The new International Development Minister has made a speech. That is neither surprising nor, in itself, even noteworthy. Under normal circumstances it might have just joined the background noise of government trying to present deep and damaging budget cuts as somehow strategic. This speech is different. It is [...]
As an accidental President, it is tempting to see President Samia as weak and at the mercy of Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) big beasts. But what she has done in office appears to confound this comforting assumption. Despite an apparent lack of enduring CCM power base, she has managed [...]
The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) should be clearly defined and understood by all. It is a UK national security force multiplier that uses Official Development Assistance (ODA) means and resources to help achieve political, strategic, and security goals. However, the strategy the ISF is designed to support is [...]
The problems of Tigray are not to be found in former fighters awaiting a sustainable return to civilian life; nor in the internally displaced people awaiting the chance to return to their homes; nor in the hopes for recovery of war shattered communities; nor even in the fact [...]
Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) can be both a mechanical process of transforming former fighters into civilian roles; and a strategic process to help create stability and prosperity in a post-conflict society. In Tigray, this strategic outcome would also contribute to Ethiopian national stability and security, as [...]
Many will be suffering from whiplash due to recent events. Navigating the new normal and responding to it is challenging. The news that the UK will increase its defence budget at the expense of its development budget is disheartening. The world isn’t black and white. Situations don’t lend [...]
Tigray has suffered a civil war of devastating proportions. The fighting is now over, but the challenge of re-building a fractured society still remains. One of these challenges is the question of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR). But that challenge does not stand in isolation – Tigray [...]
In the world of today, everything has to be measured, weighed and assessed. Businesses are judged by their profit; armies are judged by their success deterring or defeating enemies; development projects by their learning and contribution to poverty reduction. But what of diplomacy? How to measure diplomacy [...]
The new British government has initiated a Strategic Defence Review which is expected to report in 2025. And there is no doubt that – along with others - this is vital work. But what we have learned from contexts like Ukraine is that reliance on [...]
Recently, I have been prompted to think a bit about international efforts to grow African peace support capability, especially as the nature of peace support operations (PSO) appears to be evolving: Alongside the traditional (UN-led), the new kids on the block (AU-led), the alternative (region-led) there is a growing [...]
