Will Brown is a senior policy fellow with the Africa programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. His main research interests are African geopolitics, the ongoing conflict in the Sahel region, and international competition in the Horn of Africa. Brown has been a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. since 2020. Previously, he worked for a decade as a multi-award-winning journalist and reported from more than 30 countries, including from the front line in Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, and Chad. He was a senior reporter at the independent investigative outlet Tortoise Media, the Africa Bureau chief for The Telegraph newspaper based in Nairobi, the west Africa correspondent for The Economist based in Dakar, and a freelance journalist in New Delhi. He holds a BA in history from the University of Manchester and trained in reporting at the Press Association in London.

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Drones Galore: Changing Battlefields

Drone defense technology use is emerging across African battlefields, with few policy safeguards, codes of conduct, and security frameworks to protect vulnerable populations.

Commentary by Will Brown — December 6, 2022

Finding a Path through Quagmire

The insurgency in the Sahel has led to widespread humanitarian needs. Humanitarian operations are limited by instability and the competing agendas of regional actors. Improving humanitarian outcomes will require enhanced cooperation and increased understanding.

Brief by Will Brown — August 12, 2022

What to Watch in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022

The CSIS Africa Program previews some of the top stories and trends in the region for 2022.

Commentary by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, William Mark Bellamy, Hannah Ryder , Laird Treiber, Emilia Columbo, Will Brown, Rafiq Raji, Ryan Cummings, Maria E. Burnett, and Marielle Harris — January 20, 2022

What to Watch in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2021

From escalating conflicts in Ethiopia and Mozambique to a China-Africa relationship characterized by vaccine distribution and debt forgiveness, the CSIS Africa Program previews some of the top stories to watch in sub-Saharan Africa in 2021.

Commentary by Yemi Adamolekun, Lina Benabdallah, and Will Brown, Maria E. Burnett, Emilia Columbo, Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, Hilary Matfess, Rafiq Raji, Jon Temin, Laird Treiber, Judd Devermont, Marielle Harris, Kyle Murphy — January 12, 2021

No Time for Complacency: The Covid-19 Pandemic in West Africa’s Sahel Region

Sahelian governments are responding to Covid-19 amid protracted security and humanitarian crises. Senior Associate Will Brown lays out implications of the virus and argues that foreign partners should sustain their counterterrorism and humanitarian efforts in the region.

Critical Questions by Will Brown — July 8, 2020

Into Africa

Viruses and VEOs

Judd Devermont is joined by guests to discuss the violence in northern Mozambique, Boko Haram’s attack on Chadian soldiers in late March, and Covid'19's implications for the security landscape.

Podcast Episode by Emilia Columbo, Will Brown, and Judd Devermont — May 14, 2020

CSIS Into Africa