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    • Arab Spring | 57 articles
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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

  • Sanctions and the Costs of Russia’s War in Ukraine

    May 12, 2022by Erica Moret

    The sanctions imposed against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine mark a new page in global sanctions practice yet lessons from earlier cases could help increase efficacy and minimize costs.

    Analysisconflict, europe, ukraine
  • A4P+ and Uniformed Women’s Participation in Peacekeeping

    April 26, 2022by Gretchen Baldwin and Jake Sherman

    The UN, in its implementation of A4P+, must address the heavily masculine, exclusionary, and militarized structures which often preclude women (and anyone outside of a very particular gendered profile) from deploying.

    Analysisa4p, peacekeeping, women-peace-and-security

Trending

  • Despite Constraints, MINUSMA Remains the Legitimate International Partner to Mali

    April 21, 2022by Rida Lyammouri

    Facing its most difficult period since its inception in April 2013, MINUSMA, and the Security Council, now need to acknowledge that their biggest problems in Mali are political.

    Analysisafrica, mali, peacekeeping
  • While Afghans Wait, States and Banks Decrypt the Humanitarian Exception in the Taliban Sanctions Regime

    April 14, 2022by Agathe Sarfati

    Amid mounting pressure to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan, the United Nations Security Council took the rare step of creating a humanitarian exception for the 1988 Taliban sanctions regime.

    Analysisafghanistan, humanitarian
  • What Are the International Military Options for the Sahel?

    April 12, 2022by Nina Wilén and Paul D. Williams

    The complex, and not always coordinated, ecosystem of military operations across the Sahel has been aptly labeled a security traffic jam. Why are external forces in the Sahel? Can they help resolve any of the region’s crises? And, if so, what configuration of external forces makes the most sense?

    Analysismali, peacekeeping, sahel
  • NATO, the EU, and the War in Ukraine: Interview with Paul Poast 

    April 8, 2022by Eimer Curtin

    It has been six weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine and the conflict is devolving into a stalemate. Paul Poast discusses the responses of NATO, the shifts in EU defense policies, and how this war might end.

    Interviewsconflict, europe
  • Climate Governance, Reform or Perish—The Future of the UNFCCC

    April 6, 2022Jimena Leiva Roesch and Eimer Curtin

    As the need for stronger commitments toward the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees grows, the voices and interests of the most vulnerable people and countries are not being given precedence in global climate talks.

    Analysisclimate-change, united-nations
  • By Invitation Only: Including Women Briefers at the UN Security Council

    April 1, 2022by Louise Olsson and Anna Marie Obermeier

    While briefing the Security Council has always been a male-dominated affair, more women have been included over the years, a development which came at the same time as an overall increase in the number of briefers.

    Analysissecurity-council, women-peace-and-security
  • The Benefits, Challenges, and Limitations of Criminalizing Ecocide

    March 30, 2022by Rachel Killean

    The campaign to introduce a new international crime of “ecocide” at the International Criminal Court is long-standing but has received increased support over the last couple of years.

    Analysisenvironment
  • How Weapons and Ammunition Management Can Enhance Women, Peace and Security

    March 17, 2022by Hana Salama and Emma Bjertén-Günther

    The proliferation of weapons and ammunition presents a major obstacle in the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

    Analysiswomen-peace-and-security
  • Putin’s “Peacekeepers”

    February 23, 2022by Paul D. Williams

    Putin has ordered Russian soldiers to conduct what he called “peacekeeping operations” in Donetsk and Luhansk, a clear violation of international law and a perversion of the important international concept of peacekeeping.

    Analysisconflict, europe
  • ECOWAS Sanctions Against Mali Necessary, but May Be Counter-Productive

    February 2, 2022by Festus Kofi Aubyn

    The new sanctions were triggered by months of growing tensions between ECOWAS and the military-dominated transitional government over the timetable for Mali’s return to civilian rule after two successful coups d’état.

    Analysisafrica, sanctions
  • New Name, but Little Sign of Change: The Revised Agreement on the African Union Mission in Somalia

    January 27, 2022by Colin Robinson

    The AU mission’s success relies on the handover of military responsibilities to an effective Somali replacement. But the Somali National Army remains as politicized and clan-divided as it has ever been.

    Analysisafrica, african-union, peacekeeping
  • Ugandan and Congolese Troops Are Conducting Joint Operations: What Could that Mean for MONUSCO?

    December 20, 2021by Daniel Levine-Spound

    The joint operations against the Allied Democratic Forces in the Beni territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo raise critical legal, operational, and reputational challenges for MONUSCO.

    Analysisafrica, peacekeeping
  • New Climate Data Visualizations, 2021

    December 15, 2021by Noemi Florea

    Noemi Florea has compiled some key data visualizations from 2021 for the Global Observatory that highlight progress on climate change, from expanded research on the global environment to emerging developments for climate adaptation.

    Further Readingclimate-change, climate2021
  • Is the Global Climate Governance System Working?

    November 23, 2021by Jimena Leiva Roesch, Julia Almeida Nobre, and Eimer Curtin

    In the wake of COP26, there is a need to examine the current structures and dynamics of global climate governance.

    Analysisclimate-change, climate2021
  • How Permafrost Thaw Puts the Russian Arctic at Risk

    November 22, 2021by Katarina Kertysova and Akash Ramnath

    Permafrost thaw presents a major challenge to Arctic communities and ecosystems and has enormous potential to accelerate climate change and its global impacts.

    Analysisclimate-change, climate2021
  • The Pitfalls of UN Peacekeeping in Afghanistan

    September 1, 2021by Paul D. Williams

    Neither local nor international politics are currently right for a UN peacekeeping deployment in Afghanistan.

    Analysisafghanistan, peacekeeping
  • Revitalizing Progress for SDG 16 on Peace, Justice and Inclusion

    June 29, 2021by Yulia Shalomov

    The way forward for realizing SDG 16 will continue to depend on states’ ability to effectively navigate holistic policy coherence and the purposeful integration of local development actors.

    Analysissustainable-development
  • Reflecting on the UN’s Role in Counterterrorism Twenty Years After 9/11

    June 1, 2021by Jake Sherman and Agathe Sarfati

    As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, there is value in assessing the emergence of counterterrorism as the “fourth pillar” of the UN, its effectiveness to date, and the way ahead.

    Analysisctat20, terrorism
  • Rising Politicization Risks Splitting Somali National Army

    March 17, 2021by Colin Robinson

    The developing electoral crisis over the past few months has led to greater misuse of forces.

    Analysis
  • Regional Special Forces Pose Threat to Peace and Security in Ethiopia

    February 22, 2021by Bereket Tsegay

    The peace and security arrangement between federal and regional states has allowed special forces to instigate conflicts in unique ways.

    Analysisafrica, peace-and-security

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