Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is not monolithic. While crises in the Sahel have attracted a great deal of attention, other regions also need to be monitored, and not just through the prism of security.
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After more than ten years of hectic debates on international ‘land grabs’, academic interest in collapsed land deals or projects with unexpected results is growing.
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Candide in Congo. The expected failure of Security Sector Reform (SSR)
From Afghanistan to the Central African Republic, through Haiti and Guinea Bissau, 'failed' or fragile states have finally turned out to be much more resilient than planned to the Security Sector Reforms (SSR) and other imported reforms of governance. Their ability to let any reform coming from abroad sink, to block or twist such initiatives strongly contrasts with the weakness of their human and financial resources. The example of the Democratic Republic of Congo illustrates the difficulties which are inherent to the concept of SSR.
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L'aide au développement face à la guerre
Development aid has progressively penetrated the fields of conflicts and "fragility". It tends to become a key component of external interventions, next to military action and diplomacy. As a result, it is subjected to the final goals of those operations which, beyond the end of confrontations and the setting up of a political solution, aim at building peace.
The 4th TICAD: acceleration of Japan-Africa cooperation
On 28-30th May 2008, the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) was held in Yokohama. This initiative, co-organized by UN, UNDP and the World Bank, was set up in 1993 and takes place every five years, aims to develop dialogue between African and Japanese leaders but also countries and International organizations involved in Aid. This fourth conference brought together delegations from 51 African countries including 40 Heads of States and Governments. The scale of the conference and the importance of the announcements made there illustrate the continuing Japanese interest towards Africa.
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Related centers and programs
East and Central Africa Observatory
The East and Central Africa Observatory is a 3-year research project (2023-2025) that Ifri is carrying out jointly with the French Institute of Research in Africa (IFRA) in Nairobi for the French Ministry of Defense, and more specifically its International Relations and Strategy Division (DGRIS). This observatory focuses on the main political, security and geopolitical developments taking place in the geographical areas covered by itself. This is achieved through the regular production of research notes, in English or French and the organization of an annual seminar around a key theme. For our research notes and conferences, we call on internationally acknowledged experts in the topics covered. This Observatory began in 2016, under the title of Observatory of Central and Southern Africa within Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center. 55 notes were drafted between 2016 and 2020.
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.