Global terror: Africa not immune to terror

The paper assesses the inadequacy of Africa's counterterrorism framework, highlighting the failure of the African Union (AU) and member states to operationalize the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism in Algiers. It identifies specific regional vulnerabilities—including Somalia, the Sahel, Nigeria, and South Africa—and proposes a practical division of labour between the Algiers centre, key states, and regional organisations to improve security capacity.

• African governments and regional bodies have largely failed to meet the obligations of counter-terrorism agreements, leaving them ill-equipped to manage threats or protect populations.
• The African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism in Algiers remains largely non-functional due to a lack of AU funding and staffing, despite a $6.2m investment from the Algerian government.
• Member state participation in the counterterrorism network is low; only 20 of 53 states and three of eight regional organisations have designated focal points, and 17 states have not ratified the OAU convention.
• The document identifies four primary areas of Islamist violence threat in Africa: the statelessness in Somalia and weak governance in the Horn; the southward push of Algerian Islamists into the Sahel; the vulnerability of northern Nigeria to infiltration and al-Qaeda operational bases; and South Africa's role as a logistical and terror finance transit point.
• The author recommends a practical strategy focusing on cooperation between the Algiers centre and key states (Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Mali, South Africa, and Mozambique), while regional organisations like SADC and ECOWAS focus on border issues and cross-border flow analysis.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2008). Global terror: Africa not immune to terror. https://saiia.org.za/research/global-terror-africa-not-immune-to-terror/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Global terror: Africa not immune to terror. 2008. https://saiia.org.za/research/global-terror-africa-not-immune-to-terror/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Global terror: Africa not immune to terror |date=29 April 2008 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/global-terror-africa-not-immune-to-terror/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2008global, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Global terror: Africa not immune to terror}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2008}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/global-terror-africa-not-immune-to-terror/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }