Better relations with Somalia, however, have little to do with the decrease in piracy, and the drop in offshore piracy cannot be attributed to Somali government efforts.

Read full answer

See more in Horn of Africa, Rule of Law

News Release

State Department Needs “Clear Guidelines” on Engaging with Nonstate Armed Groups

Recent data on organized violence shows that conflicts between a state and one or more nonstate armed groups vastly outnumber interstate conflicts. As a result, argues former international affairs fellow Payton L. Knopf in a new CFR Working Paper, the State Department needs clear guidelines as to why, when, and how its diplomats should conduct outreach to these groups.

See more in Horn of Africa, Sudan, Conflict Prevention, Peacekeeping, Peacemaking, Terrorist Organizations

Podcast

The World Next Week: August 17, 2011

CFR's Director of Studies James Lindsay and Director of the International Institutions and Global Governance Program Stewart Patrick preview major world events in the week ahead.

In this week's podcast: The famine in the horn of Africa continues to unfold; Rebel gains in Libya may accelerate talk of an end to the conflict; and the UN Security Council debates its peacekeeping operations.

See more in Horn of Africa, Libya, UN, International Peace and Security

Academic Module

Academic Module: Avoiding Conflict in the Horn of Africa: U.S. Policy Toward Ethiopia and Eritrea

Author: Terrence Lyons

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.

See more in Horn of Africa, International Peace and Security, U.S. Strategy and Politics