Africa

By 2050, a quarter of the global population will live in Africa. CSIS scholars research critical issues and emerging trends affecting the world’s fastest-growing region. African countries are endowed with potential stemming from both natural resources and a burgeoning youth population, but governance and security challenges persist.

Photo: South Africa / Handout /Anadolu/Getty Images

Photo: South Africa / Handout /Anadolu/Getty Images

The Weight of History and Alliances in South Africa’s Geopolitical Turbulence

South Africa’s foreign policy blends liberation-era ties, post-apartheid grievances, and strategic goals. Amid rising U.S. tensions, Pretoria champions multipolarity, sovereignty, and historical justice to shape its global alliances.

Brief by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, Cameron Hudson, Khasai Makhulo, and Catherine Nzuki — December 2, 2025

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Photo: Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images/Getty Images

Photo: Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images/Getty Images

Financing Pandemic Preparedness

December 10, 2025 • 1:00 – 1:45 pm EST
Hosted by The CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security
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Experts

Oge Onubogu

Oge Onubogu

Director and Senior Fellow, Africa Program
Katherine E. Bliss

Katherine E. Bliss

Director and Senior Fellow, Immunizations and Health Systems Resilience, Global Health Policy Center
Jon B. Alterman

Zane Swanson

Deputy Director, Global Food and Water Security Program

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Financing Pandemic Preparedness

In the face of deep cuts to global health security programming, actions are unfolding on several fronts to reform pandemic preparedness and response financing. This session will focus on the question: where do things stand, as 2025 draws to a close? What can we anticipate, looking forward into 2026? 

Event — December 10, 2025

Fulcrums of Order: Rising States and the Struggle for the Future

As global power diffuses and multilateralism fractures, a set of rising states increasingly claim the mantle of the “Global South,” reshaping institutions, challenging Western dominance, and forcing the United States to rethink how it engages a rapidly changing world.

Report by Jon B. Alterman and Lily McElwee — December 2, 2025

The Weight of History and Alliances in South Africa’s Geopolitical Turbulence

South Africa’s foreign policy blends liberation-era ties, post-apartheid grievances, and strategic goals. Amid rising U.S. tensions, Pretoria champions multipolarity, sovereignty, and historical justice to shape its global alliances.

Brief by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, Cameron Hudson, Khasai Makhulo, and Catherine Nzuki — December 2, 2025

Executive Summary – Fulcrums of Order

As rising powers reshape the global landscape, the United States must shift from defending the status quo to building pragmatic coalitions, addressing Global South grievances, and engaging hinge states with a clear understanding of their politics.

Brief by Jon B. Alterman — December 2, 2025

Pekingology

China's Africa Strategy

Henrietta Levin is joined by Cobus van Staden, Managing Editor of the China Global South Project, to unpack China’s Africa strategy, as well as China's bilateral ties with South Africa ahead of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg. 

Podcast Episode by Henrietta Levin — November 13, 2025

CSIS Pekingology

What’s Next for AGOA?

The African Growth and Opportunity Act, the flagship U.S. trade agreement with Africa, has expired. As Washington debates the bill’s future, its uneven track record offers lessons on how to effectively strengthen U.S.-Africa commercial engagement moving forward.

Commentary by Michael H. Gary and Hugh Grant-Chapman — November 6, 2025

False Choices: Balancing Democracy and Development in U.S. Africa Policy

The shift in U.S. foreign policy to prioritize commercial diplomacy over democracy support presents a false dichotomy. As African partners adjust to the U.S. retreat as an advocate for democracy, this approach risks long-term consequences for U.S.-Africa relations.

Commentary by Oge Onubogu and Khasai Makhulo — October 21, 2025

Responding to Trump’s New Foreign Policy Paradigm

Please join the CSIS Geopolitics and Foreign Policy (GFP) Department for a discussion of the ways in which U.S. allies and partners around the world are navigating the Trump administration’s policies.

Event — October 6, 2025