Africa

Focusing on specific sectors, beyond the options much in vogue with offensive emulationists or passive singularists, will help India to clarify its priorities, optimize its policy-making process and infuse its Africa policy with greater strategic depth.

• Constantino Xavier
• June 30, 2010
• IDSA Comments

This paper seeks to understand the nature of cooperation between the UN and other IGOs in ongoing conflicts. It will examine the security framework in which these multilateral arrangements were created, the gaps they were trying to cover, and the problems and areas of opportunities.

• Mayank Bubna
• May 24, 2010
• Issue Brief

AFRICOM is a new institution representing the new manner of US engagement. This is different from the EU model of engagement and comes at a time when India and China are seen as important partners of Africa. This paper is written to provide an insight into AFRICOM from an Indian perspective of Africa. This differs from the EU view and also from Africa's own response. US policy towards Africa consists of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) + AFRICOM; whereas AGOA is better understood, AFRICOM is not. This paper proposes to fill some of the gaps in its understanding.

• Gurjit Singh
• May 2010
• Strategic Analysis

African militaries have only recently emerged from colonial rule and several decades of Cold War gaming by superpowers. As the continent continues to be riddled with wars, these armies have been an essential part of the problem and the solution. Their evolution over the time has occurred in waves of progress and arrest. While it is impossible to generalize about the entire continent's military apparatus, this paper highlights some of the larger trends that have emerged out of this evolutionary process.

• Mayank Bubna
• April 2010
• Journal of Defence Studies

Despite the concerns surrounding the use of mercenaries, they remain an indispensable force on the African continent, so much so that they have been welcomed by governments, and grudgingly even been accepted by NGOs, international organizations and civilians.

• Mayank Bubna
• February 16, 2010
• Issue Brief

Across the globe, a crucial but largely unseen and unheard of force in the Global War on Terrorism is emerging – young, hardened, militant, radicalized recruits from Africa – a force potent enough to compel governments to revise their handbooks on how best to contend with Islamic extremism.

• Mayank Bubna
• January 14, 2010
• IDSA Comments

Ethnic tensions and political and economic corruption are rampant in Liberia, and dealing with these institutional problems is a monumental challenge for any outsider.

• Mayank Bubna
• October 14, 2009
• IDSA Comments

The African Continent, rich in minerals and other natural resources, has been figuring prominently in the world affairs in the post Cold War era, for a variety of reasons. The positive aspects in its recent history relate to its success in getting rid of the colonial yoke as also the vestiges of racialism targeted at its people.

• Arvind Dutta
• Winter 2008
• Journal of Defence Studies

Africa is no longer a distant region that can be ignored by the United States. As articulated in the US National Security Strategy, the need to expand and ensure America's access to energy resources, prevent the spread of terrorism in weak states, and address transnational health and environmental concerns has transformed Africa from a strategically remote part of the world into a priority region for US economic, political, and military interests.

• Arvind Dutta
• September 12, 2008
• IDSA Comments

The India-Africa Forum Summit is an indication of the coming of age of India’s relations with African countries. While India’s relations with African countries are time tested and historical, nevertheless in recent years this affiliation has been revitalised. Booming trade is an indication of this change. Trade has grown from US$967 million in 1990-91 to $25 billion in 2006-07 (inclusive of oil imports). This transformed relationship is driven by a number of factors.

• Ruchita Beri
• April 08, 2008
• IDSA Comments