New Security Threats in Africa: What Responses Are Called For?

The number of violent conflicts on the African continent has greatly declined since the end of the Cold War. At the same time, the form of threats to security has also changed: terrorism and other decentralised forms of violence are on the rise; regional and international actors are intervening more often than they used to; conflicts thought to have been settled are being reignited; and the chasm between the various regions of Africa is widening. These new threats require new responses in order to improve the security of African citizens. How can African and international politics best confront the current security threats in Africa? How can European and German foreign policy contribute to strengthening the African peace and security architecture?

Speakers: Dr. Alexander De Juan is a Senior Research Fellow at the GIGA and the head of the GIGA research team “Institutions for Sustainable Peace.” His research focuses on the role of institutions in domestic conflicts, state-building in the context of conflict and fragility, and development cooperation with states experiencing violent conflicts.

Dr. Christian von Soest is a Lead Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute for African Affairs and head of the GIGA research programme “Peace and Security.” His research covers, among other topics, international interventions and sanctions, authoritarian regimes, regional integration in Africa, and corruption and its effects on political regimes.

Discussant: Christian Resch is the deputy head of the Federal Foreign Ministry’s Department S01 – “Grundsatzfragen des Krisenengagements und der internationalen Stabilisierungspolitik.”

Please confirm your attendance by 28 May 2018 by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

The Chatham House Rule applies to this event. Unfortunately, the venue is not wheelchair accessible.