Under African Skies

<p>Africa is the second largest continent in the world, both in land area <i>and</i> population. It has more than 1.2 billion people — most of them young and poor — living in 54 countries. If current demographic trends continue, Africa will account for a quarter of humanity by the middle of this century.</p><p>In Africa, conflicts are more often <i>within</i> countries rather than <i>between</i> them. Sudan and Ethiopia are current examples.</p><p>Today, al Qaeda and the Islamic State are active across Africa. So is the Wagner Group, a lawless private army loyal to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.</p><p>And China’s ruling Communist Party has become a neo-imperialist power on the continent, exploiting African peoples and resources.</p><p>Joining host <a href="https://www.fdd.org/team/clifford-d-may/" target="_blank"><strong>Cliff May</strong></a> to talk about Africa is <a href="https://www.fdd.org/team/joshua-meservey/" target="_blank"><strong>Joshua Meservey</strong></a>.</p><p>He’s currently a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, where he focuses on African geopolitics, counterterrorism, and great power competition in Africa.</p><p>He was previously a research fellow for Africa at the Heritage Foundation. He’s also worked at the US Army Special Operations Command, for Church World Service based out of Nairobi, Kenya, and he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia. And he’s a member of FDD’s National Security Network.</p>