Sub-Saharan Africa
Our research in this region explores the conflict, security and peace operations across Sub-Saharan Africa, with specific focus on countering terrorism and violent extremism, combatting illegal wildlife trade, environmental crime and climate security.
Countries and groups covered in this region
Our experts
Galgallo Abagaro
Law Enforcement Project Manager
RUSI Nairobi
Cathy Haenlein
Director, Organised Crime and Policing (on maternity leave)
Organised Crime and Policing
Christopher Hockey
Research Fellow
RUSI Nairobi
Michael Jones
Research Fellow
Terrorism and Conflict
Tom Keatinge
Director, CFCS
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
Timothy Kimaiyo
Project Assistant
RUSI Nairobi
Luniya Msuku
Associate Fellow
Alexandria Reid
Associate Fellow
Simon Rynn
Senior Research Fellow for Africa
International Security
Dr Jessica White
Senior Research Fellow
Terrorism and Conflict
Mark Williams
Outreach and Implementation Coordinator
Organised Crime and Policing
Related projects
Access relevant projects and programmes on this region.
We take an in-depth look at the evolving nature of conflict and security in key regions of Sub-Saharan Africa.
The project considers UK development investments in East Africa through the lenses of foreign policy, defence and security, and looks at their strategic relevance and effectiveness.
RUSI has partnered with Search for Common Ground and Human Cognition to explore social perceptions and information-sharing networks within communities in Kenya affected by violent extremism.
The project focuses on the transfer of knowledge between police and the military as part of community engagement in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS).
STRIVE II Kenya was the second iteration (2016-2020) of the European Union (EU) funded and RUSI implemented countering violent extremism (CVE) programme, following on from STRIVE Horn of Africa.
This RUSI-implemented pilot programme (2014-2017) was the first dedicated effort by the European Union to implement a countering violent extremism project outside its borders.
This project conducted the first regional knowledge and capacity assessment on illicit financial flows connected to the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) in West and Central Africa.
This project aims to strengthen key Ugandan stakeholders’ capacity to detect, deter and prosecute wildlife crime, working with security and law-enforcement agencies in the country.
This project delivered tailored cross-sector capacity-building information on disrupting wildlife-linked illicit financial flows in East and Southern Africa, accompanied by rapid-reference guides and an e-learning resource.
This project piloted a strategic threat- and needs-assessment around the financial dimensions of wildlife trafficking, to inform tailored, multi-agency and cross-sectoral capacity building in East Africa.