G20 Compact with Africa is a Long Game

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This article was originally published by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) on 5 July 2019.

Africa’s ‘development partners’ still struggle to define and manage their relationship with the continent. This was apparent at the G20 summit in Osaka that ended on Saturday.

The G20 has been accused of treating Africa exclusively as a development problem, thereby excluding it as an equal participant from deliberations about climate change, the future of work, the global trading system and other mammoth issues the G20 presumes to be capable of addressing.

Understanding Trends in Electoral Violence: Lessons from South Africa

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This article was originally published by Political Violence @ a Glance on 25 April 2019.

The African continent will see two dozen elections in 2019. While many observers herald this year’s surfeit of political contests as a sign post of the “Third Wave of Democratization,” others are less optimistic, noting the violence that often accompanies putatively democratic elections across the continent. Indeed, the causes and consequences of electoral violence in Africa are currently at the fore of work in both academic and policy circles. And the focus on electoral violence is warranted—in 2019 alone, violence has marred the political process in countries as diverse as Senegal, Nigeria, and Malawi, among others.

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Peacekeeping Missions in Mali and Somalia

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This graphic of the week lists the various international peacekeeping missions currently taking place in Mali and Somalia. To find out more about what political and operational challenges these peacekeeping missions face, see here. For more CSS charts, maps and graphics on defense policy, click here.

Can China Free Africa from Dependency on the Mighty Dollar?

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This article was originally published by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) on 13 August 2018.

By extending the influence of the yuan, China could become the new champion of globalisation.

Is China, aided and abetted by the other BRICS member countries – Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa – making a bid to dislodge the dollar from its global pedestal and replace it with the yuan? And if so, will it help African countries, in particular, to escape from the iron and often onerous grip of the greenback?

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Mapping the Conflict in Mali

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This graphic offers a geographical overview of the various international security actors in Mali’s ongoing struggle with widespread insecurity and Islamist extremism. To read more about the conflict as well as Switzerland’s efforts to support the Mali’s fragile peace, see Allison Chandler and Benno Zogg’s recent CSS analysis here. For more graphics on peace and conflict, check out the CSS’ collection of graphs and charts on the subject here.