Africa Program
The Africa Program works to address the most critical issues facing Africa and U.S.-Africa relations, build mutually beneficial U.S.–Africa relations, and enhance knowledge and understanding about Africa in the United States. The Program achieves its mission through in-depth research and analyses, including our blog Africa Up Close, public discussion, working groups, and briefings that bring together policymakers, practitioners, and subject matter experts to analyze and offer practical options for tackling key challenges in Africa and in U.S.-Africa relations.
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YALI 10 Summit
Event website access is still open, so please register to access session recordings and content from the YALI 10 Summit.
South Africa at 27
Palesa Morudu brings a South African perspective on where South Africa is 27 years after Mandela, analyzing Mandela’s nonracial legacy, and shedding light on the parallels between South Africa and the United States, especially as it relates to racial fissures and the struggle for racial equality. She traces South Africa’s journey through four key phases characterized by: national reconciliation, institution building/creation of a non-racial middle class, state capture, and renewal.
Reflecting on Nelson Mandela’s Historic Presidential Election, May 10, 1994
Olufemi Vaughan, provides a non-South African perspective, contextualizing South Africa’s colonial and apartheid history, Mandela’s leadership, and his legacy. Vaughan underscores Mandela’s remarkable leadership and accomplishments as he navigated the tough challenges that faced South Africa in 1994.
Diana Warira Njeri Wins the Africa Evidence Leadership Award
Diana Warira Njeri is the 2021 winner of the Africa Evidence Leadership Award (AELA) offered by the Africa Evidence Network. Diana Warira, Former Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding Scholar, Wins the Prestigious Africa Evidence Leadership Award by the Africa Evidence Network.
AFRICA PROGRAM IN THE NEWS
EXPLORE OUR PROJECTS
The Brown Capital Management Africa Forum
Launched in September 2015, the Brown Capital Management Africa Forum provides a premier platform for substantive and solution-oriented dialogue on key trade, investment, and development issues in Africa, and in U.S.-Africa relations.
The Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding
The Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding (SVNP) is a consortium of research and policy organizations from across Africa. The network seeks to foster dialogue and increase the visibility of African perspectives within the U.S. policy arena.
Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) 10 Summit
To celebrate and commemorate YALI’s ten-year anniversary, the U.S. Department of State in partnership with the Wilson Center Africa Program will host the YALI 10 Summit in May 2021 and Livestream Event in August 2021.
Sudans Working Group
Through high-level working groups, the Africa Program provides a platform for in-depth, candid discussions and offers real-time options and actionable ideas for addressing pressing issues confronting Africa and U.S.-Africa relations.
Program Staff, Interns, Scholars, and Fellows
Monde Muyangwa
Hannah Akuiyibo
Shahrazad Hired
Gamuchirai Mhute
Catharine Helmers
Maguy Djambouen
Adesoji Adelaja
John A Hannah Distinguished Professor in Land Policy, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics
Ambassador Alan Goulty
Former British Ambassador to Sudan and Tunisia
Terence McNamee
Independent
Khalid Medani
Associate Professor of Political Science, McGill University
Maria Repnikova
Assistant Professor of Global Communication, Georgia State University
James A. Schear
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, US Department of Defense
Aili Mari Tripp
Wangari Maathai Professor of Political Science and Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Olufemi Vaughan
Alfred Sargent Lee and Mary Ames Lee Professor of Black Studies, Amherst College
William R. Steiger
Monde Muyangwa
For too long, U.S.-Africa relations were defined by Cold War calculations, humanitarian crises, and conflict and insecurity, while economic and development matters were largely on the periphery of U.S. engagement with the continent. Since 2014, there has been an effort to re-position U.S.-Africa relations by bringing business and economic relations squarely into the center of U.S.-Africa relations.
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