The Horn

In this episode of The Horn , Alan speaks with Payton Knopf about the rising risk of renewed war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Horn , Alan is joined by scholar Federico Donelli, author of the recent book Power Competition in the Red Sea , to assess the shifting geopolitics of the Red Sea region. They trace the region’s long history as an arena for great-power competition before turning to the new scramble that has reshaped it since the turn of the millennium, as Gulf states, Türkiye and other middle...

In this episode of The Horn , Alan speaks with Babatunde Afolabi, former Africa Director at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), now Director of Political Affairs at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, about mediation and conflict resolution in the Horn of Africa. They discuss HD’s discreet work facilitating dialogue between conflict parties, and why the Horn’s...

In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by scholar and author Samson Abebe Bezabeh, a professor at the University of Hong Kong, to discuss Djibouti’s domestic politics and shifting role in a turbulent region. They explore Djibouti’s history, its internal political dynamics and uncertainty over the succession to President Ismail Omar Guelleh, who has ruled the country for nearly three decades....

In this episode of The Horn , Alan is joined by journalist and author Nesrine Malik. They take stock of Sudan’s war after more than three years of fighting and consider where the conflict might be headed. They discuss what the wars in Sudan and Gaza reveal about the collapse of the rules-based order, as the U.S. becomes more withdrawn and European capitals hesitate to act decisively. They assess h...

In this episode of The Horn , Alan is joined by Omar Mahmood, Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for Somalia and the Horn of Africa, to discuss the deeper implications of Somalia’s new election crisis. They discuss the looming electoral standoff as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term is set to expire on 15 May, and why this latest dispute could prove more fateful than previous election crises. They...

Today we're bringing you a bonus episode on Sudan from Crisis Group's Global Podcast Hold Your Fire! . In this episode of  Hold Your Fire! , Richard is joined by Crisis Group’s Sudan expert Shewit Woldemichael and Horn of Africa director Alan Boswell to discuss where Sudan’s war stands as it approaches its fourth year. They examine shifts along the front lines as Sudan’s de facto partition un...

In this episode of The Horn , Alan is joined by Hafsa Halawa, an independent political analyst and mediation specialist, to discuss the fallout of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran in the Horn of Africa. They examine the immediate disruptions to fuel, fertiliser and shipping, and what a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz could mean for economies across the region. They discuss how the new Midd...

In this episode of The Horn , Alan is joined by Moses Chrispus Okello, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Security Studies, to unpack the common forces driving instability across the Horn of Africa and where the region might be headed. They discuss how today’s crises across the Horn of Africa are rooted primarily in domestic politics, even as they are increasingly shaped and intensified by outs...

In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by H. A. Hellyer, Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, to explore what’s behind the rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE and the competing visions of regional order driving it. They examine where tensions have emerged most sharply, including in Yemen and Sudan, and what the...

Today we're bringing you a bonus from Crisis Group's Global Podcast Hold Your Fire! . In this episode of Hold Your Fire! , Richard speaks with Crisis Group Africa director Murithi Mutiga about rising Ethiopia–Eritrea tensions and the growing risk of another war in the Horn of Africa. They discuss how political divisions in Tigray and Ethiopia’s push for Red Sea access are sharpening fault lines be...

In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by Asher Lubotzky, senior research fellow at the Israel-Africa Relations Institute, to discuss Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and its interests in the Horn of Africa. They trace the history of Israel’s involvement in the region and its relationships today. They discuss why Israel moved to recognise Somaliland, how the decision links to Red Sea securi...

In this episode of The Horn , Alan speaks with Kristof Titeca, professor at the Institute of Development Policy at the University of Antwerp, to talk about Uganda’s post-election landscape and the question of who might succeed President Yoweri Museveni after nearly four decades in power. They trace Museveni’s rise and unpack how he stabilised Uganda and managed to sustain his rule through patronag...

In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by Crisis Group experts Yasmine Farouk, Omar Mahmood and Shewit Woldemichael. He first speaks with Yasmine about what is behind the new public rupture between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Yemen, how this links to diverging strategies and rising tensions in the Horn of Africa, and the risk of a new Gulf crisis. Alan then turns to Omar and...

In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by Michael Woldemariam, associate professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, to unpack the escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea. They examine how these dynamics are intertwined with the fragmenting political and security situation in Tigray, Ethiopia’s push for sea access, and Eritrea’s deep-seated existential security...

This week on The Horn, we post a recent discussion between Crisis Group’s CEO and President, Comfort Ero, and leading expert Alex de Waal, about ongoing efforts to bring Sudan’s war to an end. In this bonus episode of The Horn , Alan brings listeners a special episode from a panel on Sudan’s war hosted by Crisis Group earlier this month at the Qatar Mediation Forum, a sideline event at the Doha Fo...

In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by Heiko Nitzschke, Germany’s special envoy for the Horn of Africa, to discuss whether and how Europe needs to adapt its approach towards the Horn of Africa. While Europe used to act in relative sync with the U.S. in Africa, this is increasingly less the case. Meanwhile, numerous other powers, mostly from the Middle East, are pursuing their own objective...

In this episode of The Horn , Alan speaks with Julia Steers, investigations editor at Lighthouse Reports, about the large-scale atrocities that took place in Darfur’s El Fasher after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the city from Sudan’s army last month. They retrace how the RSF’s seizure of El Fasher unfolded after months of siege and discuss what investigators have uncovered...

In this episode of The Horn , Alan is joined by Timur Söylemez, former ambassador and former head of the mediation unit at Türkiye’s foreign ministry, to discuss the evolving landscape of conflict mediation and Ankara’s approach in the Horn of Africa and beyond. They unpack the headwinds facing mediators today amid proliferating conflicts, shrinking space for comprehensive peace deals and rising s...

Today we're bringing you a bonus episode on the fall of El Fasher in Sudan from Crisis Group's Global Podcast Hold Your Fire! . In this update episode of Hold Your Fire! , Richard speaks with Crisis Group’s Sudan expert Shewit Woldemichael and Horn director Alan Boswell about the paramilitary RSF capturing North Dafur’s capital El Fasher, the reports of horrific violence in the city and the implic...

In this episode of The Horn , Alan is joined by Edmund Yakani, executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, to discuss the trial of South Sudan’s first vice president and former rebel leader Riek Machar. They trace Machar’s rise and how he became a central, polarising figure in South Sudanese politics. They unpack the charges against Machar over his alleged role in a...

Today we're bringing you a bonus episode on Sudan from Crisis Group's Global Podcast Hold Your Fire! . In this episode of  Hold Your Fire! , Richard talks with Crisis Group’s Sudan expert Shewit Woldemichael, Horn of Africa director Alan Boswell and Gulf & Arabian Peninsula director Yasmine Farouk about the latest shifts in Sudan’s war and recent diplomatic efforts. They chart recent batt...

In this episode of The Horn , Alan is joined by Crisis Group’s Africa Program Director, Murithi Mutiga, to discuss the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam. They trace the project’s development during a tumultuous period for the region and explore its economic and political significance for Ethiopia. They examine why the project has raised...

In this episode of The Horn , marking Crisis Group’s 30th anniversary, Alan Boswell speaks with president & CEO Comfort Ero about how the landscape of peacemaking has evolved since the organisation’s founding in 1995. They trace how the environment for conflict resolution has shifted from the aftermath of the war in Bosnia to today’s challenges, amid a second Trump presidency and an unravellin...

This week on The Horn , Alan Boswell sits down with Samira Gaid, founder and senior analyst at the Mogadishu-based think tank Balqiis Insights, and Fred Bauma, human rights advocate and executive secretary at the Ebuteli research institute in Kinshasa, to unpack the uncertain future of peacekeeping operations across the African continent. Once a signature response to conflict, large multilateral m...