Spotlight: innovative research focuses attention on Central Africa’s growing turmoil

New ISS research on an overlooked region can help policy makers find solutions that work.

Published on 28 March 2018 in Impact

The Central African region is facing substantial pressure along several fronts. Countries here have, on average, less democracy, less civil and political freedom, less effective governments and higher levels of corruption than other parts of Africa. Despite this, little research and public analysis is being done to find solutions to the region’s many challenges.

An innovative Institute for Security Studies’ (ISS) project is addressing this gap. ‘Our latest study combined ethnographic research with quantitative modelling. By bringing together these different approaches, we have a much better understanding of how Central Africa’s problems developed and why they’re so persistent,’ says Zachary Donnenfeld, senior researcher in the ISS African Futures and Innovation Programme and co-author of the new ISS report.

‘We are now sharing the research findings with policy makers so that we can help them find solutions that will work in the long term.’

This research is a timely contribution and highlights some of the major challenges facing the region

ISS researchers argue that economic interventions alone cannot solve the deep and interconnected socio-political problems in the oil-dependent region. The thorny issue of state capture and poor governance by entrenched (and aged) regimes must be tackled head-on. This will clear the way to confront the security threat posed by Boko Haram and respond to the recent rise in politically motivated unrest.

‘This research is a timely and important contribution and clearly highlights some of the major challenges facing the region, both in the immediate sense and in the future,’ says Dr Christian Pout, President of CEIDES – the African Centre for International Economic, Strategic and Diplomatic Studies based in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

The study argues that if allowed to brew, the problems will spill over into the rest of Central and West Africa, with potentially devastating outcomes. Interconnected regional and country-specific policies provide the best opportunity for peace and prosperity in the region.

The ISS report was launched in Yaoundé in February, in collaboration with CEIDES. The results have been widely disseminated, and while in Cameroon, ISS researchers were interviewed by local media in French and English. As part of its focus on the region, the ISS also recently published a report on the intractable political crisis in the Republic of Congo.

‘Our work has laid the foundation for more collaboration between the ISS and local partners in Cameroon and elsewhere in the Central African region,’ says Dr Fonteh Akum, ISS senior researcher based in Dakar, and author of the new studies. ‘The positive feedback we’ve received shows the value of using the ISS’ collective expertise in qualitative and quantitative analysis to inform decision making on Africa’s persistent crises.’

To view recent ISS analysis on Central Africa, see:

ISS Today:

Central Africa's gathering storm

Congo-Brazzaville locked in crisis by its military governance

View on Africa briefing:

View on Africa: can Central Africa avoid disaster?

Central African Reports:

Gathering storm clouds: political and economic uncertainty in Central Africa

The Republic of Congo: from stalled transition to intractable crises

For more information contact:

Zachary Donnenfeld, ISS: +27 72 433 4808, [email protected]

Fonteh Akum, ISS: +221 77 887 83 17, [email protected]