The EU is struggling to cope with the so-called “migration crisis” that has emerged over the past few years. Designing the right policies to address immigration requires a deep understanding of its root causes. Why do Africans decide to leave their home countries? While the dream of a better life in Europe is likely part of the explanation, one also needs to examine the prevailing living conditions in the large and heterogeneous sub-Saharan region.
Africa
A QUICK GUIDE TO LIBYA’S MAIN PLAYERS
In Libya there are very few truly national actors. The vast majority are local players, some of whom are relevant at the national level while representing the interests of their region, or in most cases, their city. Many important actors, particularly outside of the largest cities, also have tribal allegiances.
Since the summer of 2014, political power has been split between two rival governments in Tripoli and in Tobruk, with the latter having been recognised by the international community before the creation of the Presidential Council – the body that acts collectively as head of state and supreme commander of the armed forces – in December 2015. Several types of actors scramble for power in today’s Libya: armed groups; “city-states”, particularly in western and southern Libya; and tribes, which are particularly relevant in central and eastern Libya.
Focus Mediterraneo Allargato n.1
La regione del Mediterraneo allargato permane in una condizione di forte entropia e di strutturale debolezza istituzionale. Interessi e agende contrastanti continuano ad alimentare tale dinamica, liberando costantemente nuove energie che alimentano i principali teatri di scontro e crisi regionale. Di fronte a tale scenario, si è ormai imposta la consapevolezza che lo stato e la sua disintegrazione o strutturale debolezza abbiano rappresentato il vero cuore pulsante che ha generato tale dinamica, amplificandone la portata e favorendo il libero agire sia di alcune potenze internazionali e regionali sia di cosiddetti attori non-statuali.
Crisi di legittimità, mancanza di sicurezza, incapacità di esercitare pienamente il monopolio della forza legittima, perdurante debolezza del sistema economico e, infine, polarizzazioni etnico-comunitarie e socio-politiche possono essere considerate non solo tra le principali sfide alla stabilità e alla tenuta di questo sistema regionale, ma anche tra i maggiori effetti prodotti dalla debolezza dello stato e delle sue istituzioni. In alcuni casi lo stato si è dimostrato addirittura inesistente o incapace di agire efficacemente al di fuori delle logiche dei regimi autoritari contro cui si erano mobilitate molte piazze nel 2011. Continua a leggere
NATO in Libya: A Long-Term Plan for Stability
PIMS STUDY – PISM Policy Paper no 11
Never was there a better time for NATO’s involvement in Libya than now. The Government of National Accord (GNA) is the only available option for a more stable future of the country. It has already shown it can deliver by defeating the Islamic State (IS) in Sirte, but without urgent support from the international community it may not be able to show more progress in providing security, reform and services to the Libyan people. Once it receives a request from the GNA, NATO can and should assist in SSR, border control and countering people-smuggling as there is no better placed actor to help Libya in this regard.
Come intervenire meglio in Libia: la seconda possibilità dell’Europa
L’attuale governo è la migliore soluzione per stabilizzare la Libia, gestire il flusso di rifugiati,respingere l’avanzata dell’ISIS.
L’Europa dovrebbe sostenerlo
Countering violent extremism: the Horn of Africa
José Luengo-Cabrera, Annelies Pauwels -EUISS
The Horn of Africa has gained notoriety as a breeding ground for violent extremism. Although the rise of al-Shabaab and the recurrent terrorist attacks in Somalia and Kenya have dominated news headlines and international counterterrorist efforts, other countries in the region have been (and continue to be) affected by extreme forms of violence.
From the rise of a violent armed opposition in Djibouti to the harsh repression and incarceration of political dissidents in Ethiopia or the ongoing clashes between government forces and rebel factions in Darfur and South Sudan, conditions in the Horn remain conducive to different forms of radicalisation … continua a leggere