USAID's Katherine Almquist and CFR's Payton L. Knopf discuss the political implications of Southern Sudan's nearly unanimous vote to secede from the North, as part of the CFR's Academic Conference Call series.

Learn more about CFR's Academic Initiative.

Princeton N. Lyman, U.S. senior adviser for North-South negotiations at the U.S. Department of State, discusses Southern Sudan's unanimous vote to secede from the North, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

Learn more about CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Initiative.

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.

John Campbell says that the nomination of Goodluck Jonathan as Nigeria's presidential candidate places an even stronger premium on the credibility of the April 2011 elections.

These teaching notes, by author and CFR Senior Fellow John Campbell, feature discussion questions and additional projects for educators to supplement the use of the CFR book Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink in the classroom. In this book, Ambassador Campbell examines the country's postcolonial past and offers policy options for the United States to help promote political, social, and economic development in Nigeria.

Nigerian author and Brown University professor, Chinua Achebe, writes an op-ed piece in order to "restore the postcolonial dream of political liberty."

John Campbell discusses the election standoff in Ivory Coast.

The Sudan referendum now underway will likely result in the south's independence, but unresolved disputes and population shifts require the Obama administration's continued intense diplomatic and humanitarian engagement, says CFR's John Campbell.

The January 9 referendum on southern Sudan's secession is expected to go smoothly, but some experts caution that disputes over oil and land, and the south's volatility, could mean a violent transition.

Jendayi Frazer and Nicolas Berggruen discuss Africa's crisis of governance and argues, "For fundamental reform, Ivory Coast should take a cue from China, not just the West."

Depending on how locals and outsiders react to events in Sudan, the secession referendum scheduled for January could trigger either the country's partition or a new explosion of violence.

John Campbell reflects on the 2009 "underwear bomber" incident, and how it revealed the need for Americans to understand religion in Nigeria.

CFR Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies John Campbell discusses the relations between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria. Campbell emphasizes that where religious divisions correspond to ethnic and economic differences, conflict often acquire a religious coloration.

Somali pirates have been resilient against efforts to stop them, but a new approach that includes legal measures, controlling financial flows, building regional capacity and more could be the combination that defeats piracy, writes CFR's Michael Lyon Baker.

Micah Zenko and Rebecca Friedman say that last-ditch military intervention won't bring resolution to conflict and genocide in Africa.

CFR's Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies highlights examples of Nigerian civil society organizations. These organizations, Campbell says, have a significant "name and shame" role to play in impelling the country towards democracy.

Nigeria's upcoming presidential elections will upset the country's power sharing system. CFR's Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies cautions that campaign appeals to ethnicity and religion coupled with elections that lack credibility may destabilize the country.