Institute for Security Studies (ISS)

27/08/2026

ISS Today > Unusual suspects: elders in West Africa’s changing drug trade

The apparent rise of trafficking by older adults could reflect a new criminal adaptation rather than individual criminality.

The apparent rise of trafficking by older adults could reflect a new criminal adaptation rather than individual criminality.

27/08/2026

Digital deception: Online job scams amid cybercrime vulnerability in Cameroon and Chad

Cybercriminals are exploiting Central Africa's digital boom, luring jobless youth with fake offers on WhatsApp and Facebook.

In Cameroon, scams like 'Dubai Dream' target a digitally savvy youth. In Chad, weaker connectivity drives SMS and voice-call fraud.

For the most vulnerable, fraud escalates into trafficking. Victims are transported abroad, and their documents are confiscated.

Outdated laws, under-resourced police and unaccountable platforms leave scammers unchecked, deepening links to conflict and displacement.

Read the report by Ado Adamou Abba Ari

https://issafrica.org/research/books-and-other-publications/digital-deception-online-job-scams-amid-cybercrime-vulnerability-in-cameroon-and-chad

26/08/2026

𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮'𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵

Africa has vast agricultural potential, but insecure land tenure prevents agriculture from modernising at the scale needed to drive poverty reduction and growth.

Africa's development agenda has focused heavily on governance reforms modelled on Western democracies, but the continent's largest source of potential capital – land – remains locked out of the formal economy, with up to 90% of sub-Saharan land under unregistered customary tenure.

Modernising land tenure through digitised, legally recognised property rights would let land function as collateral and investment capital, unlocking the agricultural productivity gains that have historically driven economic takeoff elsewhere.

ISS Today by Jakkie Cilliers

Agriculture is the foundation for Africa’s economic takeoff, but without land tenure reform, its potential will remain untapped.

26/08/2026

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡: 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚’𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲

What choices should African leaders make today to improve the lives of millions and turn the continent’s enormous potential into sustained and inclusive prosperity?

Drawing on decades of research, Jakkie Cilliers’ latest book, Africa’s Road to Prosperity: 10 Things to Know, explores 10 priorities for accelerating progress amid persistent challenges in governance, infrastructure, trade and economic transformation.

Join Ottilia Anna Maunganidze in conversation with Prof Gilbert Khadiagala and Jakkie Cilliers for the book launch in Pretoria.

📅 Thursday, 27 August
⏰ 18:00-20:30 (GMT+2)
📍 Exclusive Books, Menlyn Mall, Pretoria

Find out more: https://issafrica.org/events/book-launch-africa-s-road-to-prosperity

26/08/2026

ISS Today > Africa must unlock the capital beneath its farmers’ feet

Agriculture is the foundation for Africa’s economic takeoff, but without land tenure reform, its potential will remain untapped.

Agriculture is the foundation for Africa’s economic takeoff, but without land tenure reform, its potential will remain untapped.

26/08/2026

Victims in Cameroon lose up to 738,000 FCFA per scam, and some are trafficked abroad for forced labour. Can weak laws and unaccountable platforms keep up?

Read our report by Ado Adamou Abba Ari

https://issafrica.org/research/books-and-other-publications/digital-deception-online-job-scams-amid-cybercrime-vulnerability-in-cameroon-and-chad

25/08/2026

𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐂’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Serious concerns raised at the Madlanga Commission about IDAC’s management and use of investigative powers demand accountability. But they don’t negate South Africa’s need for specialist anti-corruption capacity.

Dismantling IDAC risks repeating the costly mistake of closing the Scorpions and losing hard-won expertise. Instead, the current reset should strengthen internal controls, oversight and institutional independence while holding individual wrongdoers accountable.

South Africa has spent too long building, weakening and recreating criminal justice capacity. IDAC’s problems are serious – but there is not yet compelling evidence that the institution is beyond repair.

ISS Today by Martin Schönteich https://issafrica.org/iss-today/idac-s-failures-demand-reform-not-abolition

24/08/2026

𝐇𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐙𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐚'𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫

Zambia's 13 August election delivered President Hakainde Hichilema a decisive second term, but last-minute electoral reforms, uneven campaign conditions and the use of state resources exposed real vulnerabilities in the country's democratic process.

The opposition's Tonse Alliance showed anti-incumbent sentiment could translate into a genuine electoral challenge, but needs a formal structure and policy platform to become a true governing alternative.

With fewer institutional checks on his stronger mandate, Hichilema's real test is whether he leaves behind a system that lets his successor compete fairly.

ISS Today by David Willima and Zenge Simakoloyi https://issafrica.org/iss-today/hichilema-wins-a-stronger-mandate-but-zambia-s-democratic-test-isn-t-over

24/08/2026

𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧: 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚

Shifts in US foreign policy are straining the Western alliance across defence, trade, technology and multilateral cooperation. For Africa, this could make development finance, security cooperation, humanitarian assistance and political engagement less predictable.

But Western divisions could also create opportunities for greater African agency, enabling more autonomous bilateral partnerships and giving African states greater scope to diversify external relations and negotiate more balanced partnerships.

Join the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) to explore what a changing Western alliance means for Africa’s security-development future.

📅 25 August 2026
⏰ 15:00–16:30 (GMT+2)
📍 Online via ISS Zoom

Register now: https://issafrica.org/events/the-western-alliance-under-strain-implications-for-africa