In the early hours of November 4, 2020, the armed wing of the former ruling party of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), attacked several federal military bases across Tigray including the military’s Northern Command headquarters in the capital Mekelle and killed or captured and detained soldiers and raided several armories. […]
This article reflects on Dagaaba men’s constructions of masculinity and the implications of such perspectives for everyday peacebuilding amid the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa. The essay is motivated by the observation that, despite the debilitating ramifications of Covid-19, the pandemic may offer men the opportunity to embrace and practice alternative notions of masculinity in their […]
Boko Haram’s 2014 kidnapping of 276 female students from Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, marked an important transition in the Nigerian and global fight against violent extremism, and offers a useful lens into the vagaries of Trump’s policies on women, peace and security in Africa. His administration provided support to Nigeria’s armed […]
Yet, in moving forward, we must look back to past mistakes, learn lessons, and prevent future shortcomings, particularly in relation to the peacebuilding dimensions of Africa-US relations.
The Trump era saw the centering of American workers and industries in immigration policy as it was believed that immigrants were a “threat” to American values and security. To this end, most of the changes in immigrant and refugee policies were adopted through executive orders and existing laws, and not through traditional congressional approval.
Africa has occupied a rather marginal place in US policy over the past four years—save for in the security sector—although it did not escape a reduction in US financial contributions toward its military commitments in the fight against terrorism. The Trump administration likewise drastically reduced US development aid to the continent.
