In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Murithi Mutiga, Crisis Group’s Africa program director, to discuss the DR Congo-Rwanda deal, U.S. peacemaking in Africa and elsewhere, and how revisionist leadership could impact the continent. They unpack the U.S. and Qatar-brokered peace deal, its minerals component and the pitfalls in the Trump administration’s mediation style, also looking at diplomacy in other hotspots. They also discuss Sudan’s civil war and whether Trump’s illiberal dealmaking might offer a way out. They examine simmering tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea and what renewed war between them would mean for an already tumultuous region. Finally, they look at how revisionist leaders in Africa may be emboldened by a broader global trend of achieving goals through force, how Africans view Trump’s second term policy so far and how it compares to Chinese engagement in Africa.
More content from this blog
- Slovakia’s Toxic Bargain: How Red-Brown Politics Exploit Masculinity, by Karmína – 1 May 2025
- El Pueblo: Understanding the history behind the contested presidential election in Venezuela, by Thomas Purcell – 1 August 2024
- Alpha Male and Jew, by James Bloodworth – 17 April 2025
- The Illusion of Choice: Why People Should Reject Both Sides of the War in Sudan, by Khalid Sidahmed – 21 November 2024
- Trans Joy, by Echo Fortune – 6 August 2025