Recent Publications

Opidata #8: The BRICS Summit, China, and the Emerging Illiberal Counter-Order
November 14, 2024 — The 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan solidified an anti-liberal «counter-order,» challenging the rules-based international system. With its expansion to 23 members, the bloc, financially led by China, seeks to evade global restrictions and advance its agendas, though it faces coordination challenges and diverse objectives among its members. ... MORE

Opidata #8: The BRICS Summit, China, and the Emerging Illiberal Counter-Order | Dr. R. Evan Ellis

The Causes of Instability in Nigeria and Implications for the United States
August 19, 2013 — Author: LTC Clarence J Bouchat (USAF, Ret) View the Executive SummaryAn understanding the political economy of Nigeria is needed to reveal the root causes of its many ethnic, religious, economic, and political problems and to address them for the long term. The pressures now weighing on Nigeria could literally fracture the state along deep fault... MORE

Nigerian Unity: In the Balance
June 14, 2013 — Authors: LTC Clarence J Bouchat (USAF, Ret), Mr Gerald McLoughlin View the Executive SummaryNigeria’s future as a unified state is in jeopardy. Those who make or execute U.S. policy will find it difficult to advance U.S. interests in Africa without an understanding of the pressures that tear and bind Nigeria. Despite this, the centrifugal forces... MORE

Sufism in Northern Nigeria: A Force for Counter-Radicalization?
May 1, 2010 — Author: Dr Jonathan N C Hill In light of the ongoing threats issued by al-Qaeda (AQ) against the United States and its allies, the need to prevent the radicalization of young Muslim men and women remains as pressing as ever, and perhaps nowhere is this task more urgent than in the countries of West Africa. The global expanse of the ongoing war on... MORE

Political Warfare in Sub-Saharan Africa: U.S. Capabilities and Chinese Operations in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa
March 1, 2007 — Author: Dr Donovan C Chau Domestic and international terrorism aside, the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), are vying for influence over African governments and people. Not unlike the Cold War, the primary means of exerting influence in Africa is through the use of nonviolent instruments of grand strategy. The author considers... MORE

Armies and Democracy in the New Africa: Lessons from Nigeria and South Africa
January 1, 1996 — Authors: Dr Kent Hughes Butts, Dr Steven Metz In October 1994, the Strategic Studies Institute sponsored a roundtable on democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa. Particular attention was paid to the role the U.S. military and Department of Defense played in democracy support. This study developed from a paper presented at the roundtable. Dr. Butts... MORE