In this episode of The Horn, Alan speaks with Babatunde Afolabi, former Africa Director at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), now Director of Political Affairs at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, about mediation and conflict resolution in the Horn of Africa. They discuss HD’s discreet work facilitating dialogue between conflict parties, and why the Horn’s history, politics and geopolitics make regional cooperation such a challenge. They turn to Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where the Pretoria agreement that halted two years of devastating war risks unravelling, and to Oromia, where HD- and IGAD-facilitated talks between the government and the Oromo Liberation Army came close to a deal before collapsing. They also discuss Sudan’s hard-to-resolve war, prospects for dialogue with Al-Shabaab in Somalia, and why locally grounded dialogue remains essential to ending wars.

For more, check out our Horn of Africa page.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by scholar and author Samson Abebe Bezabeh, a professor at the University of Hong Kong, to discuss Djibouti’s domestic politics and shifting role in a turbulent region. They explore Djibouti’s history, its internal political dynamics and uncertainty over the succession to President Ismail Omar Guelleh, who has ruled the country for nearly three decades. They discuss Djibouti’s role as a “garrison state”, how it benefits from hosting foreign military bases and why its strategic position may be changing as Ethiopia seeks alternative sea access. They also examine Djibouti’s fallout with the UAE over a cancelled port management contract, how that pushed Djibouti closer to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and whether tensions with Somaliland could become a new flashpoint.

For more, check out Samson’s book Djibouti: A Political History and our Horn of Africa page.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by journalist and author Nesrine Malik. They take stock of Sudan’s war after more than three years of fighting and consider where the conflict might be headed. They discuss what the wars in Sudan and Gaza reveal about the collapse of the rules-based order, as the U.S. becomes more withdrawn and European capitals hesitate to act decisively. They assess how the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is affecting the Horn, and how fuel and fertiliser shortages could affect African economies. Finally, they talk about what might come next for the global order and human rights, the prospect of middle powers uniting in the face of global disorder and “Equator”, the new magazine Malik helped found.

This episode is produced in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

For more, check out Equator and our Horn of Africa page.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we're bringing you a bonus episode on Sudan from Crisis Group's Global Podcast Hold Your Fire!.

In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group’s Sudan expert Shewit Woldemichael and Horn of Africa director Alan Boswell to discuss where Sudan’s war stands as it approaches its fourth year. They examine shifts along the front lines as Sudan’s de facto partition under the two main warring parties, the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, is becoming increasingly entrenched. They speak about how the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is affecting dynamics in Sudan. They also discuss the coherence of the two sides, their rival political projects and the role of outside backing in sustaining the war. They unpack the mounting risks of regional spillover, the state of efforts to broker peace, what might break the stalemate in those talks and the devastating toll three years of war have taken on Sudan. 

For more, check out The Horn episode How the Iran War is Reshaping the Region and our Sudan page.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we're bringing you a bonus from Crisis Group's Global Podcast Hold Your Fire!.

In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Crisis Group Africa director Murithi Mutiga about rising Ethiopia–Eritrea tensions and the growing risk of another war in the Horn of Africa. They discuss how political divisions in Tigray and Ethiopia’s push for Red Sea access are sharpening fault lines between Addis Ababa and Asmara. They examine how Gulf and Middle Eastern rivalries could shape any Ethiopia–Eritrea confrontation and increase the risk of wider regional conflagration, including the danger of spillover from Sudan’s war. They also explore how global political shifts are playing out in Africa, reactions to U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” and the prospects for coalitions of mid-sized Western and non-Western powers to act collectively. 

For more, check out our briefing, “Ethiopia, Eritrea and Tigray: A Powder Keg in the Horn of Africa”, and our Ethiopia-Eritrea page.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by Asher Lubotzky, senior research fellow at the Israel-Africa Relations Institute, to discuss Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and its interests in the Horn of Africa. They trace the history of Israel’s involvement in the region and its relationships today. They discuss why Israel moved to recognise Somaliland, how the decision links to Red Sea security concerns and the Houthi threat from Yemen, and what both sides hope to gain from closer ties. They also examine whether the growing rift between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates could shape Israel’s role in the Horn, and what Israel hopes to gain from diplomatic relations on the continent. 

For more, check out our recent episode “The Rupture in the Gulf, and Its Fallout”, our Analyst’s Notebook “Gulf Tensions Spill into Somalia as Mogadishu Snubs UAE”, as well as our Horn of Africa page.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.