The Resurgence of the Islamic State in the Sahel and Its Strategic Impact on Regional Security

While the Islamic State has been officially eliminated in Iraq and Syria, it is rapidly strengthening its bases in the territories outside Iraq and the Levant like the Sahel and West Africa through its local affiliates. It is also mending terms with the Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) – now operating in the Sahel under the umbrella of the Group in Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM). Its growing affinity with Al-Qaeda could strengthen and multiply its workforce and provide access to Al-Qaeda's existing resources.

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Exploring the Blue Economy to Bridge Funding Gap in Nigeria

Nigerian government should promote a coherent win-win cooperation across sub-regional, regional and international marine economic fields. This begins with ratification of the six instruments of International Maritime Organization by the Nigerian government. Ambitious nations are investing heavily in blue economy taking into account the projected contributions to their GDP. Nigeria cannot be an onlooker.

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Philani Mthembu, China and India’s Development Cooperation in Africa: The Rise of Southern Powers, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018

The 21st century has witnessed a marked shift in the trends of development cooperation. The earlier developing countries who received foreign aid from developed countries have now begun to themselves engage in extending foreign aid to fellow developing as well as underdeveloped countries. This book provides an enriching insight into these trends particularly focusing on India and China’s development cooperation in Africa. Philani Mthembu examines the determinants that push China and India to pursue development cooperation activities in Africa. Furthermore, he explores why only certain countries have received more aid as compared to others.

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Purnima Mehta Bhatt, The African Diaspora in India: Assimilation, Change and Cultural Survivals, 1st Edition, Routledge, New York, 2017

Indo-African relations in the last ten years have been considerably enhanced through the lines of credit that the former has extended to the latter in various fields such as agriculture, health, infrastructure, and others. Therefore, these have received attention in academic writings. However, the focus on the African diaspora in India has been quite limited in comparison to the African students who visit India as part of the diplomatic relations.

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Russia’s Re-Engagements in Africa

Africa is a geopolitical arena where many big powers have been engaging either due to their own strategic interests or due to the changing dynamics of geopolitics. Russia is no exception. Russia’s interests in Africa are mainly due to heavy investments in raw resource megaprojects and as one of the major suppliers of arms. However, Russia needs to unveil an ambitious and new vision that could satisfy the requirement of African countries and subsequently could be leveraged for tangible rewards for Russia, and the year 2019 set the tone for such actions.

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James Hamill, Africa’s Lost Leader: South Africa’s Continental Role Since Apartheid

James Hamill, in his book ‘Africa’s Lost Leader: South Africa’s Continental Role Since Apartheid” debunks the perception of South Africa as the undisputed leader of Africa and paints South Africa as nothing more than a fragile hegemon. He supports this by arguing that South Africa has been reluctant to assume a hegemonic role, for a range of historical and contemporary reasons. South Africa has generated significant resentment, suspicion and even outright opposition from other African states. It has been unable to popularise its ideals in Africa or build a consensus around them.

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Rising US-Iran Hostilities: Implications for Africa

Tension between the US and Iran escalated after the assassination of Iranian military commander, General Qassim Soleimani by the Trump administration on January 3, 2020. Tehran launched a series of missile attacks on a military base that hosts American troops in Iraq. This is the first direct engagement between both the countries since the naval battle precipitating the Vincennes event on July 3, 1998.

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