SECURITY DYNAMICS IN NORTH AFRICA AND SAHEL REGION IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2021

2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-55
Author(s):  
Crăișor-Constantin IONIȚĂ
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
International Community ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Illegal Migration ◽  
Humanitarian Crisis ◽  
Regional Powers ◽  
Illegal Migrants ◽  
Sahel Region ◽  
Terrorist Acts

The first half of 2021 was marked by the continued spread of the Sars-CoV-2 virus throughout the African continent, by the desperate attempts of the UN and regional powers to implement the Ceasefire Agreement in Libya and keep security situation under control, and increasing the number of illegal migrants to Europe. The COVID-19 pandemic did not reduce terrorist acts in the Sahel region, nor did it stop the wave of small immigrant boats to Spain and Italy from Africa. But the coronavirus pandemic has led to the closure of many African borders, bringing the economies of those countries to the brink of bankruptcy and deteriorating the humanitarian situation in North Africa and the Sahel region. The international community has difficulty monitoring the situation in the area, especially the humanitarian crisis and illegal migration, which is seriously affecting security in its vicinity.

Multi-model ensemble projections of soil moisture drought over North Africa and the Sahel region under 1.5, 2, and 3 °C global warming

2021 ◽  
Vol 167 (3-4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Elkouk ◽  
Zine El Abidine El Morjani ◽  
Yadu Pokhrel ◽  
Abdelghani Chehbouni ◽  
Abdelfattah Sifeddine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Model Ensemble ◽  
Sahel Region ◽  
Ensemble Projections

scholarly journals Impact of Desert Dust Radiative Forcing on Sahel Precipitation: Relative Importance of Dust Compared to Sea Surface Temperature Variations, Vegetation Changes, and Greenhouse Gas Warming

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 1445-1467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaru Yoshioka ◽  
Natalie M. Mahowald ◽  
Andrew J. Conley ◽  
William D. Collins ◽  
David W. Fillmore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Desert Dust ◽  
Direct Radiative Forcing ◽  
Sahel Region ◽  
Precipitation Reduction ◽  
Sahel Precipitation

Abstract The role of direct radiative forcing of desert dust aerosol in the change from wet to dry climate observed in the African Sahel region in the last half of the twentieth century is investigated using simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model. The model simulations are conducted either forced by the observed sea surface temperature (SST) or coupled with the interactive SST using the Slab Ocean Model (SOM). The simulation model uses dust that is less absorbing in the solar wavelengths and has larger particle sizes than other simulation studies. As a result, simulations show less shortwave absorption within the atmosphere and larger longwave radiative forcing by dust. Simulations using SOM show reduced precipitation over the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) including the Sahel region and increased precipitation south of the ITCZ when dust radiative forcing is included. In SST-forced simulations, on the other hand, significant precipitation changes are restricted to over North Africa. These changes are considered to be due to the cooling of global tropical oceans as well as the cooling of the troposphere over North Africa in response to dust radiative forcing. The model simulation of dust cannot capture the magnitude of the observed increase of desert dust when allowing dust to respond to changes in simulated climate, even including changes in vegetation, similar to previous studies. If the model is forced to capture observed changes in desert dust, the direct radiative forcing by the increase of North African dust can explain up to 30% of the observed precipitation reduction in the Sahel between wet and dry periods. A large part of this effect comes through atmospheric forcing of dust, and dust forcing on the Atlantic Ocean SST appears to have a smaller impact. The changes in the North and South Atlantic SSTs may account for up to 50% of the Sahel precipitation reduction. Vegetation loss in the Sahel region may explain about 10% of the observed drying, but this effect is statistically insignificant because of the small number of years in the simulation. Greenhouse gas warming seems to have an impact to increase Sahel precipitation that is opposite to the observed change. Although the estimated values of impacts are likely to be model dependent, analyses suggest the importance of direct radiative forcing of dust and feedbacks in modulating Sahel precipitation.

scholarly journals Simulated Dust Aerosol Impacts on Western Sahelian Rainfall: Importance of Ocean Coupling

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (22) ◽  
pp. 9107-9124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asha K. Jordan ◽  
Anand Gnanadesikan ◽  
Benjamin Zaitchik
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Tropical Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Ocean Atmosphere ◽  
Sahel Region ◽  
Dust Precipitation

North Africa is the world’s largest source of mineral dust, and this dust has potentially significant impacts on precipitation. Yet there is no consensus in published studies regarding the sign or magnitude of dust impacts on rainfall in either the highly climate-sensitive Sahel region of North Africa or the neighboring tropical Atlantic Ocean. Here the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) Climate Model 2 (GFDL CM2.0) with Modular Ocean Model, version 4.1 (MOM4.1), run at coarse resolution (CM2Mc) is applied to investigate one poorly characterized aspect of dust–precipitation dynamics: the importance of sea surface temperature (SST) changes in mediating the atmospheric response to dust. Two model experiments were performed: one comparing Dust-On to Dust-Off simulations in the absence of ocean–atmosphere coupling, and the second comparing Dust-On to Dust-Off with the ocean fully coupled. Results indicate that SST changes in the coupled experiment reduce the magnitude of dust impacts on Sahel rainfall and flip the sign of the precipitation response over the nearby ocean. Over the Sahel, CM2Mc simulates a net positive impact of dust on monsoon season rainfall, but ocean–atmosphere coupling in the presence of dust decreases the inflow of water vapor, reducing the amount by which dust enhances rainfall. Over the tropical Atlantic Ocean, dust leads to SST cooling in the coupled experiment, resulting in increased static stability that overrides the warming-induced increase in convection observed in the uncoupled experiment and yields a net negative impact of dust on precipitation. These model results highlight the potential importance of SST changes in dust–precipitation dynamics in North Africa and neighboring regions.

scholarly journals International legal experience in combating illegal migration by sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 284-287
Author(s):  
O.O. Kukshynova ◽  
A. O. Samoilenko
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
European Countries ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Illegal Migration ◽  
Illegal Migrants ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Treaty Of Amsterdam

This article highlights the impact of international law on the global process of illegal migration, reveals a number of international problems related to international migration, in particular by sea, identifies the main factors influencing illegal migration in general, indicates the state of illegal migration in various European Union countries. attention is paid to such important international legal instruments as the Schengen Agreement of 1985 and 1990, the Dublin Convention of 1990, the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 and the Treaty of Amsterdam of 1997. The article also focuses on the European Union agency, which deals with the protection of external borders and their protection from illegal migrants, in particular, by sea.The analysis of theoretical and practical aspects of combating illegal migration by sea at the international level, as well as in the development of scientific and theoretical approaches to solving migration problems, characterizes the legal regulation of combating illegal migration by maritime transport and maritime participation established intergovernmental bodies. The main tools of the European Union to combat illegal migration by sea, which can be used to improve the legal regulation of migration authorities of other countries, as well as substantiate the organizational and legal framework of European countries in the field of legal support to combat illegal migration by sea.The actions of European states represented by the relevant state bodies in solving the problems of illegal migration with the help of merchant fleets of European countries are studied. The article pays attention to the influence of illegal migration on the formation and change of legal awareness of society, as the beginning of the formation of criminogenic factors among illegal migrants in the host country.

scholarly journals The Coverage of the Policy of the German Chancellor in the Conditions of the Migration Crisis of 2013-2018 in the Materials of the Magazine "Der Spiegel"

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-511
Author(s):  
Galina Voronenkova ◽  
Julia Islanova
Keyword(s):  
Readiness To Change ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Migration Policy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Illegal Migration ◽  
Migration Stream ◽  
Illegal Migrants ◽  
Angela Merkel ◽  
Dublin Regulation ◽  
Migration Crisis

Starting from 2013, the authors of “Der Spiegel” have been actively criticizing the policy of the Chancellor Merkel for inaction in the conditions of an increasing number of migrants from Middle Eastern countries. At the same time, the main opponents of the Chancellor were also criticized for their trying to pull away from the increasing migration problem and to absolve themselves of responsibility for migrants rushing deep into Europe, recalling the terms of the Dublin Regulation. The situation changed in 2015 when Angela Merkel not only recognized the ongoing crisis, but opened the borders of Germany for hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants. Unlike Merkel`s political opponents and even many party fellows, “Der Spiegel” supported the Chancellor for her readiness to jeopardize her political career to save European humanistic values. However, it soon became obvious that the Chancellor`s magnanimity wasn`t based on a precise plan for integration. Despite the authors of “Der Spiegel” who like Merkel considered Germany to be the heart of human and hospitable Europe, the center of tolerance, they had to admit that the uncontrolled stream of refugees turned to be a serious threat for the economy, social peace and national security. In 2017, it became obvious that Merkel changed the direction of her migration policy for a more pragmatic one aimed to control the illegal migration, to limit the migration stream from Middle Eastern countries, to develop the system of revealing and deporting illegal migrants. “Der Spiegel” regarded this as her readiness to change her own position according to the political circumstances in favor of the political rating. This led to disappointment and a new wave of criticism.

The Slave Trade: The Formal Demography of a Global System

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Manning
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Middle Passage ◽  
Global System ◽  
Plantation Life ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Additional Losses

If the best-known aspects of African slavery remain the horrors of the middle passage and the travail of plantation life in the Americas, recent work has nonetheless provided some important reminders of the Old World ramifications of slavery (Miller 1988; Meillassoux 1986; Miers and Roberts 1988; Manning in press-a). Millions of slaves were sent from sub-Saharan Africa to serve in households and plantations in North Africa and the Middle East and suffered heavy casualties on their difficult journey. Millions more, captured in the same net as those sent abroad, were condemned to slavery on the African continent. The mortality of captives in Africa, therefore, included not only losses among those headed for export at the Atlantic coast but the additional losses among those destined for export to the Orient and among those captured and transported to serve African masters.

scholarly journals Regional African stock markets indices

2002 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-19
Author(s):  
T. Fish ◽  
N. Biekpe
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
East Africa ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Stock Markets ◽  
African Continent ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Market Trends ◽  
Market Capitalisation

This paper presents an overview of the construction of regional indices for three of the four regions within Africa. The three indices are the EASDEX (for East Africa), the NADEX (for North Africa) and the WADEX (for West Africa). The SADC region has been excluded, as it has recently been concluded as the subject of study, in which the index, the SADIX was constructed (Tyandela, 2001). The weekly market capitalisation data collected for the construction of these indices was further used to construct an All-Africa index. These indices could in future assist investors both locally and internationally to determine the movement of indices as a way of assessing market trends and opportunities for investment on the African continent.

scholarly journals The spatial distribution of mineral dust and its shortwave radiative forcing over North Africa: modeling sensitivities to dust emissions and aerosol size treatments

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (18) ◽  
pp. 8821-8838 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Zhao ◽  
X. Liu ◽  
L. R. Leung ◽  
B. Johnson ◽  
S. A. McFarlane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Dust Emission ◽  
Radiative Properties ◽  
Lower Atmosphere ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Dust Emissions ◽  
Sahel Region

Abstract. A fully coupled meteorology-chemistry-aerosol model (WRF-Chem) is applied to simulate mineral dust and its shortwave (SW) radiative forcing over North Africa. Two dust emission schemes (GOCART and DUSTRAN) and two aerosol models (MADE/SORGAM and MOSAIC) are adopted in simulations to investigate the modeling sensitivities to dust emissions and aerosol size treatments. The modeled size distribution and spatial variability of mineral dust and its radiative properties are evaluated using measurements (ground-based, aircraft, and satellites) during the AMMA SOP0 campaign from 6 January to 3 February of 2006 (the SOP0 period) over North Africa. Two dust emission schemes generally simulate similar spatial distributions and temporal evolutions of dust emissions. Simulations using the GOCART scheme with different initial (emitted) dust size distributions require ~40% difference in total emitted dust mass to produce similar SW radiative forcing of dust over the Sahel region. The modal approach of MADE/SORGAM retains 25% more fine dust particles (radius<1.25 μm) but 8% less coarse dust particles (radius>1.25 μm) than the sectional approach of MOSAIC in simulations using the same size-resolved dust emissions. Consequently, MADE/SORGAM simulates 11% higher AOD, up to 13% lower SW dust heating rate, and 15% larger (more negative) SW dust radiative forcing at the surface than MOSAIC over the Sahel region. In the daytime of the SOP0 period, the model simulations show that the mineral dust heats the lower atmosphere with an average rate of 0.8 ± 0.5 K day−1 over the Niamey vicinity and 0.5 ± 0.2 K day−1 over North Africa and reduces the downwelling SW radiation at the surface by up to 58 W m−2 with an average of 22 W m−2 over North Africa. This highlights the importance of including dust radiative impact in understanding the regional climate of North Africa. When compared to the available measurements, the WRF-Chem simulations can generally capture the measured features of mineral dust and its radiative properties over North Africa, suggesting that the model is suitable for more extensive simulations of dust impact on regional climate over North Africa.

Pensée 2: The “African” in Africana/Black/African and African American Studies

2009 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Somerville
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
The Political ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Black African ◽  
Academic Fields ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Middle East Studies ◽  
Research And Policy

In Pensée 1, “Africa on My Mind,” Mervat Hatem questions the perceived wisdom of creating the African Studies Association (focused on sub-Saharan Africa) and the Middle East Studies Association a decade later, which “institutionalized the political bifurcation of the African continent into two academic fields.” The cleaving of Africa into separate and distinct parts—a North Africa/Middle East and a sub-Saharan Africa—rendered a great disservice to all Africans: it has fractured dialogue, research, and policy while preventing students and scholars of Africa from articulating a coherent understanding of the continent.

The E.U.'s Definition of Terrorism: The Council Framework Decision on Combating Terrorism

2004 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 585-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugenia Dumitriu
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Community ◽  
Framework Decision ◽  
Freedom Fighters ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Multiple Resolutions ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Terrorist Acts ◽  
International Conventions

Terrorist acts have, for a long time, constituted a major concern for the international community. Yet the definition of terrorism has represented an area of international law where the divergence of views between States was significant. For some, the protection of the State and of the democratic values of the society laid at the heart of the debate, whereas others were more concerned with the risk of an unjustified repression of “freedom fighters.” These approaches, although apparently complementary, have proved to be irreconcilable in practice. At the United Nations’ level, this division of the international community prevented the emergence of a consensus over a horizontal definition of terrorism. This situation,-paradoxically did not impede the adoption of several international conventions dealing with specific aspects or forms of terrorism as well as of multiple resolutions on this issue.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document