This article delves into the pressing issue of food insecurity in East Africa, where a multitude of interconnected factors necessitate urgent attention. It offers an overview of some of the issues at hand by assessing the current landscape of food insecurity, identifying its underlying determinants, and analyzing initiatives undertaken by various stakeholders. Among these stakeholders, the East African Development Bank (EADB) emerges as a pivotal player, dedicated to addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty in alignment with the 2030 Agenda. Through concerted efforts, East Africa can achieve…
In the intelligence field, there is a complex interplay between private interests and national security interests. Private companies play an increasingly important role in enhancing intelligence collection, analysis, and dissemination, as most recently evidenced by their contributions to the war in Ukraine. However, this shifting balance between intelligence agencies and private firms calls into question the assumed conflict between security and commercial interests. It raises the challenge of balancing these companies’ contributions with the sensitivity of national security information, if possible…
In the best-case scenario for China, Beijing achieves its economic development goals and reunifies peacefully with Taiwan, all while containing tensions with the United States. Three key developments are necessary for China to achieve its ideal outcome and maintain cooperation with Russia, without interfering in Moscow’s traditional sphere of influence in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. First, China meets its economic modernization goals, becoming the envy of the modern world. Secondly, China mediates an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, and in doing so, lends considerable momentum to the Global…
Canton Island sits 1,900 miles southwest of Honolulu amongst the island nation of Kiribati, and is remote and sparsely populated, home to just 41 people.[1] The nation has signed on to host a controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, a concern of American national security professionals, to improve Canton Airfield. Kiribati's aim is to increase tourism to Canton Island, an island with no current tourism infrastructure where nearly 50% of the largest strip of land is covered in a runway.[2] Kiribati is directly astride one of the most strategically vital maritime routes in the…
As climate change unfolds, threatening the lives and livelihoods of billions of people around the globe, the issue of climate migration is receiving increasing attention by the public, academics and policymakers alike. While narratives about climate-induced mass migration or populations becoming “trapped” by climate change are gaining momentum, the scientific evidence on climate-related mobility is scant. Individual-level decision-making processes around migration and in situ adaptation are highly context-specific and hard to generalize. Hence, there is a need for more rigorous, in-depth…
In 2023, the Syrian refugee crisis enters its twelfth year as one of the most devastating catastrophes of our time. This intractable conflict denies millions of Syrian children access to education; Syria will feel the effects of this outcome for generations. Neighbouring countries such as Lebanon continue to bear the heavy weight of its impact, deepening instability and chaos in a country with a defunct government on the brink of economic collapse. Although the readmittance of Syria to the Arab League occurred without any measures to hold the Assad regime accountable for its brutalities, war crimes,…
Over the last ten years, the United States has quietly carried out a bipartisan, private sector-led foreign policy program in support of Egypt, a strategic ally in the Middle East. Today, the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund (EAEF) represents one of the most successful–but little discussed–U.S. economic assistance programs. Signed into law following the 2011 Egyptian revolution, EAEF played a key role in rebuilding Egypt’s private sector by seeding what are today the region’s top private equity and venture capital funds, mobilizing $1.4 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and expanding…
Subregional dynamics are crucial to transatlantic security, cooperation, and prosperity. EU Global Strategy and U.S. National Security Strategy have failed to fully capture the geopolitical value of subregions. The connectivity of subregional networks of innovation and cooperation is of paramount strategic importance to constructing a model of integrated network security meta-governance. This model has the potential to salvage the Liberal International Order and expand the scope and relevance of international organizations in an era of permacrisis.