About the Africa Program

Consistent with its mission to promote dialogue on Africa policy and African issues between the scholarly and policy making communities, the Africa Program hosts public meetings, conferences, and forums featuring heads of states and other leaders from Africa, as well as American, European, and African experts.  The African focus is on current conflict zones, such as Sudan, the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Niger Delta of Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire and Kenya, and on overarching policy issues such as trade, governance, the development of the state capacity, information and communications technology, development, drug trafficking and regional economic integration.more

 

The Latest from the Africa Program

Webcast

Business of Civil War: New Forms of Life in the Debris of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Event //
May 22, 2013 // 2:00pm3:30pm
This event has been organized in order to discuss a new book authored by Patience Kabamba, Assistant Professor of International Studies at Marymount Manhattan College. In this work, Kabamba discusses the enterprises of the Nande trust networks and consequently aims to challenge the assumption that a “weak state” is synonymous with a “failed” society. more

The Role of Local Institutions in Climate Change Adaptation

Event //
May 13, 2013 // 2:30pm4:30pm
Effective local institutions are central to society’s ability to respond to the impacts of climate change. Our capacity to adapt is dependent on a wide range of factors with complex institutional arrangements: production strategies, land and water governance, social support systems, household and gender dynamics, availability of weather and climate information, and interaction with external actors, among others. The interaction between local and national institutions is also an important, and often complex, factor. more

Africa: Agriculture, Structural Change and the Urban Imperative

Event //
May 22, 2013 // 9:00am11:00am
Panelists will examine how African nations can manage structural and spatial change to broaden economic growth. more

Africa Transformed: How Women and Youth are Leading the Way Through Technology and Innovation

Article //
May 08, 2013
Development on the African continent has gone “high tech.” Using the Internet, mobile devices, and other tools unavailable to previous generations, young people, particularly women, are leading the way in finding innovative ways to unleash technology to solve problems large and small. During a recent conference conducted by the Wilson Center’s Africa Program, we spoke with three front line leaders of a movement that has transformational potential. more

Beyond AGOA: An Updated Case for a Trans - Atlantic Trade & Investment Partnership Between Africa & The United States

Publication //
May 03, 2013
In this paper, McDonald, Lande & Matanda argue that, premised on conditions here in the U.S., in Africa and elsewhere, the ‘perfect storm’could be brewing for an effective renewal or enhancement of AGOA before the program expires in 2015. more

The Wilson Weekly

Experts & Staff

  • Steve McDonald // Director, Africa Program and Project on Leadership and Building State Capacity
  • Mame Khady Diouf // Program Associate, Africa Program and the Project on Leadership and Building State Capacity
  • Derek Langford // Program Assistant, Africa Program