A TURBULENT HORN OF AFRICA

Georg Lennkh in conversation with Roland Marchal, Marie-Roger Biloa and Gerald Hainzl

A TURBULENT HORN OF AFRICA
New actors and a sea change in world politics. What role for the EU?

Roland Marchal is one of the most outstanding international experts on Sub-Saharan Africa. His meticulous research in the field of economics and conflict receives regular praise by academics and the diplomatic world alike for being close to the ground. In his address, Roland Marchal will focus on the tense political situations on the Horn of Africa, where new, and not so new actors compete in mapping out their interests, both regionally and on a global scale. War in the Ukraine has added a dramatic new element, threatening to make the Horn of Africa a neuralgic point of global dimensions. The ongoing Tigray conflict in Ethiopia, with Eritrea deeply implicated, increasing political tensions in the two Sudans, a never-ending political stalemate in Somalia, or the still unresolved issue of the giant Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) hydroelectric power project, are all defying ongoing diplomatic or mediation efforts. Questions covered by this talk will also include: The EU’s role; French presidency initiatives, also in the framework of AU-EU relations, after the latest not so successful summit. Where do the other great actors, China, Russia, the US and UK stand. And what about the closer neighbours, the Gulf states, Iran, Turkey and Israel.

Roland Marchal is a leading sociologist and researcher at the Institute of Political Sciences (Sciences Po) in Paris. His research focuses on the economies and conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa.
Marie-Roger Biloa, hailing from Cameroun, living in Paris, journalist, President and editor of Africa International
Gerald Hainzl is a researcher at the Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management (IFK) at the National Defence Academy of the Austrian Armed Forces.
Georg Lennkh, former Special Envoy of the government of Austria for Africa

in cooperation with Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation VIDC