Essays
Has the world entered a “no war, no peace” era?
Is a Western-dominated world order really a guarantee for peace? How has the shift from power rivalry to power inequality changed warfare? What is “weakness politics”? Does peace still exist?
Research
The Colour revolutions in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan
What sparked the Colour revolutions? Did they bring democracy and the rule of law? What role did the US play? How did it impact relations with Russia?
Briefs
NIGERIA and Boko-Haram
How did Boko Haram get control of Lake Chad? How does Boko Haram differ from the Islamic State? What is the connection between terrorism and criminality? What hinders Nigerian counter-terrorist efforts?
Briefs Essays
A collapse of the Taliban regime in the medium term (3-5 years)?
How likely is it that the Taliban regime will collapse in 3 to 5 years? Will internal divisions, rebel groups, popular unrest and foreign pressure make it fall?
Briefs
Summary of Arab-Israeli Conflicts since 1948
What were the causes & consequences of the various wars? How do Israeli-Palestinian tensions impact the broader regional context? How do the PLO and the Hamas differ? Why have attempts to pacify Israeli-Palestinian relations fail?
Essays Research
Humiliation in International Relations
How can globalisation and Western modernity be both desired and rejected? What are the humiliating ways in which the West sustains its global domination? How does humiliation fuel national narratives? How have wars changed in a way that humiliation has become systematic?
Research
CHINA in AFRICA, a “shared future”?
Is it a “win-win” relation? Does China help Africa develop? Does it use “debt-trap diplomacy”? How does China play the big brother? What challenges will it face?
Briefs
Limits of the Power Vacuum Logic in Africa
Liberal actors see Africa as a proxy landscape for their power rivalry with illiberal countries. However, they forget that African States have their own agency and that it’s not a simple zero-sum game, a vacuum is not always spatial.
Research
RUSSIA, a predator in AFRICA
What is Russia’s strategy in Africa? How does it use the Wagner group? What’s happening in CAR, Mali, Sudan and SAF? What can limit Russia’s influence?
Briefs
Weak and Failed States in Africa
Who is at the basis of the DRC’s educational system? How do Chad’s rural populations settle property-related disputes? Why do Guinean hunters perform law enforcement missions? Why is a NGO fighting terrorism in Benin’s national parks?
Research
From Clinton to Biden: a look back on 30 years of US leadership
Delve into Bill Clinton’s pragmatic Wilsonianism, George W. Bush’s “America First”, Barack Obama’s smart power, Donald Trump’s unilateralism and Joe Biden’s Cold War mentality…
Briefs
ETHIOPIA, ERITREA and the TIGRAY war
What was Ethiopia’s position during the Cold War? What is the history of the relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea? What sparked the Tigray War in 2020?
Briefs
Pan-Africanism: between genuine aspirations and ideological hijacking
Short history, main thinkers and recent developments related to Russia’s influence in Africa.
Briefs
Jihadism in Mali, the Fula case
Who are the Fula and why do some fight with jihadists? Why is the ethno-religious lens an inadequate tool? How has poor governance fueled the security crisis?
Research
TURKEY and RUSSIA : a strategic alliance ?
Do past rivalries impact their relations? Why is Turkey annoying NATO? How complementary are their economies? How compartmentalised are their interests?
Research
Al-Qaeda and Daesh in Africa
What are the various African terrorist groups? How different are al-Qaeda and Daesh’s targets, strategies and images? How will the threat evolve in Africa?
Briefs
SOMALIA: al-Qaeda’s base in Eastern Africa
How did Islamist groups exploit state weaknesses? Why did piracy develop there? Why do Kenya and Ethiopia get involved in Somalia’s security issues?
Briefs
SUDAN and SOUTH-SUDAN: the forgotten wars
What caused the 2017 famine in South-Sudan? What are the root causes of the genocide in Darfur? How was Omar al-Bashir deposed by the 2019 revolution?
Briefs
TURKEY in AFRICA
How does Turkey leverage its soft and hard powers to gain influence in Africa? Which narrative does it develop? What challenges does it face?
Briefs
THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: the resource curse
How come the DRC has so much natural resource but is still poor?
What has been the influence of Rwanda over the DRC over the past decades? What is the M23?