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.
As an interdepartmentally financed research and advisory project, we receive funding from the German Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Federal Ministry of Defence.
Ethiopia has never had a national election as contested as the one in 2005. Afrobarometer data show the long-term effects of this event, such as the former youth's embrace of national rather than ethnic identities or a preference for geographically based federalism.
doi:10.18449/2025MTA-WP18
Legal and safe migration to Europe has become increasingly difficult for African citizens owing to racialised structures of mobility. Visas put huge burdens on African applicants while migration partnerships have had little impact, despite Germany’s need for migrant labour, argues Franzisca Zanker.
Legale, sichere Migration nach Europa ist für Afrikaner*innen aufgrund rassifizierter Mobilitätsstrukturen zunehmend schwieriger geworden. Visabestimmungen stellen enorme Hürden dar, und Migrationspartnerschaften haben trotz des Bedarfs an Arbeitsmigration wenig Wirkung gezeigt, so Franzisca Zanker.
Fulani communities in West Africa are being scapegoated for violence perpetrated by certain groups of semi-nomadic herders in response to a crisis in pastoralism. James Courtright explores how Fulani communities across the region are responding by organising, fighting or fleeing.
doi:DOI 10.18449/2025MTA-PB32
The African Union has chosen “Reparations” as its theme for 2025. Although the colonial past is a sensitive issue in Africa-Europe relations, this could also be an opportunity for both sides to address historical blind spots, argue Karoline Eickhoff and Ueli Staeger in this spotlight.
In Kenya’s online media, anti-gender narratives are used to advocate for traditional values and exploit post-colonial sentiments. This policy brief examines how Kenyan politicians use these narratives to further their political interests, limit political participation of women and consolidate power.
doi:10.18449/2025MTA-WP17
