Debating Ideas is a new section that aims to reflect the values and editorial ethos of the African Arguments book series, publishing engaged, often radical, scholarship, original and activist writing from within the African continent and beyond. It will offer debates and engagements, contexts and controversies, and reviews and responses flowing from the African Arguments books.

Illustration of women protesting in South Sudan. Credit: Malaika Ibreck

The Horn of Africa and the Middle East are inextricably linked, historically, culturally, and geographically. But more than ever, the region is plagued by competition between global and regional power, and the rise of short-term transactional politics that do not address the serious challenges facing peace, security, and democratisation in this rapidly changing environment.

What role then does civil society play in this arena, and how can they work together across this divide to help promote human rights and sustainable development?

Host Raga Makawi (editor at Debating Ideas – African Arguments) talks to researchers, civil society actors, journalists, and other key stakeholders about the strategic relationship between states in the Red Sea and how to address emerging challenges in the Horn of Africa.

Listen to the podcast here: https://soundcloud.com/debating-ideas/red-sea-politics-in-the-horn-of-africa-the-role-of-civil-society

Contributors to the podcast include: 

Abdul Mohammed, Chief of Staff of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel

Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University

Reem Abbas, Sudan-based journalist and political commentator on migration and human rights

Egyptian legal expert (anonymous)

Yahya Mohammed, Director of Somaliland Journalist Association (SOLJA)

Fatima Ahmed Ali, Associate Professor of International Relations at the United States International University-Africa (USIU-A)

Angelina Seeka, South Sudanese Human Rights activist and researcher

*This podcast is produced as part of the AU RWG in contribution to the civil society research pillar.