Geopolitics Simplified by Arezki Daoud

In less than five minute, Arezki Daoud explains why violence in Nigeria cannot be understood through a single religious lens. Christians are targeted, but so are Muslims and many other communities facing insurgency, criminal gangs, and local conflicts. The video provides a factual, balanced context to counter political oversimplifications.#Nigeria #Security #Africa #Geopolitics #Insurgency #Violen...

In this episode of Flashpoint, we go beyond the headlines to explore Russia’s quiet shift from Wagner to the Africa Corps in Mali. Under pressure from Algeria, Moscow is phasing out mercenaries in favor of a state-run military presence — a move that is raising alarm among Tuareg leaders in the north. We break down how Algeria influenced this transition, what Wagner's legacy leaves behind, and...

What’s happening to the Fulani in the Sahel isn’t just war — it’s collective punishment. This is the story no one wants to tell.#SahelCrisis #FulaniUnderAttack #WestAfricaConflicts #HumanRightsCrisis #Pulaaku #BurkinaFaso #Mali #EthnicCleansing #Fulani #Mali #Sahel

Week ending 31 May 2025: This week’s roundup covers key developments across North and West Africa: Russia phases out Wagner in Mali, Haftar gains ground in Libya, Mauritania cracks down on migration with EU backing, Guinea cancels over 100 mining permits, Senegal faces record fuel prices despite oil output, Egypt scrambles to manage a deepening energy crisis, and Morocco battles its first major wi...

With Morocco's King Mohammed VI facing health issues, the topic of royal succession has come to the forefront. This video delves into Morocco's succession process, the King's health challenges as reported by foreign media, and the rising prominence of key figures like Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, advisor Fouad Ali El Himma, and security chief Abdellatif Hammouchi. As Morocco prepares for a potentia...

U.S. administrations, whether Republican or Democrat, have historically shown limited focus on Africa, prioritizing counterterrorism over development. With recent geopolitical shifts, some are calling for a more balanced approach, emphasizing stability and economic growth over military presence.

There have been more chatter and speculations about the activities of Russia’s mercenaries, formerly known as the Wagner Group, now reportedly called the Afrika Corps in the Sahel. It is unclear if the name “Afrika Corps” is official, but if so, it certainly confirms that the Russian outfit’s primary focus is indeed on Africa, likely as an arm of Moscow’s Africa policy. For the purpose of this ana...

Libya is back in the news again, and it is not good news. At the center of it all, once again, are the two types of power struggles we are witnessing. On the one hand, there is a permanent conflict between Libya's rival governments, and on the other hand, there is an intense competition for influence involving foreign powers, who sponsor one rival government against the other.

A preview of what to expect in the upcoming presidential elections in fall in Algeria and Tunisia.

Since 2011, Libya has been engulfed in a bloody civil war after the death of Muammar Gaddafi. Over the years, it was easy to identify the problem:  too many foreign regional players and global powers meddling in Libya’s affairs, explicitly or implicitly seeking to impose their vision on what Libya ought to be through local proxies. These foreign meddlers had no shortage of proxies within Libya. On...

The visit a few days ago of a US government delegation to Niamey, the capital of Niger, did not go down well with the ruling junta there. Clearly as the junta is paving the way for the Russian military to enter Niger and expand their presence in the Sahel, the Americans are starting to lose patience and they may have shown their frustration in this latest interaction with the Junta.

The #Sahel is now clearly the next big event in Africa's geopolitics. After the complete destruction of #Libya, the same foreign powers that paid for the killing of a nation are now shifting their attention to the Sahel, establishing the bases of another sizeable crisis that will take decades to extinguish.  The Sahel has long been destabilized, at least in recent history. Its post-colonial er...

2024 should be a record election year for Africa. Twenty countries, accounting for 346 million voters will be called to participate to elections that will mostly be rigged and decided in advance. In this podcast, Arezki Daoud argues that African elections have no democratic content and standards in them. Different factors and actors have a more direct impact on the political systems in those count...

Has the war in #Ukraine deter #Russia from engagement in #Africa? Certainly not! We know that on the #security front, a growing number of #African states are turning to Russia to supply them with #military equipment and security services, judging by the presence of official and non-government outfits like the #Wagner Group. Things are evolving very rapidly on that front in 2023 and weapons sales t...

#Russia’s influence in the #Sahel is about to expand further with more cooperation deals announced by #Niger and Russia during the ongoing visit to #Moscow of Niger’s Prime Minister and other senior officials. Speaking to Russian media, Niger’s Defense Minister Salifou Mody said joint projects are being finalized during the visit, following months of preparation and negotiation in #Niamey. Mody ev...

The #US and the #UK hitting #Houthi targets in #Yemen is largely the result of a sense of panic taking place in commercial and business circles. The #Houthis have clearly identified that there is a choke point that they can squeeze even more to get their positions heard. And what is happening up north, is certainly alarming not only for shipping companies and their clients, but for #Egypt and thos...

In this podcast, Arezki Daoud gives an overview of ongoing problems in #Egypt and what we should expect in 2024.

#Christmas in #Africa this year has been gloomy to say the least. There was not much to cheer for. The political, economic, social and security environments in many #African nations have been experiencing the worst-case scenario, so much so that 2024 is likely to bring more bad news for millions of people. While the end of the Covid19 pandemic brought hope of return to some normalcy and pave the w...

Rising Storms: The Pact Uniting #Mali, #Burkina Faso, and #Niger Against #Jihadists and Isolation: In this brief, #ArezkiDaoud of #MEARisk and the #NorthAfricaJournal addresses the challenges facing the new alliance formed by the three troubled #Sahel nations.

#Nigeria: Is President Bola #Tinubu headed the wrong way? After being elected president in early 2023, #Nigeria's #Bola #Tinubu decided to cancel fuel #subsidies, setting the stage for a deterioration of prices across the board. For now, #Nigerians are experiencing high prices, high inflation, a weak currency, with #labor unions threatening to strike.

The #US and the #UK hitting #Houthi targets in #Yemen is largely the result of a sense of panic taking place in commercial and business circles. The #Houthis have clearly identified that there is a choke point that they can squeeze even more to get their positions heard. And what is happening up north, is certainly alarming not only for shipping companies and their clients, but for #Egypt and thos...

In this podcast, Arezki gives an overview of ongoing problems in #Egypt and what we should expect in 2024.

As we reach the end of the third quarter 2023, about to enter the tail-end of the year, it is difficult to see a bright horizon for the northern half of #Africa. Two major natural disasters, magnified by poor governance and bad infrastructure, caused the death of at least 7,000 people in the #Maghreb region. Between #Morocco’s #earthquake and #Libya’s #flood, tens of thousands of people have been...

Mali’s new junta managed to topple a weak president. But governing is turning out to be difficult with the regime battling on multiple fronts. With bad policies, the military junta has forced the ethnic Tuaregs in the north to take up arms after years of a halt in hostilities, promising months, even years of war in an already devastated region.

The unfolding #environmental disaster with major #floods that are taking place in eastern #Libya, may be of #biblical proportion and the death toll there can surpass that of #Morocco and by far. Arezki Daoud provide a brief update of this big #disaster.