Missing the target: The African Union’s mediating efforts in Burundi
In December 2015, following violent confrontations between the Burundian army and rebel groups, the African Union issued a communiqué to deploy a 5,000-strong peacekeeping mission.
Africa
As a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we are seeing a renewed Global Powers competition and an increasingly acute energy crisis. These developments have put the African continent centre stage again in international relations. Understanding how political and security developments within Africa shape the continent, as well as its position on the international scene, is a core objective of the Africa Programme.
In line with this aim, we contribute to increased knowledge and shape policy debates on, and in, Africa by organising expert seminars and providing in-depth research on: military interventions and security collaborations; the politics of elections; peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts; the political economy of mining, and the development of women, peace and the security agenda, with a particular focus on the Great Lakes and the Sahel region.
Drawing on our own expertise, as well as a wide network of national and international research institutes, public authorities, and NGOs, makes the Africa Programme a central authority on matters related to Africa on a national, regional and global level.
Publications
Commentaries
Uhuru for Kenya?
President Uhuru Kenyatta is a guest at the European development days and in the margins of that summit he met the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel to talk about economic […]
The Iran nuclear deal: the Iranian and US domestic factors that put its implementation at risk
The Iran nuclear deal with E3+3 and P5+1 is not without its detractors. The Iranian Conservative Party, the US Republican Party and Israel disapprove. This policy brief aims to understand […]
The challenges of multi-layered security governance in Ituri
There has been a slow, but growing awareness among external actors that some local non-state security actors should be involved in security governance in conflict-affected situations. Often these actors consist […]
Commentaries
After Paris and Brussels: reassessing ISIS’s strategy in Europe
The attacks in Paris and Brussels demonstrate a strategic shift for ISIS. Instead of focussing narrowly on territorial conquest in Syria/Iraq, the group has centrally and carefully planned a terror campaign […]
EU policies in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Try and fail?
This paper takes a critical look at EU policies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and their contribution to advancing human security in the country. It argues that an […]