Sub-Saharan Africa | Council on Foreign Relations

Why African Nations Support U.S. Anti-Racism Protesters

The U.S. protests following the police killing of George Floyd have spurred solidarity among many Africans, who have expressed widespread outrage against police brutality.

In Brief by Jendayi E. Frazer Jun 16, 2020

Africa’s ‘Leaders for Life’

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to many of the world’s longest-ruling heads of state. But the trend of entrenched leadership may be reversing, in part due to sustained pressure by civil society groups and regional blocs.

Backgrounder by Claire Felter Jun 30, 2020

Behind China's Influence in Africa

From trade to film, China's influence in Africa is nearly everywhere. Why—and at what cost?

Explainer Video by Thamine Nayeem and Lindsay Maizland Apr 9, 2020

Trump’s Africa Policy Is Better Than It Looks

The Trump administration has largely continued U.S. policies in Africa aimed at building economic ties, political stability, and health care, but it lacks a strategy for the continent’s looming geopolitical and national security challenges.

In Brief by John Campbell Apr 6, 2020

Nigeria

Nigeria Security Tracker Weekly Update: June 12–18

Below is a visualization and description of some of the most significant incidents of political violence in Nigeria from June 12 to June 18, 2021. This update also represents violence related to Boko…

Blog Post by John Campbell June 22, 2021 Africa in Transition
Ethiopia

As Policymakers Raise Alarm about Tigray Crisis, More Action is Needed

As the horrific suffering in Ethiopia’s Tigray region continues, the United States and other members of the international community are sounding ever more urgent alarms. In the last two weeks, of…

Blog Post by Michelle Gavin June 16, 2021 Africa in Transition
Nigeria

Nigeria Security Tracker Weekly Update: June 5–11

Below is a visualization and description of some of the most significant incidents of political violence in Nigeria from June 5 to June 11, 2021. This update also represents violence related to Boko …

Blog Post by John Campbell June 14, 2021 Africa in Transition

Experts in this Region

Reuben E. Brigety II

Adjunct Senior Fellow for African Peace and Security Issues

John Campbell

Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies

Jendayi E. Frazer

Adjunct Senior Fellow for Africa Studies

Michelle Gavin

Senior Fellow for Africa Studies

Somaliland

Recognizing Somaliland's Democratic Success

On May 31st, the people of Somaliland went to the polls to participate in long-delayed parliamentary and municipal elections. The largely autonomous region in the north of Somalia, which had a differ…

Blog Post by Michelle Gavin June 8, 2021 Africa in Transition
Nigeria

Nigeria Security Tracker Weekly Update: May 29–June 4

Below is a visualization and description of some of the most significant incidents of political violence in Nigeria from May 29 to June 4, 2021. This update also represents violence related to Boko H…

Blog Post by John Campbell June 7, 2021 Africa in Transition
South Africa

South Africa: Cyril Ramaphosa, Jacob Zuma, and Ace Magashule From 30,000 Feet

South Africa is a democracy conducted according to the rule of law with a genuinely independent judiciary. While post-apartheid South Africa has made progress in addressing extreme poverty among the …

Blog Post by John Campbell June 4, 2021 Africa in Transition

Aging, Youth Bulges, and Population

Africa at the Center of Twenty-First-Century Demographic Shift

As the results of the 2020 U.S. national census become known, the American media is digesting the finding that the country's population is no longer growing. The May 23 Sunday New York Times lead art…

Blog Post by John Campbell June 3, 2021 Africa in Transition
South Africa

South Africa's Ramaphosa Struggles to Reestablish Trust

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has an extraordinarily tough job. He leads a country reeling from a series of corruption scandals and a party at war with itself. South Africa’s citizens are…

Blog Post by Michelle Gavin June 2, 2021 Africa in Transition
Nigeria

Nigeria Security Tracker Weekly Update: May 22–28

Below is a visualization and description of some of the most significant incidents of political violence in Nigeria from May 22 to May 28, 2021. This update also represents violence related to Boko H…

Blog Post by John Campbell June 1, 2021 Africa in Transition
Sub-Saharan Africa

U.S. Push for a Global Clean Energy Transition Can Start in Africa

Katie Auth is policy director at the Energy for Growth Hub and former deputy coordinator of Power Africa at USAID. Todd Moss is executive director at the Hub and a former deputy assistant secretary o…

Blog Post by Guest Blogger for Africa in Transition May 28, 2021 Africa in Transition
Belarus

Belarus’s Plane Diversion, Mali’s ‘Coup Within a Coup,’ and More

Belarus faces global condemnation after grounding an airplane to arrest a dissident journalist; West Africa braces for the fallout from Mali’s second coup in nine months; and the United States marks Memorial Day and one hundred years since the Tulsa Race Massacre.

Podcast with James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon May 27, 2021 The World Next Week
Nigeria

Islamic State in West Africa Now Dominates in Northeast Nigeria

The Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) has announced that it has replaced Abubakar Shekau with Abu Musab al-Barnawi. Abu Musab "takes over all territories that were under Shekau. The immediate repla…

Blog Post by John Campbell May 27, 2021 Africa in Transition
Sub-Saharan Africa

What’s Happening to Democracy in Africa?

The pandemic is exacerbating a decline of democracy across sub-Saharan Africa. To combat the trend, the United States and other partners should commit to the painstaking work of bolstering democratic institutions.

Article by John Campbell and Nolan Quinn May 26, 2021 Africa Program
Nigeria

Secrecy and Conspiracy Theories Surround Nigerian Plane Crashes

Nolan Quinn contributed to this post. The plane crash May 21 killing Chief of Army Staff General Ibrahim Attahiru and all passengers and crew aboard is the fourth air tragedy in the past five mont…

Blog Post by John Campbell May 26, 2021 Africa in Transition
Nigeria

Nigeria Security Tracker Weekly Update: May 15–21

Below is a visualization and description of some of the most significant incidents of political violence in Nigeria from May 15 to May 21, 2021. This update also represents violence related to Boko H…

Blog Post by John Campbell May 25, 2021 Africa in Transition