South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice
On 29 December 2023, South Africa filed its first-ever application before the International Court of Justice in response to the situation in the Gaza Strip,…
Director, Africa programme
Horn of Africa: Sudan/South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea; Red Sea political/security/economic aspects; mediation/conflict resolution; humanitarianism
English, German, Arabic, French (conversational)
Theodore Murphy is the director of the Africa programme at the European Council for Foreign Relations.
Murphy managed emergency response missions for Doctors Without Borders, in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Sudan. He has published and lectured on humanitarian issues writ large and specifically in the context of the Greater War on Terror. At Amnesty International, Murphy coordinated all research and publications on Sudan as well as media appearances. Writing for the International Crisis Group, Murphy focused on the dynamics in the Chad/Darfur region contributing to public reports on these issues.
From 2007-2011, Murphy worked in conflict resolution/mediation with the United Nations and in the non-governmental sector in the Horn of Africa and Middle East. He served as Expert Advisor to the AU/UN mediation team in Darfur in 2007-08. In 2011, Murphy was appointed by the UN Secretary General to the Panel of Experts for Libya where he served in the post of Regional Expert. As a Course Director and Fellow for the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Murphy designed and led accredited training for diplomats, military, and multilateral staff on the topic of Engagement with Non State Actors.
Working closely with the German MFA, from 2012 onwards, Murphy oversaw mediation initiatives throughout the Horn of Africa. Amongst others, he negotiated an internationally recognized political agreement in Darfur and supported efforts towards creating a Red Sea Forum.
Murphy holds degrees from McGill University and the School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) London.
On 29 December 2023, South Africa filed its first-ever application before the International Court of Justice in response to the situation in the Gaza Strip,…
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Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes expose how actors beyond the great powers can weaponise an interdependent global economy. To help overcome this threat, Europeans should advocate cooperation between the US and China
Mark Leonard welcomes Cinzia Bianco and Theodore Murphy to discuss the crisis in the Red Sea and its escalation potential
Jeremy Shapiro welcomes Adebayo Olukoshi, Brian Kagoro, and Theodore Murphy to talk about Africa and the global order
The climate adaptation needs of Africa are not being met and a lack of affordable and consistent finance is a key cause. Between 2019-2020, Africa…
Middle powers are shaping a fragmented world for which Europe is ill prepared. To protect its interests and values, the EU needs a foreign policy strategy that emphasises its wide range of interdependencies
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
Middle powers are shaping a fragmented world for which Europe is ill prepared. To protect its interests and values, the EU needs a foreign policy strategy that emphasises its wide range of interdependencies
The Trump years galvanised Europeans’ efforts to strengthen their own sovereignty; they now need to agree concrete offers they can make to the new administration
Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes expose how actors beyond the great powers can weaponise an interdependent global economy. To help overcome this threat, Europeans should advocate cooperation between the US and China
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
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
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’
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
Resisting the drift into US-China duopoly will be welcome among states of the global south – and will strengthen Europe’s relations across the board
European and US support for African representation on the UNSC exposes the emptiness of Russia’s rhetoric on Africa and the global order. European leaders should take every opportunity to advance the issue of a permanent African seat or seats
The experience of 2022 is a sharp reminder to Europeans that the states of the global south want to reform existing international arrangements. They should begin to negotiate on how this could look
Russia is exploiting weaknesses in Europe’s relationships with states across Africa. Germany will need to set a precedent in Mali if it is to respond to this challenge effectively.
By making new offers of partnership to African countries, Russia is setting a trap for the West
Mark Leonard welcomes Cinzia Bianco and Theodore Murphy to discuss the crisis in the Red Sea and its escalation potential
Jeremy Shapiro welcomes Adebayo Olukoshi, Brian Kagoro, and Theodore Murphy to talk about Africa and the global order
Mark Leonard welcomes Theo Murphy, Pavel Slunkin, Kadri Liik, and Kirill Shamiev to shed light on the possible consequences of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death
What are the regional implications of the Tigray conflict and the prospects for transatlantic cooperation around the issue?
Where do we stand now in building a “strategic partnership” between the European and African continent?
When Biden enters the White House, he will look for a Europe that brings solutions rather than problems. Europeans should show they can be an equal partner & offer him a new transatlantic bargain.
Sudan is facing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. Ethnic killing plagues Darfur once again, millions have been displaced, and now a famine is looming. The fighting…
On 28 February, Chadian opposition leader Yaya Dillo was killed in a shootout with security forces. He had been accused of leading an attack against…
In 2020, the covid-19 pandemic laid bare the vulnerability of global sea trade to external shocks. A year later, the Suez Canal blockage sounded the alarm on…
On 29 December 2023, South Africa filed its first-ever application before the International Court of Justice in response to the situation in the Gaza Strip,…
The climate adaptation needs of Africa are not being met and a lack of affordable and consistent finance is a key cause. Between 2019-2020, Africa…
The event will convene a select group of European decision-makers and opinion-shapers from across business, civil society, European governments and the European Commission
This event takes place in the context of the 10th Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa
ECFR is launching a series of high-level convenings, with a view to defining a shared concept of the Africa-Europe strategic partnership in the emerging new global order
European officials and thinkers to talk about challenges and opportunities presented by today’s political, security and economic crises
To what extent can the European Green Deal and Global Gateway be shaped to satisfy both European and African interests?