GIGA Focus

Digitalization is gaining momentum in Africa. Thanks to significant private investment in the continent’s digital infrastructure, more Africans have access to the internet and mobile phones. Building on this, a new wave of African startups is driving innovation and transforming African economies.

Ad hoc coalitions are increasingly visible, highly specialised crisis-response tools that operate outside of established international organisations. What motivates countries to set up ad hoc coalitions, and are they only complementary? These and other questions inform this GIGA Focus.

Although Chileans are overwhelmingly in favour of a new constitution, in a referendum held on 4 September, 62 per cent of those who voted rejected the proposal drawn up by a democratically elected Constitutional Convention. The struggle for a new constitution is thus entering the next round.

A cross-regional comparative analysis of the effects of COVID-19 on violence shows high levels of variation between contexts and in terms of specific armed actors. While Latin America along with the Middle East and North Africa have experienced an overall reduction, violence in sub-Saharan Africa has increased.

When Israel signed the Abraham Accords in 2020, reactions were split. Two years later, normalisation dynamics in the region are stronger than many had anticipated, though they differ in degree and scope. Further progress is limited by, for instance, the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

COVID-19 paved the way for a left-wing government winning in Colombia’s recent elections. The pandemic has deepened structural inequalities, promoting an unprecedented wave of protest against the right-wing incumbent. Answering with high levels of violence only further increased the call for change.

Fighting climate change requires cooperation among all major emitters. This Focus explores the impact of growing tensions between India and China on the global climate regime, set in an increasingly multipolar order that defies clear divisions between partner and rival.

Social media played an important role during the campaigns leading up to the Moroccan elections in September 2021. Digital campaigning contributed to the victory of the new ruling party. In the future, a more effective legal framework is needed to guarantee the transparency and fair funding of digital electoral campaigns.

Six of the 25 countries with the highest proportion of women in parliament are in sub-Saharan Africa. Some African countries also sit atop lists of numbers of women on corporate boards. How did women attain such leadership positions in these countries, and what can Germany and the EU learn from them?