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Author: Ryan Cummings

by Ryan Cummings

Ryan Cummings is a Director at Africa-focused political risk management consultancy Signal Risk.
More articles by this author → Follow @Pol_Sec_Analyst

  • Côte d’Ivoire, Prioritizing Counterterrorism, Now Faces Terror Threat

    Terrorist Attack Near Ferkessedougou
    July 28, 2020by Ryan Cummings

    The threat facing Côte d’Ivoire is tied to its geographical proximity to established terrorism epicenters and its domestic and foreign policy standing.

    Analysisafrica, terrorism
  • The Calm Before a Spike in Coronavirus Cases in Africa

    Coronavirus Testing Nigeria
    May 7, 2020by Ryan Cummings

    The difference in death tolls and fatality rates between countries in North America and Europe, and Africa, has raised questions as to what factors explain the discrepancy.

    Analysisafrica, coronavirus
  • Security, Violence Could Impact Outcome of Nigeria’s Election

    February 14, 2019by Ryan Cummings

    Questions around domestic security will continue to be of concern to the elected government, who will need to be aware that the consequences of insecurity could define Nigeria’s socio-political stability well beyond election day.

    Analysisafrica, elections
  • Gabon Coup Attempt a Potential Early Warning Sign

    January 16, 2019by Ryan Cummings

    While the coup attempt appears to have been carried out by an isolated group of soldiers, it is indicative of growing frustration with the Bongo administration.

    Analysisafrica
  • Tenuous Security Situation and Need for Funds Fuel Abductions in Cameroon

    November 8, 2018by Ryan Cummings

    The recent abduction of students and teachers happened in an area at the epicenter of a secessionist insurgency in Cameroon’s Anglophone region.

    Analysisafrica
  • Nigeria Claimed Victory Over Boko Haram. How Did More Girls Get Kidnapped?

    March 6, 2018by Ryan Cummings

    The mass abduction in Dapchi on February 19 provides important insights on the trajectory of Boko Haram’s near decade-long insurgency against the Nigerian state.

    Analysisnigeria, terrorism
  • Is DRC’s Democracy Headed for a Kabila Coup de Grace?

    July 18, 2017by Ryan Cummings

    With DRC President Kabila becoming increasingly emboldened in his actions to extend his political longevity, it would be difficult to believe that travel and financial embargoes alone will sway the incumbent from delivering the coup de grace to his country’s hopes of achieving a democratic transfer of power in the near-term.

    Analysisdemocracy, democratic-republic-of-the-congo, justice
  • Risky Political Maneuvers Seek an End to Guinea-Bissau Impasse

    June 2, 2017by Ryan Cummings

    ECOWAS has issue a stern warning to the country’s paralyzed polity, voicing its grave concern regarding what it sees as “a deteriorating socio-political situation in the country.”

    Analysisafrica, democracy
  • Elections and Economics Add to Africa’s 2017 Security Challenges

    January 24, 2017by Ryan Cummings

    Successes in 2016 were counterbalanced by a number of sociopolitical and economic grievances that will continue to afflict the continent in 2017.

    Analysisafrica, peace-and-security
  • Feeding Nigeria’s Hungry Could Starve a Boko Haram Revival

    November 18, 2016by Ryan Cummings

    As shown by the recent announcement on farmers, Boko Haram’s resurgence comes amid a shift in military strategy from reclaiming insurgent-held territories to repopulating and defending these from further rebel attacks.

    Analysisfood-security, nigeria
  • Next →

This week

  • Why Congo’s M23 Crisis Lingers On

    May 30, 2023by Judith Verweijen and Christoph Vogel

    The conflict has been propped up by blame games, ineffective diplomacy, recurring geopolitical tensions and proxy warfare in the Great Lakes region, and the Congolese state’s weak commitment to addressing grievances that drive armed group proliferation.

    Analysisafrica, conflict
  • China’s Small Steps into UN Peacekeeping Are Adding Up

    May 24, 2023by Courtney J. Fung

    China will likely continue to shape peacekeeping along its preferences for a more technical and less overt political foreign policy tool.

    Analysispeacekeeping, unpkat75, united-nations

Trending

  • As UN Missions Draw Down, Strengthening Community-Led Approaches to Protection of Civilians

    May 23, 2023by Gay Rosenblum-Kumar

    UN mission transitions still result in gaps in the protection of civilians experiencing violent conflict.

    Analysispeacekeeping, protection-of-civilians
  • Human Survival Depends on Biodiversity: Interview with Brad Cardinale

    May 22, 2023by Jill Stoddard

    Brad Cardinale, an ecologist who focuses on the conservation and restoration of biodiversity in natural systems discusses the scale and irreversibility of the biodiversity crisis.

    Interviewsbiodiversity, climate-change, ecology
  • Mediation in Peacekeeping Contexts: Trends and Challenges for Mission Leadership

    May 19, 2023by Sara Hellmüller and Flavia Keller

    The political role of the UN may not have diminished overall, but shifted.

    Analysispeacekeeping, unpkat75, united-nations
  • How Not to Do UN Peacekeeping

    May 17, 2023by Cedric de Coning

    One of the most enduring lessons learned over the past 75 years of peacekeeping is that peace cannot be imposed.

    Analysispeacekeeping, unpkat75, united-nations
  • 75 Years On, the Uncertain Fate of UN Peacekeeping

    May 16, 2023by Jenna Russo

    This spring marks 75 years since the UN first deployed a peacekeeping mission. Here are some of the challenges peacekeeping is facing, and opportunities for the future.

    Analysispeacekeeping, unpkat75, united-nations
  • Ten Years After Genocide Trial in Guatemala, Justice System Suffering Trust Deficit

    May 10, 2023by Vaclav Masek

    The ten-year anniversary of the historic trial coincides with a process of erosion in judicial independence in the country.

    Analysisamericas, rule-of-law, transitional-justice
  • As Crimes against Peacekeepers Increase, How to Find Accountability

    May 4, 2023by Agathe Sarfati and Jill Stoddard

    Major challenges remain in pursuing justice for peacekeepers who have been victims of attacks.

    Analysispeacekeeping
  • A New Agenda for Peace: Making Peace Plural and Healing Historical Traumas

    April 27, 2023by Youssef Mahmoud

    Left unaddressed, painful legacies of past political violence will continue to infiltrate the institutions, processes, and assumptions that inform definitions of peace and approaches to sustaining peace.

    Analysispeace-and-security, sustaining-peace, united-nations
  • Small Changes, Big Impacts: WPS Achievements in Contingent Owned Equipment Manual Negotiations

    April 18, 2023by Phoebe Donnelly

    Updates to the COE manual addressing some of the particular obstacles faced by women peacekeepers are a tangible step toward meeting gender parity goals in UN peacekeeping operations.

    Analysispeacekeeping, women-peace-and-security
  • Wagner Group Poses Fundamental Challenges for the Protection of Civilians by UN Peacekeeping Operations

    March 20, 2023by Dirk Druet

    The Russian government-affiliated Wagner Group has gained widespread attention for its brutal tactics in the Central African Republic and Mali.

    Analysisafrica, peacekeeping, protection-of-civilians
  • Addressing Gender Bias to Achieve Ethical AI

    March 17, 2023by Ardra Manasi, Subadra Panchanadeswaran, and Emily Sours

    For AI to be ethical and be a vehicle for the common good, it needs to eliminate any explicit and implicit biases, including on the gender front.

    Analysistechnology
  • Future Peace Deal Not Just About Putin, Zelensky: Ukrainian People Get a Voice and a Vote

    March 8, 2023by William Partlett

    A stable peace deal requires the support of the Ukrainian people for both legal and political reasons.

    Analysisconflict, eastern-europe, peace-processes
  • Do People Trust the UN? A Look at the Data

    February 22, 2023by Albert Trithart and Olivia Case

    Survey data does not reveal a major, widespread drop in the UN’s legitimacy over the past few years.

    Analysismultilateralism, united-nations
  • The Multilateralism Index: Measuring Transformation in a Time of Crisis and Uncertainty

    January 9, 2023by Adam Lupel

    A better understanding is needed of where the multilateral system is working, where it is not, and where it is headed.

    Analysismultilateralism
  • Does the UN Need a More Coherent Approach Toward “De Facto” Authorities?

    January 6, 2023by Damian Lilly

    As a result of shifting dynamics in certain conflicts, as well as recent coups, the UN is having to engage with de facto authorities in a growing number of country contexts.

    Analysisunited-nations
  • Milestone in the Security Council: What the New Humanitarian “Carve-out” Means for UN Sanctions Regimes

    December 16, 2022by Naureen Chowdhury Fink and Agathe Sarfati 

    Last week,  the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 2664, a cross-cutting humanitarian carve-out for all UN sanctions regimes–including the 1267 ISIL/al-Qaida regime–to safeguard the timely and effective conduct of humanitarian activities.

    Analysishumanitarian, security-council, terrorism
  • The East African Community Steps into the Crisis in the DRC. Will It Help?

    December 12, 2022by Jenna Russo

    While the current crisis is unlikely to be resolved without military force, any hope for success requires that operations remain closely tied to a political process, and that neighboring countries remain accountable to support the security and sovereignty of the DRC.

    Analysisafrica, conflict
  • The Securitization of Gender: A Primer

    October 11, 2022by Gretchen Baldwin and Taylor Hynes

    WPS advocates must not allow gender to be instrumentalized within hypermasculine, hypermilitarized, and over-securitized approaches to security.

    Analysiswomen-peace-and-security, wpsat22
  • A Crisis of Consent in UN Peace Operations

    August 2, 2022by Anjali Dayal

    Last week, at least 15 people died in protests demanding UN peacekeepers leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The week before, the military junta ruling Mali halted troop rotations for the UN mission there and ejected the mission’s deputy spokesperson. These incidents highlight…

    Analysisafrica, peacekeeping, united-nations
  • Russia, NATO, and International Organizations

    May 23, 2022by Kseniya Oksamytna

    As Finland and Sweden begin the process of applying for NATO membership, misleading narratives about the role of NATO’s so-called eastward expansion in “provoking” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continue to hold sway.

    Analysisconflict, eastern-europe

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The Global Observatory provides timely analysis on peace and security issues by experts, journalists, and policymakers. It is published by the International Peace Institute. The views expressed here represent those of the contributors and not IPI.

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