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The document examines China's role in Sierra Leone as a trade partner and infrastructure developer. While Chinese activities may promote overall economic growth, the author argues that weak local institutions hinder the ability to ensure these investments lead to significant poverty reduction or employment. The brief highlights specific infrastructure projects, the nature of Chinese developmental aid, and the challenges regarding labour rights and corporate social responsibility in the mining sector.

The report examines South Africa's transition from an aid recipient to a provider of development assistance in Africa. It details the limitations of the previous African Renaissance Fund (ARF) and the subsequent push to establish the South African Development Partnership Agency (SADPA) to coordinate diverse domestic stakeholders and align with the 'African Agenda'. The analysis highlights South Africa's comparative advantages in peace-building, public financial management, and infrastructure, while noting tensions between altruistic 'ubuntu' diplomacy and the need for strategic economic diplomacy to support South African commercial interests.

The report examines the socio-economic importance of small-scale fisheries in Mozambique, which support approximately 334,000 people. It analyzes the pressures on the sector, including internal issues like overfishing and illegal 'chicocota' netting, and external pressures from the expansion of coal and gas extractive industries, tourism-driven marine protected areas, and climate change. The document evaluates the effectiveness of co-management through Community Fisheries Councils (CCPs) and recommends improving financial transparency, community involvement in environmental impact assessments, and adaptive governance to enhance resilience against climate-related hazards.

The case study examines SADC's efforts to address infrastructure deficits through the Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP) Vision 2027, which targets six priority sectors. It highlights the shift from donor-led projects to a bottom-up, member-state-driven approach to ensure regional ownership. The document identifies critical barriers, including financing gaps, conflicts between national and regional priorities, and a lack of regulatory frameworks. It also analyzes the roles of traditional Western donors versus emerging partners like China and India, and South Africa's position as a regional champion for infrastructure investment.

The report examines the role of the private sector in advancing regional integration in Southern Africa, arguing that active private sector involvement often leads to more successful outcomes than state-led efforts alone. Through case studies on non-tariff barriers, payment systems, the sugar industry, and telecommunications, it demonstrates that large companies and industry associations can drive policy harmonisation and infrastructure development, sometimes independently of the region's largest economy, South Africa.

The African Union (AU) has transitioned from the non-interventionist norms of the OAU to an activist approach of collective responsibility, establishing the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) to manage armed conflicts. While the AU has successfully deployed missions in Somalia and Burundi and partnered with the UN in Darfur, it faces significant financial, logistical, and coordination challenges. The document argues for deeper harmonization between the AU and UN, as well as a greater openness to bilateral peacekeeping training and assistance from partners such as France, the UK, and the US.

The document examines the SA-EU Strategic Partnership, highlighting the EU's role as South Africa's leading regional trade partner and a major source of foreign direct investment. It contrasts youth unemployment challenges in both the EU and the SADC region, noting South Africa's goal to create 11 million jobs by 2030. The briefing also discusses the impact of migrant labour and remittances from South Africa to other SADC nations, specifically Zimbabwe, and notes a 24% decline in South African FDI from 2011 to 2012.

The report analyzes President Barack Obama's 2013 visit to Africa, framing it as an effort to shift US-Africa relations from a focus on security and counter-terrorism toward economic growth, trade, and democratic investment. It highlights the competitive pressure from China's dominant trade position and the US's efforts to address energy poverty and youth unemployment through initiatives like YALI and renewable energy financing.

The author highlights a divergence in trade policy between South Africa, which prioritizes the WTO's multilateral system, and the US, which is pursuing far-reaching 'megaregional' agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. This shift poses risks to South African exporters, particularly in the automotive sector, as the US creates reciprocal trade arrangements with other nations. The document suggests that as Agoa faces renewal in 2015, South Africa should move beyond unilateral arrangements toward a more strategic, reciprocal trade relationship with the US.

This research paper examines the methodological approaches used to analyze the effects of trade liberalization on growth and poverty in South Africa, arguing that the debate is often polarized by an unrealistic focus on 'free trade' as a benchmark rather than evaluating trade policy against national development and industrial goals.

The relationship between Mozambique and Malawi has historically been marked by distrust, peaking during the second term of Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika. However, since President Joyce Banda took office in April 2012, relations have warmed, leading to the revival of critical infrastructure projects like the Interconnector Project and the Nacala Development Corridor. The document argues that mutual economic interdependency, particularly Malawi's need for sea access and energy security, provides a foundation for sustained stability.

The paper analyzes the relationship between firm size, productivity, and export destinations in South Africa. It finds that exports are highly concentrated among a small number of large firms and that there is a distinct divide between high-productivity firms exporting to developed markets (North America and Europe) and lower-productivity firms exporting to Africa (SADC). The author argues that regional African markets are the most viable path for small-to-medium enterprises and for job creation, as they do not require the same productivity thresholds as global markets. The study also identifies volatile exchange rates and transport costs as primary constraints facing South African exporters.

The document examines South Africa's intention to build a fleet of six new nuclear power stations to add 9,600 MW of capacity by 2020. It highlights the drivers of this expansion—including population growth, ageing infrastructure, and climate targets—while raising significant concerns regarding the financial stability of Eskom, the opacity of the tender process, and the rise of resource nationalism concerning uranium. The paper also details South Africa's nuclear diplomacy within Africa and its relations with global nuclear powers like Russia and France.

The document evaluates South Africa's engagement with the UN Security Council (UNSC) during its 2011–12 term, focusing on the tension between its stated human rights commitments and its preference for 'quiet diplomacy' and mediation. It highlights the successful promotion of the 'African Agenda' through Resolution 2033, which strengthened ties between the UNSC and the African Union (AU). However, the analysis reveals inconsistencies in voting patterns regarding Libya and Syria, suggesting that South Africa's multiple multilateral affiliations—including BRICS and IBSA—create competing priorities that complicate its foreign-policy execution.

The research paper examines the failure of the biofuels sector in Zambia, where government goals for poverty reduction and energy security were undermined by a lack of policy safeguards and infrastructure. It highlights how the drive for export-market cash crops like jatropha threatened local food security and how many foreign investors eventually abandoned their projects due to economic downturns and technical failures.

The research investigates why South Africa is a founding member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) but remains absent from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). It argues that the South African government's justifications—namely the existence of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA)—are insufficient because these frameworks do not provide the specific, multi-stakeholder corporate-state payment reconciliation that the EITI requires. The author suggests that South Africa's reluctance is partly ideological, tied to perceived double standards in the global North, and that the country may only join the EITI if it sees it as a means to bolster its status as an emerging global power.

The document critiques the use of neopatrimonialism to explain African states and proposes the Strategic Relational Approach (SRA) as a more nuanced lens. Applying this to Mauritius, the author describes a 'deliberative democratic developmental state' where trade policy is an outcome of interaction between government, the private sector, and civil society. This collaborative framework, managed by the Trade Policy Unit and the Joint Public Private Sector Committee on International Trade Issues, allows Mauritius to align domestic interests with its positions at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The paper concludes with lessons for other African states on balancing domestic constituencies and including disadvantaged groups in policymaking.

The policy briefing addresses the declining momentum of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and its National Programmes of Action (NPOA). It identifies causes for this decline, such as lack of interest from heads of state and insufficient financial support, and proposes reviving the process by integrating NPOA into National Developmental Plans (NDPs) and collaborating with African Union organs and regional economic communities.

The document reviews the history of the TICAD process from its inception in 1993 to the 2013 TICAD V summit, highlighting Japan's shift from a front-line aid provider to a partner navigating a landscape of increased investment from BRIC nations. It details the specific goals of previous conferences and outlines the three core themes of TICAD V: a robust and sustainable economy, an inclusive and resilient society, and peace and stability. The author argues that Japan needs to strengthen its internal institutional capacity and public relations to better differentiate its approach from those of the US, Europe, and China.

The author examines the fallout from the death of 13 South African soldiers in the Central African Republic (CAR) in March 2013, noting that the mission lacked a multilateral framework and failed to align with domestic public understanding. This 'debacle' created negative feedback loops that could undermine South Africa's continental prestige and its ability to pursue an ambitious Africa policy. To remedy this, the document suggests that South Africa improve its analytical capabilities, build intelligence networks with traditional powers like France, the US, and the UK, and proactively domesticate its foreign policy through democratic scrutiny and accountability.