INEF/sef: Development and Peace Blog

22.02.2021Markus Bayer Insubordinate youth and resilient elites: How the second & third liberation movements performed in the recent elections in Namibia and Uganda
The recent elections in Namibia and Uganda are telling indicators for the growing generational tensions between aging paternalistic elites and a youth striving for prosperity and democratic participation in many African states - and they are a wake-up call for more international attention. A growing part of Africa’s young societies is no longer willing to accept the past deeds of having liberated the country from colonialism or dictatorship as legitimization for nepotism and failures to provide services and development. Instead, the support for second/third liberation movements is rising.

25.01.2021Markus Bayer Private military companies and African security governance: Can the revival of a well-known actor change security arrangements in Africa?
A few years ago, it seemed that a new Russian interventionism would replace the Western one. After their engagement in Syria, which bolstered Assad’s rule and the successful annexation of the Crimea, Russia seemed to be capable and willing to stretch their sphere of influence through military interventions. Key to these endeavors were private military companies (PMC) like the Slavonic Corps or the Wagner Group. Now, a well-known PMC reentered the stage that could challenge not only Russian but also Western rivals and could induce an Africanization of Security Governance in Africa. On 7 December 2020 Eeben Barlow – a former South African commandant and military contractor – announced the reactivation of Executive Outcomes (EO). To assess the transformative potential of this reactivation for African security governance, it is helpful to consider the past engagement of other PMCs on the African continent, especially the failure of the Wagner Group.

08.12.2020Jannis Saalfeld, Christof Hartmann Does electoral inclusion constrain jihadist radicalisation in Africa?
Since October 2017, Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Province has been plagued by a jihadist rebellion which so far has resulted in up to 2,000 deaths and the displacement of more than 400,000 people. The uprising erupted in the context of escalating tensions between the Mozambican government and an extremist youth sect whose origins can be traced to the 2000s. Indeed, over the past three decades, jihadist milieus dominated by militant Islamist preachers have emerged in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
The Development and Peace blog is operated by the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF) and the Development and Peace Foundation (sef:). On this blog, international authors regularly share their perspectives on development and peace issues worldwide.