PUBLICATIONS

This report, produced by Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) in partnership with the Stimson Center and Security Assistance Monitor, examines the tradeoffs and consequences involved with the continued use and availability of certain counterterrorism authorities and practices as the “endless war” enters its twentieth year. In examining these tradeoffs, it focuses on the proliferation and normalization of authorities and tools for employing lethal force, including modes of security cooperation where the use of lethal force and civilian harm are reasonably foreseeable outcomes. It focuses on three specific programs that are subject to fewer rules and much narrower forms of congressional oversight than other “conventional” military and intelligence programs, especially those forms of oversight that govern national decisions to go to war; the prevention and accountability for civilian casualties; and the protection of internationally recognized human rights.

In 2020, a significant number of elections are scheduled or have already taken place in Africa with a large number of them occurring in the last quarter of the year. The CIP Africa Program is tracking upcoming Q4 elections through a factsheet series for researchers, policymakers and the general public who are looking for the key facts surrounding these elections.

In 2020, a significant number of elections are scheduled or have already taken place in Africa with a large number of them occurring in the last quarter of the year. The CIP Africa Program is tracking upcoming Q4 elections through a factsheet series for researchers, policymakers and the general public who are looking for the key facts surrounding these elections.

This edition's featured story and table of the week focus on the past and present contexts of the #EndSARS movements in Nigeria while the monitor as a whole presents an aggregation of current continent wide stories, a list of upcoming events, and more.

In 2020, a significant number of elections are scheduled or have already taken place in Africa with a large number of them occurring in the last quarter of the year. The CIP Africa Program is tracking upcoming Q4 elections through a factsheet series for researchers, policymakers and the general public who are looking for the key facts surrounding these elections.

This edition's featured story and table of the week focus on African countries' debt in the context of the COVID-19 crisis while the monitor as a whole presents an aggregation of current continent wide stories, a list of upcoming events, and more.

Shepherding an orderly withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan has long proven to be an elusive objective for U.S. policymakers, but an announcement by U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien that thousands of U.S. service members would remain in Afghanistan into the new year capped a week of unusually public disagreements about the pace of the U.S. withdrawal. The scramble was sparked by a tweet from the President that all U.S. troops would be home by Christmas and came as a surprise to American defense officials, U.S. diplomats, and Afghan leaders alike. The contradictory messaging comes amidst faltering intra-Afghan peace talks, and as the Afghan government narrowly fended off off the first major Taliban offensive since the start of peace negotiations.

In 2020, a significant number of elections are scheduled or have already taken place in Africa with a large number of them occurring in the last quarter of the year. The CIP Africa Program is tracking upcoming Q4 elections through a factsheet series for researchers, policymakers and the general public who are looking for the key facts surrounding these elections.

The Advocacy Network for Africa welcomes provisions for emergency international resources, and debt relief, in the U.S. House of Representatives’ HEROES Act 2.0. The network applauds the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues for including authorization of these resources. These international resources will not cost the U.S. a penny, per the Congressional Budget Office. Debt relief and access to these International Monetary Fund resources -- called Special Drawing Rights -- are critical. These tools will help low- and middle-income countries -- including indebted African countries and others -- survive and rebuild.

In an effort to move towards greater transparency of think tank funding in America, this report analyzes U.S. government and defense contractor funding at the top fifty think tanks in America, as ranked by the University of Pennsylvania’s Global Go To Think Tank Index, based on criteria like the quality and reputation of the think tank’s research and the reach of its publications. The analysis includes all U.S. government and defense contractor funding received by these think tanks from 2014-2019. This analysis builds upon a previous report released by FITI in early 2020, “Foreign Funding of Think Tanks in America,” and points towards a simple policy recommendation: think tanks should be required, by law, to publicly disclose their funders.