The summer/fall 2016 issue of the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs published my article titled "Poverty and Terrorism in Africa: The Debate Continues." It is only available by subscription or through a library.
My bottom line conclusion is that poverty is not and never has been the cause of terrorism in sub-Saharan Africa. On the other hand, it is one of a dozen or more factors that have contributed to an environment that has enabled terrorist organizations such as al-Shabaab and Boko Haram to draw support.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Follow (click image below)
Search This Blog
China-Africa Relations
- China-Africa Bibliography (July 15, 2023)
- Syllabus for China-Africa Graduate Course (21 June 2023)
- China's Security in Red Sea Region (MEI, 18 May 2021)
- Covid-19 and Chinese Soft Power in Africa (10 May 2020)
- China in Africa Testimony (8 May 2020)
- Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Meets the Belt and Road (East Asia Forum - 18 October 2018)
- China's Just another Great Power in Africa (East Asia Forum, 17 May 2018)
- Deciphering Chinese Investment in Nigeria (US-China Focus 6 October 2017)
- China's Power Projection in the Western Indian Ocean (China Brief, 20 April 2017)
- Protection of American Nationals and Interests in Africa (Paper delivered at a conference in Beijing on 9 March 2017)
- Comparing American and Chinese Business Models in Africa (Remarks made at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. on 15 November 2016)
- Africa as China's Laboratory for Third World Security Cooperation (China Brief, 6 July 2016)
- The Environmental Impact of China's FDI in Africa (Winter 2016 issue of Cornell International Law Journal)
- China's Growing Security Relationship with Africa (Remarks at Michigan State University on 28 January 2016)
- China's Investment in Africa: Environmental Implications and the Law (Remarks at Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia on 23 October 2015)
- The Evolving China-Africa Security Relationship (Remarks made on 26 August 2015 at a conference in Cape Town hosted by the Centre for Chinese Studies at Stellenbosch University)
- China-Africa Infrastructure Financing (Remarks at Center for Strategic and International Studies on 29 July 2015)
- China, Africa and Food Security (Remarks at Yale University on 8 July 2015)
- Environmental Impact of China's Investment in Africa (Remarks at Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies on 4 April 2015)
- China's Interest in and Strategy towards Africa (English-language original of article published in Italian-language Italianieuropei in March 2015)
- China and the United States in Africa: Cooperation or Competition? (Remarks at the University of Illinois on 16 February 2015)
- Ethiopia and China (Paper presented at the 13th International Conference of Africanists in Moscow, 27-30 May 2014)
- China Confronts Terrorism in Africa (China-US Focus, Nov. 18, 2013)
- China's Response to the Islamist Threat in Mali (Published in 21 June 2013 issue of China-US Focus)
- China and Africa: Challenges and Predictions (Speech to the Cosmopolitan Club in New York on 8 April 2013)
- China and Africa in the Xi Jinping Era (Published in The Diplomat on 25 March 2013)
- China and Africa: The Next Decade (Keynote address on 1 February 2013 during a conference on China in Africa at the the University of Denver)
- China and Africa: What Do We Know? How Do We Know It (Remarks during panel discussion at the African Studies Association conference in Philadelphia on 29 November 2012)
- China's Investments in Africa (Published in China-US Focus on 1 November 2012)
- China and Security Issues in Africa (Remarks at conference on China, Canada and Africa in Ottawa on 20 September 2012)
- China, Sudan and South Sudan (19 September 2012 comment for The Diplomat)
- China and Mozambique (Remarks in Washington on 30 July 2012)
- China, Africa and Implications for the US (Commentary posted on China-US Focus website on 12 July 2012)
- Transcript on China-Africa Business Links (Carnegie Council in New York on 15 June 2012)
- Podcast on China-Africa Business Links (Carnegie Council in New York on 15 June 2012)
- China's Security Policy in Africa and the Western Indian Ocean (International Affairs Forum - 15 May 2012)
- Emerging Powers in Africa (Remarks on 4 May 2012 at the National Defense University in Washington)
- China-Africa Testimony (House Africa Subcommittee, 29 March 2012)
- The United States Reassesses the China-Africa Relationship (French translation appeared in issue 30 of Outre-Terre, published in January 2012.)
- China-Africa Relations: The Big Picture (2011 Achebe Colloquium, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, 4 December 2011)
- China and the Horn of Africa (Middle East Studies Association, Washington, D.C., Dec. 2, 2011)
- United States and China in Africa: Advancing the Diplomatic Agenda (Remarks originally made at Virginia Military Institute 4 November 2011 and then carried in International Policy Digest on 14 November 2011)
- China's Growing Role in Africa: Implications for U.S. Policy (Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, Dirksen Senate Office Building, 1 Nov., 2011)
- United States-China Collaboration on Health and Agricultutrre in Africa (Center for Sategic and International Studies [D.C.] and China Institute of International Studies [Beijing], Beijing, May 24, 2011)
- The Impact of China's Growing Influence in Africa (European Financial Review, April-May, 2011)
- North African Revolutions and Protests Challenge Chinese Diplomacy (China Brief, Vol. 11, No. 6, April 8, 2011)
- The Role of China in Africa: Trade, Investment and Aid (Social Investment Forum International Working Group, Washington, D.C., May 18, 2010)
- China and the Conflict in Darfur (The Brown Journal of World Affairs, fall/winter 2009)
- Africa: The United States and China Court the Continent (Journal of International Affairs, Spring/Summer 2009)
- China’s Involvement in African Conflict Zones (Jamestown Foundation, National Press Club, May 20, 2009)
- Chinese Involvement in African Conflict Zones (China Brief, April 2009)
- Africa at the Crossroads (chapter in Crossroads Africa: Perspectives on U.S.-China-Africa Security Affairs, CENSA, June 2009)
- Comparing Engagement with Africa by China and the United States (Indiana University, March 6 - 7, 2009)
- China's Engagement in Africa (chapter in the CSIS Africa Program report: Africa Policy in the George W. Bush Years: Recommendations for the Obama Administration, January 2009)
- Responding to China in Africa (American Foreign Policy Council, June 2008)
- China's Relations with Zimbabwe, Sudan and the DRC ( Remarks at the New England School of Law, 15 March 2008)
- An Opportunistic Ally ( Harvard International Review, Summer 2007)
- Africa, China, the United States, and Oil (CSIS Africa Policy Forum, May 2007)
- Africa, China and Health Care (PDF, Inside AISA, nos. 3 & 4, Oct./Dec., 2006, pp. 14-16)
- The China Factor in African Ethics (Policy Innovations, Dec. 2006)
- Africa and China’s Global Activism (NDU, June 20, 2006)
- Dueling Priorities For Beijing in the Horn of Africa (China Brief, Oct. 2005)
- China's Approach to East, North and the Horn of Africa (U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, July 2005)
East Africa and the Horn
- Outside Powers Vie for Influence in Red Sea Region (27 November 2020)
- Red Sea Security (May 2020 podcast)
- Competition in the Red Sea: Perspectives from the African Side (Remarks on 7 March 2019)
- Red Sea Region and U.S. Interests (USIP interview 19 December 2018)
- The Political Crisis in Ethopia (Remarks by David Shinn at panel during African Studies Association conference in Washington on 3 December 2016)
- Challenges to US Diplomacy: Dealing with Terrorism and Instability in the Horn of Africa (Remarks at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Annandale, Virginia on 13 October 2015)
- Neither Desperate Nor Stronger: The Adaptation of Al Shabaab (E-International Relations 3 July 2015)
- Somalia, Al-Shabaab, the Region and U.S. Policy (Remarks at William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA on 8 April 2015)
- US Policy in the Horn of Africa (Remarks at GWU Institute for Global and International Studies in October 2014)
- U.S.Policy in the Horn of Africa (Paper delivered in Moscow in May 2014 at 13th International Conference of Africanists)
- Ethiopia: Muslim-Christian Relations (Remarks at Bolling Air Force Base on 16 January 2014)
- Time to Bring Eritrea in from the Cold (posted on African Arguments on 13 January 2014)
- Somalia: Origin, Development and Future of AMISOM (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota on 19 October 2013)
- Al-Shabaab in the Aftermath of the Attack on Nairobi's Westgate Mall (Published by eInternationalRelations on 10 October 2013)
- eInternationalRelations on 10 October 2013) U.S. Security Policy in East Africa and the Horn (Published in World Politics Review on 20 February 2013)
- People to People and Ethiopian Healthcare (Remarks made at symposium hosted by People to People at the University of Kentucky on 27 November 2012)
- Somalia: Security, AMISOM, Governance, Al-Shabaab and the Future (Commentary on e-International Relations 26 September 2012)
- Somalia, Somaliland and the US Dual Track Policy (18 May 2012 Somaliland Conference at Hilton Dulles Hotel in Virginia)
- International Efforts to Counter Al-Shabaab (e-International Relations website, 20 February 2012)
- Al-Shabaab and Somalia in the 21st Century (Jan. 2012, New York City)
- East Africa and the Horn (Chapter 4 of Al-Qaida after Ten Years of War published by Marine Corps University Press in 2011)
- Republic of South Sudan: Statehood and the Challenges Ahead (PowerPoint presentation delivered in Italy, Oct. 27, 2011
- Somali Youth radicalization (French and English versions, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Gazette, Vol. 73, No. 2, 2011)
- U.S. Policy towards the Horn of Africa (Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Sept. 30, 2011)
- A Proposed US Regional Strategy towards the Horn of Africa: Conflict Resolution at Local and Regional Levels (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C., 7 September, 2011)
- Water and Security in Africa (Hosted by U.S. State Department, AFRICOM, Arlington, Va., July 21-22, 2011)
- Challenges Facing Somalia (House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights and the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, July 7, 2011)
- Sudan - Rule of Law Deployments (Hosted by Walker Institute, University of South Carolina, Coumbia, S.C., 1 July, 2011)
- Revolutionary Winds from North to South of the Sahara: Wishful Thinking? (University Club, Washington, D.C., 10 June, 2011)
- Al Shabaab's Foreign Threat to Somalia (Orbis, Vol. 55, Issue 2, 2011, pages 203-215)
- Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab and Somalia (Selfridge Air National Guard, Mount Clemens, Mich., Feb. 15, 2011)
- Somalia: Promoting Peace and Preventing Youth Radicalization (Canadian Friends of Somalia conference, Ottawa, Dec. 6-7, 2010)
- Interview (Awramba Times, Dec. 1, 2010)
- Al-Shabaab tries to take control in Somalia (Foreign Policy Research Institute, Nov., 2010)
- Libyan policy in the Horn of Africa (Center for Naval Analyses, Oct. 25, 2010)
- Remarks to Somali Transitional Federal Government Members of Parliament (Mayflower Renaissance Hotel, June 24, Washington, D.C.)
- Somalia and the International Community: Facing Reality (9th Horn of Africa Conference Focus on Somalia, June 4, Lund, Sweden)
- United States-Somali Relations: Local, National and International Dimensions (Center for African Studies, Ohio State University, April 26, 2010)
- A Vision for the Horn of Africa (Advocacy for Ethiopia, Ethiopian National Priorities Consultative Process, Virginia, April 9, 2010)
- Challenges to Peace and Stability in the Horn of Africa (World Affairs Council of N. California, March 12, 2010)
- Ways to Contribute to the Future of Ethiopia (Ethiopian American Youth Initiative, Ethiopian Embassy, Washington, D.C., Jan. 2, 2010)
- The Intensity, Spread and Economics of Somali Piracy (Controlling Maritime Piracy, Harvard Kennedy School, Dec. 10-12, 2009)
- Al-Shabaab and the Future of Somalia (Jamestown Foundation conference, National Press Club, Dec. 9, 2009)
- Ethiopian Armed Groups (The Future of Armed Groups in Africa, conference hosted by State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research and U.S. Africa Command, Germany, Nov. 13-14, 2009)
- Remarks on the Horn of Africa (Conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the American Academy of Diplomacy, Oct. 29, 2009, Washington, D.C.)
- Somalia: Rise of Piracy and Maritime Insecurity (Maritime Piracy Summit 2009, Virginia, Sept. 22, 2009)
- Testimony before U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (Hearing on Sudan, July 30, 2009, PDF format)
- Rise of Piracy and Other Maritime Insecurity in Somalia (Somali piracy conference hosted by the National Maritime Intelligence Center and the Office of Naval Intelligence, April 7, 2009)
- Somalia’s New Government and the Challenge of Al-Shabab (PDF file, CTC Sentinel, March 2009)
- Horn of Africa: Priorities and Recommendations (Hearing before the House Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations Committee on Appropriations, March 12, 2009)
- Implications of Terrorism and Counterterrorism in the Horn of Africa (at Horn of Africa Conference - VII, Sweden, October 2008)
- Evaluating U.S. Policy Objectives and Options on the Horn of Africa (before Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 11 March 2008)
- Ethiopia and Sudan: Conflict and Cooperation in the Nile Valley (chapter in Narrating the Nile: Politics, Identities, Cultures, 2008)
- Somalia: Prospects for Lasting Peace (Joint Summit of European Parliament and US House of Representatives, 8 July 2007)
- Al-Qaeda in East Africa and the Horn (Journal of Conflict Studies, Summer 2007)
- Exploring a Comprehensive Stabilization, Reconstruction, and Counterterrorism Strategy for Somalia (before Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 6 February 2007)
- Somalia: Regional Involvement and Implications for US Policy (Paper presented on 4 October 2006 to the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington, D.C.)
- Nile Basin Relations: Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia (July 2006)
- Somalia: U.S. Government Policy and Challenges (before Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 11 July 2006)
- Avoiding a Water War in the Nile Basin (Power Point at Los Alamos National Laboratory on March 16, 2006)
- Avoiding a Water War in the Nile Basin (Presentation at Los Alamos National Laboratory on March 16, 2006)
- Somaliland: The Little Country that Could (CSIS Africa Notes, Nov. 2004)
- Fighting Terrorism in East Africa and the Horn (Foreign Service Journal, Sept. 2004)
Miscellaneous
- Non-Regional Actors in Red Sea Basin (Remarks made in Amman, Jordan, on 27 April 2019)
- Five Second Tier Non-Western External Actors in Africa (21 May 2018)
- Economic Diplomacy and Africa's Foreign Partners: Focus on the United States and China (Presentation at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, on 27 June 2017)
- The Indian Ocean and Deep Seabed Mining (Posted on Young Diplomats website 3 February 2017)
- China's WTO Compliance: The US Reaction (China Policy Institute posting on 14 November 2016)
- Poverty and Terrorism in Africa (Article in the 2016 summer/fall issue of the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs)
- Turkey-Africa Relations (Remarks at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Arlington, Virginia on 31 Oct. 2016)
- Africa's Changing Partnerships over the Next Decade (Remarks at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on 7 June 2016)
- Hizmet in Africa (Presentation in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 19 May 2016 at an international conference on the Gulen Movement)
- Turkey-Africa Relations 2016 (Remarks at the Turkish-American Cultural Center in Madison, Wisconsin on 3 March 2016)
- Turkey-Sub-Sahara Africa Relations (Paper published in September 2015 by Chatham House and presented in Istanbul)
- Africa: The Good, the Bad, and the Future (Remarks at Yakima Rotary Club on 23 July 2015)
- BRICS and Africa (Remarks made to the next generation of African security leaders on 19 March 2013)
- Les pays BRICS et l'Afrique (Remarks made to the next generation of African security leaders on 19 March 2013)
- African Union Peace Operations (Remarks at national security seminar at George Washington University on 7 December 2012)
- Tolerance or War (Commentary distributed by Project Syndicate on 7 December 2012)
- Emerging Powers in Africa Update (Remarks on 13 September 2012 at the National Defense University in Washington)
- Turkey and the Horn of Africa (Remarks at Chatham House in London on 28 June 2012)
- Ethics and Foreign Affairs (5 June 2012 Q and A with Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs)
- Emerging Powers in Africa (Remarks on 4 May 2012 at the National Defense University in Washington)
- Water Crisis in Africa (Remarks at GWU on 9 April 2012)
- Water and Security in Africa (Remarks at US State Department/AFRICOM Conference in Arlington, VA on 21-22 July 2011)
- French Translation of Emerging Powers in Africa (Remarks at National Defense University in Washington on 15 June 2011)
- Portuguese Translation of Emerging Powers in Africa (Remarks at National Defense University in Washington on 15 June 2011)
- Democracy in Africa (Q and A with Journalist on 5 December 2010)
- African Refugees and Immigrants (Remarks to Ethiopian Community Development Council on 3 May 2010)
- Palestine - Visit to Nablus and Samaritan Community (Brief account of 22 June 2010 visit)
- Palestine - Visit to Gaza (Account of 20-21 June 2010 visit to Gaza)
- Palestine - Visit to Hebron (Brief account of 13 June 2010 visit)
- US Policy Themes in Sub-Saharan Africa (Published by the Elliott School of International Affairs in 2004)
China-Africa Web Sites
- Africa Files
- African Economic Research Consortium
- Centre for Chinese Studies, Stellenbosch University
- Chatham House
- China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- CSIS Africa Policy Forum
- Forest Trends
- Forum on China Africa Cooperation
- French-language site
- German Development Institute
- Hong Kong Center on China’s Transnational Relations
- Institute for Security Studies
- Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations
- International Rivers
- Jamestown Foundation China Brief
- Open Democracy
- Pambazuka News China-Africa Watch
- Power and Interest News Report
- South African Institute for International Affairs
- The Brenthurst Foundation
- Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa
- UCLA Globalization Research Center – Africa
- UK Department for International Development
- University of Brussels
Horn of Africa Web Sites
- Addis Standard
- Association for Higher Education and Development
- Daily Nation (Kenya)
- Ethio Forum (news)
- Ethio Media
- Ethio.com (news)
- Ethiopian Economic Association
- Ethiopian Government News Agency
- Ethiopian Institute for Non-Violence Education and Peace Studies
- Ethiopian Medhin Democratic Party (opposition party)
- Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Ethiopian Parliament
- Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (ruling party's Web site)
- Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (opposition party)
- Ethiopian Recycler (blog)
- Ethiopian Review
- Food Security and Nutriton Analysis Unit, Somalia
- Forum for Social Studies
- Global Policy Forum - Ethiopia and Eritrea
- Horn Affairs
- Information on Southern Ethiopia
- Jimma Times
- MediaETHIOPIA (news service)
- National Archives and Library of Ethiopia
- Nazret.com Ethiopian News Portal
- Network of Ethiopian Muslims
- Official Site of the Imperial Family of Ethiopia
- Ogaden National Liberation Front (opposition party)
- Ogaden Online (Somali and English language news with a focus on Somali issues in Ethiopia)
- Ogadeni National Liberation Front
- Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (opposition party)
- Oromo Liberation Front
- People to People
- SomaliaReport (Media MONITOR)
- Standard (Kenya)
- The Ethiopian American
- The Fistula Foundation
- The Sidama Concern
- Tigrean International Solidarity for Justice and Democracy (opposition party)
- UN Political Office (Somalia)
- UNICEF
- Walta Information Center (news service)
General Web Sites for Africa
- Accord
- Africa Intelligence
- African Development Bank
- African Union
- allAfrica.com
- Amnesty International
- Arab League
- Boston University African Studies Center
- British Broadcasting Company
- Center for Global Development
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Chiefs of state and cabinet members
- CIA World Factbook
- CNN
- Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa
- Committee to Protect Journalists
- Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
- Cornell University Africana Studies and Research Center
- Council of Foreign Relations
- East African Community
- Enough
- Export-Import Bank of the U.S.
- Famine Early Warning Systems Network
- Harvard University Committee on African Studies
- Human Rights Watch Africa
- Indiana University African Studies Program
- Institute for Security Studies
- Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) Africa
- Intergovernmental Authority on Development
- International Boundaries Research Unit
- International Crisis Group
- International Monetary Fund
- International Resources Group
- Library of Congress Country Studies series
- Life and Peace Institute Horn of Africa Bulletin
- Massive bibliography on Africa
- Michigan State University African Studies Center
- Millennium Challenge Corporation
- Mo Ibrahim Foundation
- National Defense University Africa Center for Strategic Studies
- National Endowment for Democracy
- News about Africa
- Nile Basin Initiative
- Northwestern University African Studies Program
- Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa
- Organization of the Islamic Conference
- Overseas Private Investment Corporation
- Program on International Policy Attitudes
- Relief Web
- Relief Web
- The Carter Center
- The George Washington University Africa Center for Health and Human Security
- Thomsen Reuters Foundation
- Transparency International
- U.S. Agency for International Development
- U.S. government press releases
- U.S. State Department
- UCLA African Studies Center
- UN Development Programme
- UN High Commissioner for Refugees
- UN Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs
- UNICEF
- United Nations
- University of Florida Center for African Studies
- University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center
- University of Wisconsin African Studies Program
- US Institute of Peace
- Woodrow Wilson Center
- World Bank
- World Food Programme
Africa in Washington D.C.
- Africa in Transition (Amb. John Campbell)
- Africa in Washington, D.C.
- African Arguments
- China in Africa: The Real Story (Deborah Brautigam)
- ChrisBlattman.com
- Drew Hindshaw (West Africa correspondent)
- Saxafi News
- Somewhere in Africa (Shashank Bengali, Nairobi Bureau Chief, McClatchy Newspapers)
- South of West: A Journalist Out of Africa (Rob Crilly)
- The Green Nile (Andrew Scott)
- Trend Lines (World Politics Review)