On 2–4 September 2025, SIPRI and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) hosted a regional workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, bringing together experts and practitioners to explore the future of conflict management in Africa.
Focusing on the challenges that conflict management actors in Africa are expected to face over the next ten years—a bleak security outlook, shrinking funding opportunities, discarded norms and a growing number of intense conflicts—participants discussed whether regional organizations are equipped to address these challenges. As conflict management is likely to become more dependent on bilateral actors and ad hoc coalitions in the future, the question remains: how should the diversity of challenges and actors be managed to ensure that future conflict management, including peace operations, is fit for purpose?
This workshop marks the beginning of a series of regional workshops under the New Geopolitics of Conflict Management initiative—a platform for dialogue and research led by SIPRI and FES. The initiative acknowledges that perspectives on the future of conflict management differ between regions, emphasizing the importance of geographically nuanced approaches.
Dr Jaïr van der Lijn, Director of SIPRI’s Peace Operations and Conflict Management Programme, and Gretchen Baldwin, Senior Researcher in the programme, moderated the discussions. The workshop reflects SIPRI’s commitment to fostering dialogue and improving the understanding of peace operations.
Click here for more information about SIPRI’s Peace Operations and Conflict Management Programme.