Read more about the article A New Military Junta Rises To Power In ex-French Africa: Gabon’s Long-Standing President Is Ousted Based On Election Fraud And Corruption Accusations
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A New Military Junta Rises To Power In ex-French Africa: Gabon’s Long-Standing President Is Ousted Based On Election Fraud And Corruption Accusations

On Wednesday 30 August, a group of men in army uniforms unseated Gabon’s long-serving president Ali Bongo Ondimba just a few minutes after he won re-election in highly contested presidential elections (Yeung, 2023). The vote had seen the governing Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) consolidating its majority in both houses of parliament, thus guaranteeing Ali Bongo over 64% of the votes cast and a third consecutive term in office (Bonny, 2023). Whilst seizing power, the newly established junta declared the election to be fraudulent, temporarily curtailed the Internet to allegedly prevent the spread of misinformation, shut the country’s borders ‘until further notice’, refused to allow vessels to leave the post of the capital Libreville, imposed a nightly curfew and dissolved ‘all the institutions of the republic’ (BBC News, 2023; Yeung, 2023; VOA News, 2023; Rédaction Africanews, 2023).

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5 September 2023
Read more about the article From the “Alligator” to the LCAC: How Amphibious Military Vehicles Evolved in Time
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From the “Alligator” to the LCAC: How Amphibious Military Vehicles Evolved in Time

In recent times, amphibious warfare returned to prominence, with many military operations around the world being conducted by amphibious troops. From D-Day to Ukraine, marines from different countries have a long history of successful deployment in war theatres, mainly due to their preparation and their capabilities. Readiness, flexibility, and cross-domain operativity are the basic features of amphibious units, which find themselves fighting in one of the most difficult types of warfare. Sea, land, air, space, and cyberspace are all fundamental domains to organising and carrying out a successful amphibious operation. For this reason, to operate in such a complex and multifaceted environment, amphibious units benefit from unique vehicles and assets that help them in their operations.

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23 November 2022
Read more about the article Assessing Africa-EU Relations vis-à-vis Russian Influence in Africa
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Assessing Africa-EU Relations vis-à-vis Russian Influence in Africa

This paper will analyse to what extent Africa past relations with Russia and the West have affected present African geopolitics. To reach this goal an historical overview of the legacy of the USSR will be provided, complementing this theoretical part with the effects that the colonial legacy still produces, hampering EU-Africa relations. Following this, in order to assess future developments in Russia-Africa relations, it is fundamental to evaluate the implications of the food and economic crisis in Africa as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as evaluating the effects of the recovery of many European countries with energetic ties with Africa after Russia’s weaponization of the energy policies. Finally, this research paper aims to provide some recommendations to strengthen Africa-EU relations in the near future as a result of the window of opportunity opened by the Russia-Ukraine war.  

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18 November 2022
Read more about the article A New Military Training Set Up in Mozambique
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A New Military Training Set Up in Mozambique

In the last years, the already fragile situation in Mozambique has become even more dangerous. In particular, the northern province of Cabo Delgado has been hit by excruciating violence, putting the civilian population at risk. The 2017 outbreak of a notable rebellion has only made matters worse. At the moment, the security and humanitarian situation has reached the point of no return. More than 700,000 people have been internally displaced, and it is presumed that, currently, at least 1.3 million people, in Cabo Delgado and its neighbouring provinces of Niassa and Nampula require, immediate humanitarian assistance and protection (OCHA, 2021). Without any external intervention, these numbers are expected to drastically increase.

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12 August 2021
Read more about the article The End of the Operation Barkhane, New Perspectives on the Territory
French soldiers during the Operation Barkhane (Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Opération_Barkhane.jpg)
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The End of the Operation Barkhane, New Perspectives on the Territory

On 10 June, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the withdrawal of the French forces from the Sahel region. Operation Barkhane started back in August 2014 after Operation Serval, which was deployed to support the Malian government in 2013. Operation Barkhane was based on the partnership between France and the countries of the Sahel G5, namely Burkina-Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, to address the rising presence of Islamist terrorism in the territory. The main strategy was to give the possibility and the means to the Sahel G5 countries to develop both national and regional strategies to fight terrorism autonomously (Ministère des Armées, 2019). The French approach was based not only on security in a strict way but also on politics and development in a broader sense.

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29 June 2021