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Africa: Year in Review 2023

Africa Year in Review 2023 Cover
Africa Year in Review 2023 Cover

The eighth edition of Africa: Year in Review (AYIR) includes 40+ essays that span everything from democracy and elections, trade, regional conflicts and coups, climate change, gender rights, and many other issues and developments in the governance, security, development, and social spheres on the continent. 

New to this year’s publication, we have included an exciting new section that gets to the heart of African issues and the future of Africa: essays that feature our cross-cutting focus on women, youth, and technology, as well as some other social issues on the continent. 

Africa: Year in Review continues to be our most-read publication, with this year being the largest edition yet. As 2024 commences, we invite you to join us in our continued discussion on challenges and opportunities facing the African continent that will inform the future of Africa and the world as we look to the year ahead. 

To commemorate the publication's release, the Wilson Center will host "Africa Year in Review:  A Look at US-Africa Relations in 2024" on February 8, 2024 at 10:00 am ET. Please visit the event page below to RSVP and for more information. 

Abuja, Nigeria - January 10, 2023: African sitting While Waiting on a Queue for Medical Care and Attention in a Rural Community.

EVENT | Africa Year in Review: A Look at US-Africa Relations in 2024

Join us for an event that will examine the key successes and challenges highlighted in the publication and engage policymakers and experts on the year ahead. Our featured panelists will discuss a wide range of topics in the governance, security, development, and social spheres, including democracy and elections, trade, regional conflicts and coups, and climate change.

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Authors

Ambassador J. Peter Pham

Fmr. United States Special Envoy for the Sahel and Great Lakes Regions of Africa; Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council

Fikayo Akeredolu

Doctoral Candidate, Oxford University

Thomas P. Sheehy

Former Staff Director, Africa Subcommittee, House of Representatives and, Principal, Quinella Global LLC.

James J. Fisher

Researcher, the Generous Listening and Dialogue Center, Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life; Ph.D. Candidate, Ohio University

Robert E. Gribbin

(Ret.), former Ambassador to Rwanda and author of "In the Aftermath of Genocide: The U.S. role in Rwanda"
Moses Kasanga Headshot

Moses Kansanga

Fellow;
Assistant Professor, George Washington University

Michael Walsh

Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Research Institute

Nii Akuetteh

Former Executive Director, African Immigrants Caucus, and Former Lecturer, George Washington University
Dr. Hyginus Banko Okibe headshot

Hyginus Banko Okibe

Former Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding Scholar;
Lecturer, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Department of Political Science
Tiseke Kasambala Headshot

Tiseke Kasambala

Director of Africa Programs, Freedom House

Igor Ngima

Burkina Faso Project Director, Freedom House

Jude Cocodia

Associate Professor, Niger Delta University Nigeria; Research Fellow, University of the Free State South Africa.

Daniel Eizenga

Research Fellow, Africa Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University
Addison Emig Headshot

Addison Emig

Former Staff Assistant Intern

Sophia Moestrup

Deputy Director, Central and West Africa at the National Democratic Institute (NDI)

K. Riva Levinson

President and CEO, KRL International LLC.

Stefan Bakumenko

Independent Researcher
Ambassador Donald Booth Headshot

Ambassador Donald E. Booth

Co-Chair, Wilson Center's Sudans Working Group;
Fmr. US Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan

Nebiyu Daniel Meshesha

Former Ethiopian Diplomat for the Ethiopian Embassy

Joseph Siegle

Director for Research, Africa Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University

Wondemneh Pawlose

 Senior Program Associate, Freedom House

Diane Furstenau

Senior Program Officer at Freedom House.    

Alaina Rudnick

Former Staff Assistant Intern;
Senior Program Associate at Freedom House

Elem Eyrice Tepeciklioğlu

Faculty Member, International Law Implementation and Research Center, Yasar University, Turkey
Headshot

Ramatoulie Isatou Jallow

Mary Frances Berry Senior Fellow, Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law (CERL)
Dr. Raymond Gilpin speaks at SWF 2022

Raymond Gilpin

Chief Economist, Regional Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development Programme, New York
Amanda Clark Headshot

Amanda Clark

Former Staff Intern
Deirdre LaPin

Deirdre LaPin

Former Fellow;
Senior Research Associate at the University of Pennsylvania
Michele Fabiola Lawson

Michele Fabiola Lawson

Former Staff Intern

Michael Olabisi

Assistant Professor, Department of Community Sustainability and Agricultural, Food, & Resource Economics, Michigan State University

Robert Richardson

Professor, Department of Community Sustainability, Michigan State University
Adesoji Adelaja

Adesoji Adelaja

Global Fellow;
John A Hannah Distinguished Professor in Land Policy, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics
Jamie Van Leeuwen

Jamie Van Leeuwen

Former Public Policy Fellow;
CEO & Founder of the Global Livingston Institute and Director of Youth & Community Engagement at the Emerson Collective

Rumbi Anne Gumbi

Public Health Consultant, the Global Livingston Institute; Clinical Research Fellow, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine  

Odilile Ayodele

Senior Research Specialist, Developmental, Capable, and Ethical State Division, Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
Olusegun Sotola Headshot

Olusegun Sotola

Senior Researcher, Initiative for Public Policy Analysis (IPPA)

Thompson Ayodele

Director, Initiative for Public Policy Analysis (Nigeria)

Maram Mahdi

Researcher, African Peace and Security Governance Program,Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
Dr. Florence Odiwuor Headshot

Florence Odiwuor

Former Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding Scholar;
Lecturer, School of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Rongo University, Kenya
Mziwandile Ndlovu Headshot

Mziwandile Ndlovu

Research Scientist, African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP)

Alex Jiya

Research and Policy Analyst, the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP)
Christopher Maloney Headshot

Christopher Maloney

Global Fellow;
Senior Director for Strategy and Business Development, Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL) at the UN Foundation

Joseph Asunka

Chief Executive Officer at Afrobarometer based in Accra, Ghana.
Milkee Bekele Headshot

Milkee Bekele

Former Staff Assistant Intern
Daniel Lee Headshot

Daniel Maweu Lee

Former Staff Assistant Intern
Lizzo

Stephanie Lizzo

Former Staff Intern (Director's Office);
Junior Policy Analyst, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCED).

Margaret Wamuyu Muthee

Chief Analyst for the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation

Azeb Tadesse

Deputy Director, UCLA Capacity Building Center,
Amb. Bisa Williams Headshot

Ambassador Bisa Williams

Fmr. Ambassador to Niger for the US Government; Chair, Board of Directors of Health & Development, International; Senior Fellow, Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs

Africa Program

The Africa Program works to address the most critical issues facing Africa and US-Africa relations, build mutually beneficial US-Africa relations, and enhance knowledge and understanding about Africa in the United States. The Program achieves its mission through in-depth research and analyses, public discussion, working groups, and briefings that bring together policymakers, practitioners, and subject matter experts to analyze and offer practical options for tackling key challenges in Africa and in US-Africa relations.    Read more