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Burkina Faso is advancing its nuclear energy goals with Russian support. Russia is using nuclear energy diplomacy in Burkina Faso and across Africa to spread its influence and create economic opportunities for itself. READ MORE >> Egypt is growing military cooperation with Somalia and deployed troops to Somalia, which is increasing tensions with Ethiopia and raising the risk of direct or proxy military clashes between Egypt and Somalia against Ethiopia. The Somali Federal Government is trying to pressure Ethiopia to withdraw its military forces from Somalia and annul its port agreement with the de facto independent breakaway Somaliland region. Egypt wants to counter Ethiopia’s growing influence on the Nile and Red Sea, which are economically vital waterways for Egypt. Ethiopia has strongly warned that the growing Egyptian military presence on its border poses a national security threat. The African Union peacekeeping transition at the end of 2024 is a potential trigger that could transform the rising political tensions into an armed conflict between Egyptian and Somali forces against Ethiopian soldiers or pro-Ethiopian Somali forces. The growing tensions could derail Turkish-led peace talks scheduled for later in September. READ MORE >> By Orde Kittrie, Bradley Bowman, and Behnam Ben Taleblu Read Full Monograph https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2024/08/29/deterring-irans-dash-to-the-bomb/ 
Alberto Fernandez on Sudan's Civil War: The World's Worst Humanitarian Crisis
by Marilyn Stern Middle East Forum Webinar August 19, 2024 https://www.meforum.org/66054/alberto-fernandez-on-sudan-civil-war-the-world
Africa File Special Edition: Russia’s Deadly Blunder in Mali
Tuareg insurgents with likely ties to the Tuareg separatist rebel coalition and al Qaeda’s Sahelian affiliate repelled a Malian-Russian offensive in northern Mali in the deadliest engagement for Russian forces since they arrived in Mali in 2021. The heavy casualties likely have prompted Malian and Russian forces to reconsider how, or if, they can address significant internal challenges to reestablish government control across northern Mali. Russia is highly unlikely to decrease its presence in Mali despite the losses because of the Kremlin’s strategic interests in Mali and the wider Sahel. SEE FULL UPDATE
Women and the "wrong sort of Muslims" were the primary targets of harassment and intimidation in the recent British elections.
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Africa File, July 18, 2024: Sudan Spillover Threatens Ethiopia
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met with Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) leader Abdel Fattah al Burhan in Sudan in early July as Sudan’s civil war has moved closer to Ethiopia’s border, which risks destabilizing already turbulent areas of Ethiopia. The timing of the visit highlights Ethiopia’s concern that the Rapid Support Forces’ ongoing offensive against the SAF near Sudan’s border with Ethiopia could stoke ethnic tensions in Ethiopia’s Amhara and Tigray regions and benefit ethno-nationalist militants that are hostile to the Ethiopian government. Ethiopia is also well-connected to the other stakeholders in Sudan’s civil war and is trying to advance multilateral, African-led peace initiatives to stabilize the situation. SEE FULL UPDATE
The Most Important Country No One Talks About
Once a peripheral power, Indonesia, which will elect a new president on February 14, is now a regional fulcrum the U.S. cannot afford to ignore. / Read here
Seth Cropsey writes: Alliance management is an unending task, requiring all parties to have a consistent self-image. Saudi Arabia lacks that, making it an unfit balancing partner. Washington has a self-image, but one that is dominated by clichés about rebalancing and dubious uses of historical analogy. A new Middle East may be possible, but this is not the way. Sober considerations of the national interest, not quick fixes, must guide American and Israeli policy. The best choice, for Israel and for the U.S., is to wait until Saudi Arabia possesses a coherent identity and then see if it can be incorporated into an entente. – The Hill
Fawzi al-Zubaidi writes: These steps constitute a road map to restore Iraq as a normal state in the eyes of the international community. If Sudani succeeds in implementing these steps by handling them as a single package of “indivisible” measures and policies, Iraq could make a quantum leap in its modern history, accelerating the rebuilding and development of the entire country. However, Iraq’s failure to implement these obligations and steps will open the door to chaos, conflict, and further division. – Washington Institute
Hamdi Malik and Michael Knights write: Signs of real tension between HaN (including its offshoots AK and the Iraqi Basij) and other muqawama and Coordination Framework actors require ongoing, detailed monitoring. New efforts by the Iraqi Basij to hold protests or other events in the two main shrine cities would indicate continued defiance; the same message might be conveyed if AK aggressively regrows its Telegram channel (probably via paid bots). It will also be interesting to see whether AK and the Iraqi Basij try to damage AAH electoral campaigns in the leadup to this December’s provincial elections. – Washington Institute
China’s crude oil imports from top exporter Saudi Arabia are expected to remain depressed through the third quarter, analysts said, after its customs office reported inbound shipments from the kingdom fell to their lowest in 13 months in July. – Reuters
Addiction to captagon, an amphetamine-type pill nicknamed the “poor man’s cocaine,” has been a serious problem in Gulf Arab states — especially among Saudi Arabia’s youth, with one Saudi commentator speaking recently of a “devastating amount of poison” being brought to the kingdom. – Bloomberg Ethan Bronner writes: A deal is being negotiated that, if completed, would result in Saudi Arabia, for the first time, establishing warm relations with Israel. The main thing the Saudis would get in exchange — security guarantees — wouldn’t come from Israel but from its closest ally — the US. Israel, a high-tech power, would play a major role in ambitious Saudi plans to move its economy beyond oil. It would also be expected to make concessions to the Palestinian self-ruling authority in the West Bank. The US would regain some of its influence over Saudi Arabia, stemming efforts by China to expand its sway in the Middle East. The deal offers significant rewards to all four governments, not least of them additional ways of dealing with Iranian military activity in the region. But the prospect of the pact stirs populist forces among all of their constituencies, posing risks to those in power. – Bloomberg
Russia’s and China’s Economic Eclipse Proves the US System Is Still the Best
Desmond Lachman | New York Post We should be grateful that despite all its imperfections, the United States’ democratic and free-market economic system allows it to continue being the high-tech innovative envy of the world and offering its citizens a continually rising standard of living. Full Story
Global Jihad: Al Qaeda and the Islamic State’s Struggle for Power and Global Dominance
Katherine Zimmerman | Routledge
Revealing A Better Way Of Solving The World's Problems | Bjorn Lomborg
interview with Bjorn Lomborg via The Rubin Report Hoover Institution fellow Bjorn Lomborg talks about efficient solutions for global problems; the need to prioritize spending on the most effective solutions to address issues such as climate change, poverty, education, and health care; and several cost-effective solutions. The controversy surrounding recent judicial reforms reflects deep and longstanding divisions on the role courts in Israeli society. READ MORE › China’s Dangerous Secrets By Brahma Chellaney, The Strategist (ASPI): “It’s well known that China has the world’s largest navy and coastguard—the result of a tenfold increase in military spending since 1995—which it uses to advance its pugnacious revisionism." Beyond Defense: China’s Pursuit of Unorthodox Force Multipliers By Ron Matthews & Fitriani Bintang Timur, The Diplomat: “From animal mimicry to neuroscience, there is a hidden arms race underway in areas beyond “defense,” as traditionally understood.” Preparing for Great-Power Conflict The U.S. and Chinese militaries have each been shaped by a distinct set of experiences. How have these experiences affected the way both forces prepare for a potential major-power conflict? Read more » John Gillory’s history of the English department suggests that the future of professional reading may lie elsewhere.
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