Gilles Olakounlé Yabi is a nonresident scholar with the Africa Program and is the founder and CEO of WATHI, the West Africa Citizen Think Tank, which launched in 2015. WATHI is a unique participative and multidisciplinary citizen-focused think tank on West African issues (www.wathi.org). Gilles Yabi worked as senior political analyst and later as West Africa project director of the International Crisis Group, a think tank dedicated to conflict prevention and resolution. He led the research, policy, advocacy, and media work of Crisis Group in West Africa and worked particularly on the political crises and conflicts in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Nigeria. Gilles Yabi also worked as a journalist for the weekly magazine Jeune Afrique in Paris. Dr. Yabi has authored dozens of articles and book chapters on African political and economic issues. He hosts the weekly column "Ça fait débat avec WATHI" on Radio France Internationale (RFI).
Senegal’s democracy has emerged stronger—and with a energetic young president-elect—from the period of uncertainty created by outgoing President Macky Sall’s political maneuvers.
How the crisis has rippled through the country, the region, and the world.
Climate change in the Middle East will amplify preexisting vulnerabilities stemming from conflict, displacement, marginalization, and corruption, while also creating new risks. Governments in the region will need to adopt more inclusive reforms as part of their climate adaptation strategies.
Following a checkered history of security engagement in Africa, the United States is rolling out a new conflict mitigation strategy on the continent—but African governments must also play an essential role.
How Russia’s invasion has upended politics and economies far away from the battlefields.
The Biden administration wanted to send a clear message of strong re-engagement in Africa.
