This Week at ISN

04 - 08 June 2012 The final installment of our focus upon Africa considers the continents most problematic regions. Whenever Central and the Horn of Africa are talked about, the violence and political instability that plague these regions are usually mentioned in the same breath. In addition to providing insightful case-studies, this week's collection reviews the recent historical causes of insecurity and analyzes international and local actors' efforts to bring about stability in the troubled region.

Central and Horn of Africa

Moving Towards Weak and Failed States
04 June 2012 / Special Feature

From de-colonization to the end of the Cold War and beyond, Central and the Horn of Africa have been blighted by political violence and state failure. Today we trace the regions march towards fragility. More Kenya's 'Economic' Conflict with Al-Shabaab
05 June 2012 / Special Feature

Kenya's recent incursion into southern Somalia demonstrates that the world's 'most failed state' impacts upon the security dynamics of its neighbors, writes Edoardo Totolo. More South Sudan: A Newly Minted Failed State?
06 June 2012 / Podcast

Sage International's John Bruni argues that Khartoum has been doing all that it can to sabotage the development of South Sudan. Yet a lack of outside investment may allow China's influence to increase in both countries. More Too Many Players, Too Few Solutions?
07 June 2012 / Special Feature

The aid and military support that the international community offers to Central and the Horn of Africa may be stifling 'local solutions to local problems', writes Fawzia Sheikh. More Regional Actors in East and Central Africa
08 June 2012 / Podcast

Stephen Oola, Head of Research and Advocacy at the Refugee Law Project at Makerere University in Uganda, discusses the role of actors like the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in East and Central Africa. More

Security Watch
A Growing Humanitarian Crisis in the Eastern DRC
04 June 2012

An upsurge in ethnic conflict in the provinces of Kivu has led to an upsurge in internally displaced peoples across the country, report David Zounmenou and Naomi Kok. More In Burundi, Political Violence Halts Progress
05 June 2012

Elizabeth Dickinson discusses the simmering political tensions between an entrenched government and fragmented opposition that have resulted in an upsurge of violence in Burundi. More The Two Sudans on the Brink
06 June 2012

South Sudan's messy separation from the North has provided the perfect conditions for conflict between the new neighbors. Oil pipelines and production set the scene for the most recent source of tension, writes Richard Downie. More Solving Somalia: A Complex Political Game
07 June 2012

Magnus Taylor analyzes how civil war, terrorism and state collapse have made Somalia the Horn of Africa's most intractable security problem. More Why Less Haste Would Be Progress for Statebuilding in Somalia
08 June 2012

Saferworld assesses the prospects set by an agreement signed by Somalia's top political leaders proposing new political structures from September 2012 when current transitional arrangements end. More

ISN Blog
Mexico, USA: Who Will Pay the Price for Wal-Mart's Corruption?
04 June 2012

Solana Larsen discusses the bribery scandal involving Wal-Mart's Mexican subsidiary and the effects felt in the US. More Russia: Returning to a State Monopoly on Violence?
05 June 2012

Andrey Tselikov examines the Russian government's efforts to increase its control over the multiple private security and military companies (PSMCs) operating in the country. More Zambia Fixes Maize Price Again, Flustering World Bank
06 June 2012

Gershom Ndhlovu discusses the Zambian government's decision to fix the price of the maize against the World Bank prohibition. More Cameroon: Electric Dreams for Development by 2035
07 June 2012

Julie Owono assesses Cameroon's aspiration to reach an emerging market status by 2035, which among other challenges requires overcoming its insufficient energy supplies. More India, Bangladesh: Water Disputes and River Diplomacy
08 June 2012

India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers and have set up a Joint River Commission for water management. Recently, tensions between the countries on how to share resources surfaced in a dispute over the Teesta River, reports Aparna Ray. More

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