With the recent escalation in violence between militias supporting the Tripoli government, and the forces of Khalifa Haftar, there is cause to revisit our previous publication "Libya: The Need for a New International Approach, " and assess what, if anything, has truly changed in Libya.

After thirty years in power, President Omar al-Bashir has been forced from office in Sudan. The announcement by the Sudanese military came following weeks of public demonstrations, which have led to sometimes violent repression.  This paper explores some of the key dynamics of the ongoing situation in Sudan.

The security situation in the Sahel has been infamously perilous for decades; porous borders and large, ungoverned swaths of land permit a vast network of criminal groups, militants, and extremist organizations to operate with impunity. For years, the situation appeared to stalemate even with considerable international efforts mobilized[i] – all of which have failed to prevent numerous attacks on the capitals of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, and countless attacks on border areas.

Chad is widely viewed as a regional stabilizing actor, but internal economic and security vulnerabilities may jeopardize its valuable capacity, and have a larger domino effect on counterterrorism in the Lake Chad Basin and wider region.

Historically, Niger has enjoyed a relatively high level of stability, largely due to political cooperation, military support, and rural development. However, continued pressure from the European Union to stifle migration routes has come with unintended consequences, and threatens to shatter the delicate pillar of peace supporting the region.

Chancellor Merkel has received widespread recommendation for making Africa the centerpiece of her G20 Presidency and for recently supporting a G5 Sahel Joint Initiative- but despite these efforts, Germany has yet to deliver the ambitious, concrete financial commitments that are needed to concretely improve the security situation on the ground.

The Sahel region of Africa has been synonymous with poverty, war, environmental stress, and lawlessness for decades. Organized crime and smuggling drain billions of illicit flows out of the region annually, reducing state capacity to provide basic services, and inhibiting meaningful development progress. Weak centralized governments, such as Niger, Mali, and Chad have struggled to maintain authority and control over massive swaths of land filled with armed militias and groups affiliated with extremists.