ACCORD has adapted to the new COVID-19 reality, refocusing and restructuring a significant proportion of its staff and its effort on identifying & monitoring, tracking &, analysing, and preparing & responding to COVID-19 related social-unrest and violent conflict in Africa.
Through our networks across Africa, and supported by available online data, ACCORD identifies COVID-19 related incidents and trends that may provide early warning of rising tensions that could develop into social unrest and violent conflict. Once the incidents are captured in the dataset, ACCORD analyses the trends and publishes a weekly COVID-19 Africa Conflict and Resilience Monitor, in order to share the information and analysis with all stakeholders.
ACCORD then works with its in-country networks and other local, regional, continental and international partners and stakeholders, to encourage and support interventions aimed at mitigating, and where possible preventing, COVID-19 related social unrest and violent conflict.
In the past month, we have witnessed important developments around the role of Africa in multilateral institutions, including the African Union’s membership in the G20 and the expanded membership of BRICS to include two additional African states – Ethiopia and Egypt. In helping us to navigate the other outcomes of the XV BRICs summit, Bhaso Ndzendze has written a piece which carefully analyses the summit communiqué, the Johannesburg II Declaration. Staying with the analysis of the BRICS+ Summit, Cedric de Coning discusses the implications of the expanded BRICS membership for the future of global governance.
Turning to elections in Southern Africa, Katharine Bebington has written a piece which describes the political context ahead of the general elections in Eswatini on 29 September 2023, which she analyses in a comparative discussion with the recently held elections in Zimbabwe. She argues that the election dynamics leave Southern Africa vulnerable to political unrest and poses questions about the nature of democracies in the region. Related to the broader topic of elections in Africa, Nkanyiso Simelane has written a piece which presents the case of strengthening the quality and integrity of elections in Africa as one type of response to the latest series of military coups.
The 2023 BRICS summit hosted by South Africa between the 19th and 24th of August is bound to be one of its most historic.
Does it reflect an era of strategic rivalry between the West and the rest? Together, the BRICS represent approximately 40% of the world’s population. The combined size of their economies is approaching approximately 30% of the world’s GDP
Both Zimbabwe and Eswatini have faced challenges relating to their democracies and conducting their elections.
If you are able to share information from your experiences on the ground with the crisis in Africa, we'd really like to hear from you. Please get in touch!
