Mapping studies

One of the overarching aims of SIPRI’s Africa Security and Governance (ASG) project is to generate knowledge and provide facts on security-related policies and activities in sub-Saharan Africa. The project includes two types of study: mapping studies and country case studies.

The purpose of the mapping studies is to survey, examine and document the security-related policies and activities of major external actors in sub-Saharan Africa. These actors include individual states (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) and intergovernmental organizations (the European Union and the United Nations). 

The actor-based mapping studies have a strong empirical focus, providing data and other information on these actor’s security-related policies and activities, including arms transfers, military presence, military and security assistance, defence and security agreements and, where relevant, on some types of economic and diplomatic activity and relationship.

Additional mapping studies use a thematic framework to explore cross-cutting issues, such as arms exports to Africa, the role of external actors in natural resource extraction and the role of external actors in post-conflict reconstruction.

The findings of the mapping studies will be presented in four types of publication: an edited volume of the security-related activities of external actors, including an extensive data appendix; policy papers; short summaries for use by African CSOs and a series of fact sheets providing selections of the data and information on data sources. 

List of Mapping Studies 

Studies of external actors

• China, by Chin-Hao Huang

 

• France, by Vincent Boulanin

• Russia, by Paul Holtom

• The United Kingdom, by Sam Perlo-Freeman

• The United States, by Elisabeth Sköns

• The European Union, by Mark Bromley

• The United Nations, by Sharon Wiharta

Thematic studies

• Arms flows to Africa, by Pieter Wezeman

• The linkages between foreign interests in energy resources and military and internal security in African countries, by Ruben de Koning

• External actors and post-conflict reconstruction, by Amadu Sesay