African states and societies are undergoing profound transformations. In an increasing number of countries, ever-younger populations demand political change. External actors such as China or Russia intensify their engagement on the continent. The number and scale of armed conflicts are on the rise, particularly in the northern half of Africa.
Global megatrends are driving or influencing such processes of transformation on the African continent. Megatrends are long-term structural changes that largely escape political control. They have profound effects on social, economic, and political orders. Examples include climate change, digitalisation, urbanisation, and shifts in global power relations.
In the project “Megatrends Afrika: Strukturelle Transformation und internationale Zeitenwende”, we, the project team, explore how megatrends affect African states and societies. We seek to develop ideas for German and European cooperation with African partners that help to make ongoing transformations fairer and more sustainable. This is all the more important as Africa is rising on the agenda of German and European policymakers, as does their need for evidence-based policy advice.
We are currently focussing our research on three areas:
Megatrends Africa is a joint project of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), the German Institute for Development and Sustainability (IDOS), and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW). Our project cooperates with the Kiel Institute Africa Initiative.
The project’s researchers adhere to the generally accepted principles for ensuring good scientific practice. All project publications are subject to an internal written internal peer review process. In case of our blog series MTA spotlight, the reviewing procedure is conducted through the project director affiliated with the author's organisation. Furthermore the Policy Briefs are subjected to a fact-checking process.
We produce policy-relevant research on major political, social, and economic trends in Africa. The team brings together scholars from both continents and different disciplines. Our aim is to exchange, take on, and critically question different perspectives. We do so at workshops with representatives from academia, politics, and civil society, through our publications, as well as here on the blog of our website. This way, we wish to contribute to a more nuanced public debate on Africa.
Sekundärstädte sind für Urbanisierungsdynamiken in Afrika zunehmend von Bedeutung. Zugleich sind Afrikas Hauptstädte noch immer zentral, wenn es um wirtschaftliche und politische Entwicklungen geht. In diesem Megatrends Afrika Spotlight plädieren Lena Gutheil und Sina Schlimmer für eine Politik, die die Komplementarität beider Stadtformen berücksichtigt.
Secondary cities in Africa are increasingly central to discussions on urbanisation. At the same time, capital cities maintain their economic and political significance. In this Megatrends Afrika Spotlight, Lena Gutheil and Sina Schlimmer argue for policies that address the complementarity of both city categories.
Die politische Landschaft Europas hat sich durch die EU-Parlamentswahlen merklich nach rechts verlagert. Benedikt Erforth und Niels Keijzer (IDOS) beleuchten in diesem Megatrends Afrika Spotlight, welche Folgen das für die EU-Afrika Beziehungen haben könnte. Trotz mangelnder Neuerungen in den Bereichen Migration und Partnerschaft scheint eine Fortführung der bisherigen Politik wahrscheinlicher als bedeutende Veränderungen.
The political landscape in Europe has shifted noticeably to the right as a result of the EU parliamentary elections. In this Megatrends Afrika Spotlight, Benedikt Erforth and Niels Keijzer (IDOS) shed light on the consequences this could have for EU-Africa relations. Despite a lack of innovations in the areas of migration and partnership, a continuation of previous policies seems more likely than significant changes.
Europa wählt ein neues Parlament. Im Wahlkampf spielten die Beziehungen zu Afrika kaum eine Rolle – dabei sind sie entscheidend für Fortschritte in wichtigen Politikfeldern wie dem Umgang mit dem Klimawandel und dem Fachkräftemangel. Unser Prozess der strategischen Vorausschau beleuchtet Trends, die die Beziehungen zwischen den Kontinenten in der nahen Zukunft prägen werden. Wohin die Reise geht, berichten Karoline Eickhoff und Denis M. Tull in diesem Megatrends Afrika Spotlight.
Europe is about to elect a new parliament. Relations with Africa barely played a role in the election campaigns, even though they are crucial for making progress in important policy areas such as climate change and the shortage of skilled labour in Europe. Our strategic foresight process highlights trends that will shape relations between the two continents in the near future. In this Megatrends Afrika Spotlight, Karoline Eickhoff and Denis M. Tull report on where the journey is headed.