China-Africa Security Radar posted on 15 September 2025 an article titled "China in Africa's Space Age."
African countries are looking for practical applications of space technology. China is increasingly meeting African needs but comes with two concerns: unsustainable debt and control over information.
The Atlantic Council published in August 2025 a paper titled "Addressing China's Military Expansion in West Africa and Beyond" by Tressa Guenov.
The United States needs to develop a strategic approach to Africa that addresses all Chinese security-related initiatives on the continent. This is not the time for Washington to be pushing back from a region as important as Africa.
The South China Morning Post published on 30 August 2025 an article titled "A New Model for Peace? China Takes Its Global Security Initiative to Africa" by Jevans Nyabiage.
Africa is a key testing area for China's Global Security Initiative (GSI), which is evolving from an ambiguous concept to concrete training and military and police assistance programs. The GSI also encourages China's security model, which has the potential to entrench a politicized military.
Ethiopia Insight published on 30 August 2025 a commentary titled "Education Under Siege in Ethiopia" by Aemro Worku, former lecturer at Injibara University.
COVID-19, periodic conflict and insecurity, and regional educational differences have done serious damage to higher education in Ethiopia.
China-Africa Security Radar posted on 24 August 2025 an article titled "China's Recasting of Safe Cities in Africa."
A Chinese safe city project in Sierra Leone is being described as a "concrete measure to implement the Global Security Initiative (GSI)." This raises questions as to how China defines security and views both GSI and safe cities in Africa.
The South China Morning Post published on 4 August 2025 an article titled "China Pledges Support for Peaceful Development in Horn of Africa" by Jevans Nyabiage.
China's Horn of Africa special envoy Xue Bing told participants at the 3rd Horn of Africa Conference on Peace and Development held in Uganda that Beijing promotes economic development as a solution to resolving conflict in the region.
China-Africa Security Radar published on 3 August 2025 an article titled "China in the Horn of Africa."
Uganda hosted on 29 August the 3rd Conference on Peace and Development with attendance by officials from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and China's Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Xue Bing. China provided its analysis of the Horn of Africa's security challenges.
Comment: As with the previous two conferences, this appears to have been a talk shop with no tangible programs agreed upon for actually resolving conflict in the Horn of Africa.
The China-Africa Security Radar posted on 27 July 2025 an article titled "China's Rebuttal of AFRICOM: Finding the Middle Ground."
A recent article in the Communist Party of China's Global Times responded to AFRICOM's commander, General Michael Langley's 10 June testimony before the House Armed Services Committee that framed China as a growing strategic competitor in Africa. The Global Times article dismissed US claims of China's military expansion in Africa.
The China Global South Project posted on 23 July 2025 a Q & A titled "China's 'Feeling the Stones' Approach to African Security Takes Shape" with Lungani Hlongwa, China-Africa Security Radar, and Paul Nantulya, Africa Center for Security Studies in Washington.
China sees Africa as central to the future of the international order. Because of increasing threats to Chinese nationals and interests in Africa, the security element of China's engagement has become more important. But China is not following a single strategy for dealing with the security challenges that it faces. Chinese policy is usually aligned at the strategic level but often encounters fragmentation at the level of execution.
China-Africa Security Radar posted on 21 July 2025 an article titled "'Africanizing' Security: Charting the Future of China-Africa Peace Cooperation."
The People's Liberation Army Command College in Nanjing hosted in July the Young Leaders Conference of the China-Africa Peace and Security Forum for mid and senior-level military officers from more than 40 countries. It is part of Beijing's pledge to implement the Global Security Initiative (GSI). The article concludes that the long-term impact of the GSI will depend on how effectively African stakeholders can adapt and sustain the initiative for their own purposes.
The Atlantic Council published on 11 July 2025 an article titled "Guinea-Bissau's President on His Meeting with Trump, Relations with Russia and China, and Whether He Will Accept US Deportees" by Katherine Golden.
President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who met President Trump with four other African presidents at the White House, subsequently noted that he also met with the presidents of China and Russia. Embalo expressed the desire for more American investment and said now is not the right time for the West to end the battle against terrorism in Africa.
The Washington Post published on 15 July 2025 a commentary titled "William H. McRaven: Cutting the State Department and USAID Will Put Every American at Risk,"
Retired Admiral McRaven, commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014, praised the work of Foreign Service and USAID personnel at locations around the world, especially for their efforts to counter terrorism. He singled out some by name and argued that the dismantlement of USAID and sharp personnel reductions at the State Department only jeopardize American national security.
The China-Africa Security Radar posted on 30 June 2025 an analysis titled "Strategic Illusions: How China's Development-first Approach Undermines Its Security Aims in South Sudan" by Felix Brender.
South Sudan tests the boundaries of Beijing's doctrine that development is the key to peace and political stability. South Sudan demonstrates why development and security cannot be separated.
H-Diplo posted on 30 June 2025 a roundtable review of the book by Josh Eisenman and me titled "China's Relations with Africa: A New Era of Strategic Engagement."
Comments are provided by Yanyin Zi, Rikkyo University, Elisa Gambino, University of Manchester, and Obert Hodzi, University of Liverpool. We then respond to their comments.
The Heritage Institute for Policy Studies published in June 2025 a document titled "Somalia's Post-Conflict Experience: Political Rifts, Security Challenges, and Social Crises."
It contains 6 conference papers by different authors from the December 2022 Annual Forum for Ideas held in Djibouti and hosted by the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies. The first section examines governance crises, security threats, political divisions and three key types of conflict that continue to shape the political and social realities of post-civil war Somalia. The second section presents viable solutions aimed at fostering reconciliation and social cohesion.
A key lesson to be drawn from this analysis is that the interplay between governance disputes, militant insurgencies, and social intolerance among the people demonstrates the complexity of Somalia's challenges.
Bloomberg posted on 23 June 2025 a 12-minute video titled "How China Is Beating India in Its Own Backyard."
This is a balanced documentary about Indian and Chinese efforts to expand their security and economic influence in the Indian Ocean region. It pays particular attention to the role of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius and the UK/US military base in Diego Garcia.
The Emirates Policy Center published on 16 June 2025 a commentary titled "Stakes and Potential Consequences of the Growing Turkish Engagement in Somalia."
Turkiye has been steadily increasing its security, political, and economic engagement in Somalia. This has resulted in a debate among Somalis. Some view Turkiye's presence favorably, while others express concerns over its depth and implications.
The Africa Center for Strategic Studies published on 10 June 2025 an analysis titled "China Widening Its Influence in Africa through Expanded Security Engagements" by Paul Nantulya.
China is expanding across Africa its security relationships through training, military exercises, arms sales, party-to-party cooperation, and weapons production. About 70 percent of African countries now operate Chinese armored vehicles. Some 40 African countries have a relationship with Chinese public security agencies.
CTC Sentinel published in May 2025 an analysis titled "Somalia At the Crossroads: Resurgent Insurgents, Fragmented Politics, and the Uncertain Future of AUSSOM" by Daisy Muibu and Yayedior Mbengue.
Al-Shabaab has re-surged, issues remain between the federal government and the Puntland government, and the future of the African Union mission is uncertain. This analysis offers a comprehensive overview of the current security situation and the outlook for Somalia.
The Emirates Policy Center published on 29 April 2025 an analysis titled "Assessment of Somalia's Security Landscape and Prospects of Counterterrorism Efforts."
Somalia is likely to face a continuing back-and-forth conflict situation with al-Shabaab terrorists. This prospect decreases Somalia's ability to recover politically and economically. It also raises the possibility of "Afghanization" should the balance of power shift in favor of al-Shabaab.
