India-GCC Relations: Looking Beyond the Pandemic India and the GCC countries should further strengthen cooperation in the fields of healthcare, education, defence and niche areas like space exploration, artificial intelligence, cyber security, bioinformatics, and renewable energy. Md. Muddassir Quamar January 15, 2021 Issue Brief
Blanche Rocha D’Souza, Harnessing the Trade Winds: The Story of the Centuries-Old Indian Trade with East Africa, Using the Monsoon Winds Blanche Rocha D’Souza, Harnessing the Trade Winds: The Story of the Centuries-Old Indian Trade with East Africa, Using the Monsoon Winds, First published in Kenya in 2008 by Zand Graphics Ltd, Reprinted in India 2021 by Pentagon Press LLP. Pp. 204. INR 995. ISBN (hardcover): ? 978-93-90095-43-8 Samir Bhattacharya January-December 2021 Africa Trends
Scope for India-Africa Cooperation in Countering Terrorism Both AU and the UN have identified clear areas where the capacities for counter-terrorism in Africa have been found wanting. India is in a position to share and build capacities in areas of its competence and comfort. Such help would be along the lines of the Indian policy of building state capacities. Having grappled with terrorism in a democratic set-up, India is also in a position to share its experience of making law enforcement systems respect the fundamental rights of human beings. Arpita Anant January-March 2021 Africa Trends
Turmoil in Tunisia Tunisia faces serious socio-economic, political and security challenges. There is a degree of political disarray on top of a serious economic problem aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A decade after Arab Spring, Tunisia is once again at a crossroads, and its future depends on the ability of Tunisians to find a way out of the crisis, without compromising on the democratic gains made since 2011. Md. Muddassir Quamar January-March 2021 Africa Trends
The Impact of Indian Initiatives in Africa: Reflections on the Cooperation in the Health Sector Looking forward into the post-COVID era, it can be seen that India and Africa will further come together in collaboration with respect to the development of healthcare infrastructure and the reduction of emerging health issues. Other than providing regular medical checkups and post-covid care to patients, the Indian private sector has extended other initiatives. Health care will continue as an arena for India-Africa cooperation in times to come. Pooja Priya January-December 2021 Africa Trends
Unraveling the String of Coups in Africa The surge in coups threatens democratic processes and political stability in Africa. The root causes triggering the coups need attention. Government and political architecture in the continent have to be enabled and empowered. Political will, reform of organisational response and international support will play a key role in addressing the issue. Sindhu Dinesh January-December 2021 Africa Trends
Exit of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) UNAMID's exit did not emerge from a context of peace or progress towards conflict resolution in Darfur. Instead, the exit decision was essentially the outcome of the reflection that keeping the mission on the ground would not change the situation. Initially, the hybrid peacekeeping model was seen as a paradigm shift in peacekeeping operations, and many hailed it as the future of UN peace operations. Rajeesh Kumar January-December 2021 Africa Trends
Al-Shabaab in Somalia: Terrorist Trends in the Pandemic Years Challenges, such as weak infrastructure and ill-equipped armed forces, corruption, pandemic, and drought, have become intrinsic to Somalia, mutually reinforcing each other. Additionally, they have been exploited by terrorists to advance their Islamist cause. While re-evaluating counter-terrorism strategies to defeat al-Shabaab, the allied partners should carefully consider these factors’ role in sustaining the insurgency and address the security crisis – state and human security – accordingly. Saman Ayesha Kidwai January-December 2021 Africa Trends
FOCAC 2021: Key Takeaways The latest FOCAC displayed China’s fresh efforts to enhance its soft power, as well as its engagement with the African countries. The meeting underlined some new areas of future cooperation and China’s commitment towards a win-win partnership with Africa. Ruchita Beri January-December 2021 Africa Trends
The Revival of the Air Force of Zimbabwe The Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) has an enviable combat record among the air forces of Sub-Saharan Africa. It has a strong professional ethos and, until budgetary cuts and sanctions came into effect, was one of the most effective air forces in the region. It has gone through a period of decline and relative stagnation in strength. However, the last two years point to a revival in its fortunes though this is through the restoring of grounded equipment to service. Sanjay Badri-Maharaj January-December 2021 Africa Trends
