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Kenya’s Crisis Shows the Urgency of African Poverty, Corruption, Debt

Kenya’s Crisis Shows the Urgency of African Poverty, Corruption, Debt

Thursday, June 27, 2024

Kenya’s public protests and deadly violence over proposed tax increases this week highlight some of the country’s most serious challenges: high youth unemployment, deepening poverty and the glaring gap between living conditions for the country’s elite and its urban poor. This social crisis is exacerbated by severe corruption, a stifling foreign debt and a too-violent response by Kenyan police, who have a poor record in handling large demonstrations. Steps to calm this crisis are vital to preserve Kenya’s overall stability, its role as an East African trade hub — and its capacity to serve as a leader for peace, which the United States increasing has relied upon in Africa and elsewhere.

Type: Analysis

EconomicsGlobal Policy

Joseph Sany on the U.S. Withdrawal from Niger

Joseph Sany on the U.S. Withdrawal from Niger

Monday, June 3, 2024

The U.S. reached an agreement with Niger’s military junta to close two military bases in the country in what amounts to a “tactical setback” for counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel. But the closure also “forces the U.S. to review its military posture in the region,” says USIP’s Joseph Sany, adding “there may be other options.”

Type: Podcast

America’s Vital 21st-Century ‘Partnership With Africa’ — and Kenya’s Key Role

America’s Vital 21st-Century ‘Partnership With Africa’ — and Kenya’s Key Role

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

The state visit to Washington last week by Kenya’s President William Ruto provides a moment in which to assess not simply a major U.S. bilateral partnership in Africa, but the progress of the United States’ declared intent to build a strategic partnership with the continent overall. The U.S. government in 2022 declared that partnership vital to U.S. interests — a recognition of Africa’s rising economic potential and its inevitably central role in all efforts to build global stability and prosperity in this century. Former assistant secretary of state for Africa Johnnie Carson, now a senior advisor at USIP, assessed the visit and the progress in building that new, transatlantic partnership.

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy

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