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West Africa

Report

U.S. Security Governance and Competition Objectives in Africa

Institutional capacity-building (ICB) efforts have been critical to achieving U.S. security objectives in Africa. But as U.S. policy shifts from counterterrorism to strategic competition, could ICB programs also help the United States gain influence in Africa?

Jan 18, 2022
Periodical

RAND Review: January-February 2022

The cover story highlights the risks of geoengineering -- the large-scale manipulation of environmental processes to control climate. The Q&A with Jacqueline Burns sheds light on how her military experience informs her approach to research and analysis.

Jan 4, 2022
Commentary

Are Military Coups Back in Style in Africa?

There have been five coups in sub-Saharan Africa since August 2020. On a continent that was recently lauded for its democratic advancement, this backsliding suggests the military coup may be dangerously back in fashion. Why are more coups happening now?

Dec 1, 2021
Journal Article

Money and My Mind: Maternal Cash Transfers and Mental Health

This paper documents important mental health spillovers in the context of a program that offered pregnant women modest cash incentives to use pre- and perinatal health care services.

Nov 10, 2021
Journal Article

Working Hard or Hardly Working: Health Worker Effort and Health Outcomes

Effort by health workers in developing countries has been the subject of recent attention, but the implications for health outcomes have remained a matter of conjecture. This paper provides new evidence about the returns to health worker effort.

Nov 10, 2021
Journal Article

In Nigeria, Stillbirths And Newborn Deaths Increased During The COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 increased the number of stillbirths and newborn deaths in Nigeria.

Nov 3, 2021
Blog

Nuclear Deterrence, COVID-19 and Infant Deaths, Criminal Justice Reform: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on why the United States doesn’t need more nuclear weapons, increased infant deaths during the pandemic, preventing veteran suicide, and more.

Oct 22, 2021
Blog

The Fight Against COVID, Sexual Violence in the Military, Disinformation on Social Media: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the ongoing fight against COVID-19, countering sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military, disinformation on social media, and more.

Jul 23, 2021
Report

The Pandemic's Effects on Strategic Competition in Sub-Saharan Africa

What have been the public health, political, and economic ramifications of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa? And has the pandemic allowed China and Russia to gain more influence on the continent?

Jul 20, 2021
Journal Article

Risk Technopolitics in Freetown Slums: Why Community-Based Disaster Management Is No Silver Bullet

Chapter from "Critical Disaster Studies" (Penn Press, 2021) detailing a study of Sierra Leone and proposing that community-based disaster risk management actually distracts from larger social and political root causes of vulnerability.

Jul 16, 2021
Report

What if France Ended Operation Barkhane? Findings of the RAND Webinar on Operation Barkhane

RAND hosted a webinar on “What if France Ended Operation Barkhane?” which discussed the consequences of ending Operation Barkhane, focusing on regional security, the terrorist threat and future relations between terrorist groups and local actors.

Apr 29, 2021
Commentary

How to Build Better Militaries in Africa: Lessons from Niger

To help counter the threat of terrorism and build the capacity of African militaries, the U.S. government spends over $1.5 billion a year on security assistance to the African continent. Does this support work?

Oct 2, 2020
Journal Article

Hybrid Governance of Disaster Management in Freetown, Monrovia, and Dar Es Salaam

This article introduces a hybrid governance perspective to disaster management. Hybrid governance refers to situations where state and non-state actors collectively provide key services.

Sep 16, 2020
Commentary

Are Counter Violent Extremism Interventions Effective?

Government efforts to counter the propaganda and radicalization that lead to violent extremism are becoming more common around the world, but there's little research on whether such programs work. It is critical to conduct more research to tease out which programs are most effective.

Sep 11, 2020
Project

Evaluating Programs That Counter Violent Extremism

Countries around the world are fighting a growing threat of violent extremism. Many have begun implementing countering violent extremism (CVE) interventions to prevent radicalization. Have these programs been effective?

Sep 9, 2020
Journal Article

A Complexity Approach for Reducing Disaster Risks for Marginalized Urban Populations: Comparing DRR Interventions Across Four Cities

This chapter conceptualizes cities and their risks as a complex adaptive system and examines the methods for risk reduction.

Sep 3, 2020
Blog

The Postal Service, Election Security, Reducing Child Deaths: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the role of the U.S. Postal Service, preparing for the presidential election, reducing child deaths in Nigeria, and more.

Jun 26, 2020
Research Brief

Reducing Child Deaths in Nigeria

A program paid expectant mothers in Nigeria to use prenatal, delivery, and postnatal health services, resulting in an increase in use of care. This led to a substantial decrease in child deaths. Scaling this program up across Nigeria could reduce stillbirths by 85,000 annually.

Jun 22, 2020
Journal Article

Maternal Cash Transfers Led To Increases In Facility Deliveries And Improved Quality Of Delivery Care In Nigeria

A randomized controlled trial in Nigeria evaluated an intervention that paid pregnant women to deliver in a health facility, which led to a 41% increase in facility deliveries. We found improvements in the quality of delivery care and in satisfaction with care.

Jun 4, 2020
Commentary

Why the UK May Be Sending Troops to Mali

The UK government's decision to deploy an additional 250 soldiers to join the United Nations mission in Mali might be in Britain's security interests. Such deployments display the UK's commitment to international security and may well form a critical part of its post-BREXIT diplomacy.

Mar 16, 2020

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RAND Topic:
West Africa

Topic Synonyms:
Western Africa

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Stephanie Pezard

Senior Political Scientist and Associate Research Department Director for Defense and Political Sciences (DPS)

Stephanie Pezard is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. Her research focuses on Arctic security; strategic competition; European security and transatlantic relations; measures short of war; security cooperation and security force assistance; deterrence and use of force; and…
Oluwatimilehin Sotubo

Ph.D. Student, Pardee RAND Graduate School, and Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND

Oluwatimilehin Sotubo is a Ph.D. student in the Research, Analysis, and Design stream at Pardee RAND Graduate School and an assistant policy analyst at RAND. He has an M.Sc in economics and finance from University of Bath and a B.Sc. in economics from Crawford University. His research interests…

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