A Crowded and Fragmented Security Landscape in Africa: Identifying Three Trends and Their Consequences
It has been more than a decade since the UN last authorized a multidimensional peacekeeping in Africa, in spite of the continent experiencing the highest number of state-based conflicts in the world. The continent has also seen an exponential proliferation of jihadist groups, resulting in a 300% increase in militant Islamist violence in the decade between 2012 and 2022, with lethality figures related to the violence further increasing between 2022 and 2025. At the same time, Africa has witnessed a new coup wave with 11 successful coups, and 19 coup attempts between 2020 and 2025, resulting in the establishment of new military governments and a strong authoritarian turn especially in the Sahel region. These developments have taken place as the continent has seen a spate of new types of regionalized ad hoc coalitions, mercenary groups, and PMCs, deployed to quell rebellions, counter extremists and stabilize regions, yet often destabilizing them instead.
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