Our team is dedicated to analysing and interpreting the strategic, political, and economic dynamics that influence Africa’s position in global affairs.
Intelligence Briefings
Research desk
On this desk
8 reports
See every research desk on the interactive globe.
Explore the globeSee every research desk and the regions it covers.
Explore the regionsResearch desks
Africa
18 April 2026
Somalia’s security transition has entered a critical and uncertain phase. The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) formally ended and was replaced by the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) on 1 January 2025 under UN Security Council Resolution 2767.
Read the report
Africa
23 January 2026
Somaliland has been operating as a breakaway state within the borders of Somalia since 1991. For the last 34 years, they have been a functioning de facto state with its own military, police, currency, rule of law, and democratically-elected government. Until December 2025, they had received no formal recognition from any UN-member state, leading to a severe handicap in their ability to secure IMF loans, access international trade organisations, or negotiate on their own behalf in international forums.
Read the report
Africa
21 November 2025
Israel’s Hidden Hand: Strategic Interests and the Push for Somaliland’s Recognition
The question of international recognition for the breakaway state of Somaliland has been dramatically transformed. No longer confined to the well-rehearsed arguments of historical distinctness and democratic governance, it has been thrust into the centre of a vortex of intersecting regional crises and bold strategic ambitions. This shift is amplified by influential voices in Washington and a concerted lobbying effort, reframing the issue from a regional dispute into a pivotal matter of the U.S. and Israeli national security.
Read the report
Africa
12 September 2025
The Sahel region is situated between North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa in more ways than simple geography. Characterised by a combination of humid savannas commonly found in Sub-Saharan Africa and the arid Saharan landscape of North Africa, the Sahel climate possesses a semi-arid nature, giving it precarious geopolitical positioning. Countries such as Mali and Sudan have suffered from conflicts related to religious extremism, corruption, and climate change.
Read the report
Africa
25 May 2025
US-Kenya Security Pact and Counterterrorism in East Africa and its wider Geopolitical Implications
The US-Kenya security pact highlights the growing shift in global power dynamics, where smaller regional players, like Kenya, are being increasingly integrated into the security policies of larger powers. However, this brings to fore several questions about the long-term viability of such partnerships. In a world where global powers are becoming more unpredictable and the nature of conflict is increasingly non-traditional, the US-Kenya pact may serve as a useful model for flexible, regional security alliances.
Read the report
Africa
22 April 2025
When The ‘Recalcitrant’ Prevails: Nigeria’s Loss in the IPOB Secessionist Struggle
In 2014, Nnamdi Kanu, a revolutionary of Igbo extraction and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, emerged to campaign for the separation of Biafra from Nigeria.
Read the report
Africa
17 March 2025
Xenophobic Violence in South Africa and the Government’s P/CVE Initiatives
Far-right extremism is a cyclical and resurgent entity, often emerging in different forms and contexts throughout history. This is evident in the cases of fascism, Islamophobia, QAnon, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia in diverse countries’ contexts.
Read the report
Africa
14 March 2025
The rise of autonomous port cities, empowered by external financing and militarisation, threatens to redraw political loyalties, destabilising already fractured states and creating volatile flashpoints where trade...
Read the report