Security Challenges in Africa: 2021 and Beyond | Countering Violent Extremism by Refocusing on Communities

Start: 2021-02-24 09:30:00 UTC Eastern Standard Time (US & Canada) (GMT-05:00)

End: 2021-02-24 11:00:00 UTC Eastern Standard Time (US & Canada) (GMT-05:00)

This is a virtual event

Residents in the Benisheik area of Nigeria (Ashley Gilbertson/The New York Times)

Terrorism and violent extremism are arguably Africa’s greatest security threats in 2021. Local groups with international terror links are embedded in East, West, and Southern Africa. Their activities foment local conflicts and enable organized crime rackets—destabilizing already fragile political landscapes. Meanwhile, years of government-led security force interventions, many supported by U.S. and European governments, have not dislodged the insurgents. Unless local approaches that incorporate tactics beyond kinetic counterterrorism are included in strategies to prevent violent extremism, Africa’s many national and regional efforts will fail to deliver sustainable and credible peace.

Join USIP for an event co-hosted with the RESOLVE Network and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) that will examine the role of non-state actors and local communities in preventing the spread of violent extremism. Drawing on research from RESOLVE’s Africa portfolio and ISS’s research, leading experts will offer alternative pathways for conflict resolution that account for local peacebuilding challenges—as well as consider the pivotal role of women in community-based justice, conflict resolution, and the rule of law.

Join the conversation on Twitter with #RESOLVEForum.

Panelists

  • Dr. Alastair Reed, opening remarks
    Senior Expert, U.S. Institute of Peace; Executive Director, RESOLVE Network
  • Dr. Akinola Olojo
    Senior Researcher, Lake Chad Basin Program, Institute for Security Studies
  • Dr. Phoebe Donnelly
    Research Fellow, In ternational Peace Institute; Member of the RESOLVE Research Advisory Council
  • Dr. Joseph Sany, moderator
    Vice President, Africa Center, U.S. Institute of Peace
  • Bethany L. McGann, closing remarks
    Program Officer, Program on Violent Extremism, U.S. Institute of Peace; Research and Project Manager, RESOLVE Network


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