AFRICOM: Rationales, Roles and Progress on the Eve of Operations

J. Stephen Morrison's speech in the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs.

  J. Stephen Morrison, CSIS

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The Impact of the Chinese Presence in Africa

China’s recent push into Africa is driven by a desperate need to find oil and industrial raw materials to feed its resource-guzzling, and the world’s fastest growing, economy. China’s economy has grown by an average of 9 per cent per annum in the last 25 years and its energy consumption has doubled and outstripped domestic energy production. Within the decade from 1990 and 2000, China’s combined share of the world’s consumption of aluminium, copper, nickel and iron ore more than increased from 7 per cent to 15 per cent and has been rapidly growing. Rapid industrialisation has also led to industrial overproduction and Chinese firms are equally in need to cultivate new export markets for their manufactured goods.

Africa Practice

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The Pirates of Puntland: Practical, Legal and Policy Issues in the Fight Against Somali Piracy

Long the object of romanticized renderings in literature and popular imagination, piracy on the high seas seems like a barbaric chapter of history from another century that must surely have been overtaken by the modern age. While the existence of pirates in today’s world may come as a surprise to some, those familiar with the maritime industry know that piracy is alive and well in our time – in the Strait of Malacca in recent decades before Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden shot to first place in 2008. Readers of John McPhee will also remember his recounting of pirate stories by the crew of the Stella Lykes during a voyage along the west coast of South America in his 1990 book Looking for a Ship.

K&L|GATES

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AFRICOM: The Road Ahead for United States Africa Command

The formation of AFRICOM is linked to a number of new and evolving geostrategic and security considerations that the U.S. is facing in Africa, most notably humanitarian and development interests, energy security, terrorism, failed and failing states, and may be, if we’re allowed to say it, rising Chinese intentions and interests on that continent.

Robert Moeller, Brookings Institution

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Horn of Africa: Current Conditions and U.S. Policy

This document contains the speeches of the Hearing before the subcommittee on Africa and Global Health of the committee on Foreign Affairs in the House of Representatives.

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Should Zimbabwe Join the Southern African Customs Union?

This paper addresses an important issue that has the potential to impact significantly on the economic and political stability of Zimbabwe and southern Africa: should Zimbabwe join the Southern African Customs Union (SACU)? The Zimbabwe–SACU relationship is complex, dynamic and multi-layered, making a simple yes or no answer to this question inappropriate. However, aligning Zimbabwe with the most effectively functioning customs union in Africa offers great opportunities to promote cooperation, coordination and integration between South Africa, undoubtedly Africa’s most powerful economy, and Zimbabwe. This paper, after examining the SACU–Zimbabwe relationship in terms of good governance, revenue-sharing, trade and common policies, concludes that now is not the time for Zimbabwe to join SACU. However, in the longer-term, promoting Zimbabwe’s integration with SACU, its major trading partner, has the potential to increase trade, investment and development in Zimbabwe. It could also lock-in domestic policy reform and, if accepted into SACU, add considerable legitimacy to the Zimbabwe policy environment.

Richard Gibb, The Brenthurst Foundation

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2010 Posture Statement: United States Africa Command

Every year, the commanders of the US Africa Command publish their posture towards Africa. This book contains the William Ward's perspectives, related to AFRICOM's mission and action.

William Ward, AFRICOM

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