Southern Africa
Southern Africa, a strategic region rich in natural resources, is studied through its electoral processes, its security challenges and the relations of the states that make it up with their partners.
Day zero for Zuma? South Africa's president negotiates departure
It's a watershed moment for South Africa and the party of Nelson Mandela. The leadership of the African National Congress is expected to force out Jacob Zuma. Will the president go quietly? Can he negotiate a deal in the face of long-looming corruption allegations?
South Africa : internal dissensions within the ANC
How to explain the decline of the ANC during the last election? Why 2017 is a decisive year for the ANC? How to explain the student protests during the past two years?
Democratic Republic of Congo: Nothing New in the East
While a state of siege was declared a year ago in two Congolese provinces and Kenyan authorities organized a meeting in Nairobi between the Congolese government and armed groups, the pacification of the Congolese East remains unresolved. This study looks back at the Tshisekedi government's policy and handling of this issue since 2019.
Mbororo Fulanis in the Anglophone Crisis: From Land Disputes to a Regional Conflict
This study highlights the particular situation of the Mbororo minority, which has settled in the Northwest English-speaking province that is more conducive to livestock farming than the Southwest.
Boko Haram in the Far North of Cameroon: The Tree Hiding the Forest
The Far North region of Cameroon has been shaken since 2013 by the Boko Haram conflict, which originated in the northeast of Nigeria (Borno State) and spans four countries (Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger). The complex interactions between the Boko Haram jihadist movement and the local criminal milieu make this region a relevant case study to reflect on the relationship between crime and conflict.
SWAPO: The Beginning of the Political Challenge
Increasingly, the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) is on shaky ground, caught between internal factionalism and external resentment. Whereas no major new political party has emerged since independence, opposition parties are gradually gaining support, mainly among young voters, and now control the three most important economic centers, weakening SWAPO's thirty-year one-party domination.
Uranium in Namibia: Yellowcake Fever
Mineral revenues are the driving force behind Namibia’s economic performance. Namibia is rich in mineral resources which include uranium, diamond, copper, gold, lead, lithium and zinc. However, these mineral riches are not always allocated and utilized in a transparent manner and seem to benefit disproportionately a small number of wealthy elites, many of them affiliated with the ruling party SWAPO.
Chinese Influences in Africa. 1. The Political and Diplomatic Tools of the "Great Developing Country"
China and Africa have enjoyed a strong relationship since the wave of African independences in the 1960s. Nevertheless, relations between China and Africa have significantly expanded since the late 1990s and have been fueled by a growing discourse centered on a “win-win” partnership between China and Africa.
The Peuls Mbororo of North Cameroon: Insecurities of a Pastoral Society and Limits of a Hybrid Security Response
The Mbororo are Fulani who, unlike the Fulbe, have not become sedentary and have practiced nomadic herding for a long time. However, over the past several decades, they have been undergoing a sedentarization process in northern Cameroon (Septentrion), to the point that many of them have become semi-sedentary and agro-pastoralists.
This community of herders faces environmental, land, fiscal and criminal insecurities.
Namibia’s Fair-Weather Friends and One All-Weather Friend
The relationship between Namibia and its historical partners has evolved over the last thirty years since Namibian independence. As in many countries, Namibia has been going through transformation, influenced by the process of globalization. This created new sets of geopolitical challenges and opened up new opportunities for Namibia's small and poorly diversified economy which has relied heavily on the mining industry.
SWAPO: The Beginning of the Political Challenge
Increasingly, the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) is on shaky ground, caught between internal factionalism and external resentment. Whereas no major new political party has emerged since independence, opposition parties are gradually gaining support, mainly among young voters, and now control the three most important economic centers, weakening SWAPO's thirty-year one-party domination.
Ramaphosa’s Presidency: What Has Changed?
On the eve of the 25th anniversary of democracy in South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) still holds power in a nearly hegemonic way. Nevertheless, the popularity of the party is decreasing while economic and social inequalities are deeply entrenched in the country.
Angola under Lourenço. Towards a Negotiated Hegemony
In a matter of months, Luanda politics became unrecognizable. The reasons why, and the ways in which, João Lourenço, President of Angola since september 2017, proceeded to these substantial and unexpected changes will be analyzed in detail in the pages that follow.
The Resurgence of Conflict in Mozambique. Ghosts from the Past and Brakes to Peaceful Democracy
2016 proved to be a most challenging year for Mozambique. Small-scale conflict, which started reappearing between the government and the opposition party, the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), in 2013, intensified over the course of the year, whilst peace negotiations stalled.
Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe: the Endgame?
The descent into the morass of failure seems relentless for a country that used to be, at the aftermath of its independence in 1980, the “jewel in Africa” to be carefully preserved, as former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere advised an acclaimed Mugabe ascending into power.
South African Local Elections 2016. From One Party Dominance to Effective Plural Democracy
The South African political landscape experienced a shock from an unlikely source; the country’s local government elections on August 3, 2016 representing the last tier of government and often overlooked in favour of national and provincial polls.
Day zero for Zuma? South Africa's president negotiates departure
It's a watershed moment for South Africa and the party of Nelson Mandela. The leadership of the African National Congress is expected to force out Jacob Zuma. Will the president go quietly? Can he negotiate a deal in the face of long-looming corruption allegations?
South Africa : internal dissensions within the ANC
How to explain the decline of the ANC during the last election? Why 2017 is a decisive year for the ANC? How to explain the student protests during the past two years?
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Sub-Saharan Africa Center
Founded in 2007, Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa center produces an in-depth analysis of the African continent and its security, geopolitical, political and socio-economic dynamics (in particular the phenomenon of urbanization). The Center aims to be both, through various publications and conferences, a space for disseminating analyzes intended for the media and the public but also a decision-making tool for political and economic actors with regard to the continent.
The center produces analyses for various organizations such as the Ministry of the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the French Development Agency (AFD) and even for various private supports. Its researchers are regularly interviewed by parliamentary committees.
The organization of events of various formats complements the production of analyzes by bringing the different spheres of the public space (academic, political, media, economic and civil society) to meet and exchange analytical tools and visions of the continent. The Sub-Saharan Africa Center regularly welcomes political leaders from different sub-Saharan African countries.