APSACO 9th Edition-Rethinking Counterterrorism & Defense Policies in Africa: From Vision to Capacity

June 19, 2025

The evolving threat of terrorism across Africa, from the Sahel to the Horn and beyond, continues to challenge national governments, regional stability, and international peace efforts. While military operations and security-driven strategies have dominated the counterterrorism landscape, they have often yielded limited, short-term results.  

The persistence and expansion of terrorist networks call for a deeper reassessment of current approaches and a renewed emphasis on inclusive, coordinated, and sustainable responses. In this context, the role of multilateral cooperation and the alignment of international and regional priorities become increasingly crucial. 

- How can African states and their international partners move beyond militarized responses to adopt more holistic counterterrorism strategies? 

- What lessons can be drawn from past cooperation efforts, and how can they inform a more unified and effective counterterrorism framework? 

RELATED CONTENT

  • September 1, 2022
    Dans cet épisode Lassina Diarra et Abdelhak Bassou échangent sur le caractère religieux des violences en Afrique de l'ouest. Ils y discutent des implications politiques et des fondements de ces violences ainsi que des causes de leurs résurgence. ...
  • Authors
    Laura Sanders
    Jordan Moss
    August 9, 2022
    Communities in northern Côte d’Ivoire report an ongoing pattern of questioning, ethnically- motivated arrests, and abuse, in contrast to the good relationships with local forces and police they had until two years ago*. In one case, the national army arrested a number of men, beat them, and held them for up to two months**. In response to extremist attacks, Côte d’Ivoire has increased the military presence in the north, creating a special forces’ base and sending more military per ...
  • Authors
    August 3, 2022
    The timing was perfect for analyzing the “African Security in times of uncertainties”. The Rabat-based “Policy Center For The New South” programmed its  6th “African Peace d Security Annual Conference” (APSACO) on July 20/21 to focus on the historic challenge of our time-the world,  Africa in particular, struggling to find stability while war s waged in Central Europe, and 25 million tons of wheat and fertilizers needed to feed the starving population, millions on the Afri ...
  • July 21, 2022
    كانت سنة 2021 سنة اضطراب جيو-سياسي وانقلاب جيو-اقتصادي عالميين. ومع تزايد زخم الأحداث، دخل العالم فترة تحول جيو-سياسي وجيو-اقتصادي تعلن نهاية دورة تاريخية وتُنبِّؤ بآفاق غير مؤكدة لدورة جديدة. وعليه، فإننا من الآن فصاعداً أمام تغير عالمي حقيقي ينطوي على نقاط ضغط متعددة وقوىً دافعة جيو-س...
  • July 21, 2022
    2021 was a year of global geopolitical disruption and geo-economic upheaval. As events gather momentum, the world enters a period of geopolitical and geo-economic transition; the end of one historical cycle foreshadowing the uncertain prospects of a new one. We are henceforth, in presen...
  • July 20, 2022
    2021 was a year of global geopolitical disruption and geo-economic upheaval. As events gather momentum, the world enters a period of geopolitical and geo-economic transition; the end of one historical cycle foreshadowing the uncertain prospects of a new one. We are henceforth, in presen...
  • July 20, 2022
    كانت سنة 2021 سنة اضطراب جيو-سياسي وانقلاب جيو-اقتصادي عالميين. ومع تزايد زخم الأحداث، دخل العالم فترة تحول جيو-سياسي وجيو-اقتصادي تعلن نهاية دورة تاريخية وتُنبِّؤ بآفاق غير مؤكدة لدورة جديدة. وعليه، فإننا من الآن فصاعداً أمام تغير عالمي حقيقي ينطوي على نقاط ضغط متعددة وقوىً دافعة جيو-س...
  • July 19, 2022
    Les missions militaires de l’Union européenne (UE) en Afrique revêtent aujourd’hui, à l’heure de la réinvention du partenariat euro-africain, une importance considérable. Alors que Bruxelles entend plus que jamais s’imposer comme l’un des garants de la sécurité au niveau mondial, tout en se mesurant aux nouveaux rapports de force mondiaux, elle tient parallèlement à devenir un acteur incontournable en matière de paix, de surcroît motivé par la prolifération des risques ...