Dream bigger: The next steps for Italy’s new Africa strategy
Italy’s much anticipated Africa strategy has some promising elements, but needs broadening if it is to really contribute to Italian, European, and African interests
Africa
Not just hot air: Realising the potential of the EU-Namibia green hydrogen partnership
The EU and Namibia have launched the roadmap of their renewable hydrogen partnership. To ensure it effectively helps the EU’s sustainability goals and boosts Namibia’s economic growth, planning should be clearer and more realistic
Green synergies: How the EU, the UAE, and Africa can cooperate on energy
The UAE’s expanding role in Africa’s energy spaces could present a challenge to Europe’s energy security and decarbonisation ambitions – but opportunities for cooperation also exist that could accelerate the global energy transition
Operational hazard: A better way to support peace and security missions in Africa
The UN rightly wishes to devolve responsibility for peace support operations to regional partners. But it should draw up novel ways to achieve this in Africa
Turning 21: How the EU should engage with the G20’s newest member
The EU could form coalitions with the African Union at G20 summits on a variety of issues. To prepare for this, it should work with both the current and developing representatives of the organisation
A necessary trade-off: Why the EU needs to cooperate with Niger’s post-coup government on counter-terrorism
The EU and its member states typically refuse to cooperate with unconstitutional governments. But they need to safeguard their security support to Niger to help combat the spread of jihadism in the region and prevent a counter-offer by Wagner
Conflict and interests: Why Sudan’s external mediation is a barrier to peace
The war in Sudan has given rise to multiple – and sometimes divisive – mediation efforts. The EU and its member states should aim to help unify these efforts and end the warring parties’ ‘forum shopping’
Middle powers, big impact: Africa’s ‘coup belt,’ Russia, and the waning global order
The changing global order has created an enabling environment for the recent spike of takeovers in Africa’s ‘coup belt’ – with Russia and newly assertive middle powers offering themselves as partners to putschists
Shifting alliances: Why the EU needs to cooperate with the BRICS and Africa on the energy transition
The EU and its member states should explore opportunities for trilateral energy and climate cooperation with the BRICS and African states, focusing on converging interests to mitigate the risks associated with growing south-south cooperation and a north-south divide
Displacement theory: Why “peace enforcement” risks exacerbating conflicts in Africa
The United Nations and the African Union are moving towards the use of “peace enforcement” – but their preferred approach is unlikely to succeed