grey dynamics

Hunting for ‘Gangsters’ on Facebook in Kenya

April 29, 2019

Dylan Ramshaw

    For some time, Kenya has faced an Islamist terrorist threat, including an ongoing battle with al-Shabaab, which is coordinating attacks out of Somalia. In January, the group attacked a hotel and office complex in an affluent area of Nairobi, lobbing grenades and shooting indiscriminately, killing 21 people. In 2013, Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi was taken over by al-Shabaab who went on a killing spree leaving 67 people dead.   However, Kenya faces a significant internal security threat…

Malawi’s Disgrace
: Human trafficking continues to fuel organized crime

April 23, 2019

Dylan Ramshaw

      Trafficking in persons remains a serious concern in Malawi. The landlocked country ranks among the world's most densely populated and poorest countries in the world. Malawi is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Internal trafficking is believed more common than that of transnational trafficking, and forced labor exists, particularly on tobacco plantations. The government’s inability to fully implement key legislation or policies…

AMLO’s New Plan for Security in Mexico
: A Promise of Change?

April 3, 2019

Dylan Ramshaw

     Since 2006, the drug war has left more than 200,000 dead, 40,000 disappeared, and with approximately 26,000 unidentified corpses and over 1,100 mass graves. The violence has also directly affected local politicians, journalists and women. In 2012, the drug war death toll was around 15,000, but peaked in 2018 with more than 33,000 murders, up by 15% from 2017.           On 1 Jul 2018, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, or AMLO as he is known in…

A Military ‘Solution’
: Will this be enough to rid Peru of Illegal Mining?

March 26, 2019

Dylan Ramshaw

    In February, the government of Peru launched an all-out and what is planned to be a  "sustained" campaign to eradicate illegal mining in the department of Madre de Dios. The raid included 1,272 police agents, 300 members of the armed forces, and 70 representatives from Public Prosecutor’s Office. Madre de Dios borders both Brazil and Bolivia. The region is not new to interventions by law enforcement. Since, in 2010 local and national authorities have attempted to curb illegal…

All Roads to Libya

February 16, 2019

Fredrik Hellem

    All Roads Lead to Libya   In late February Egypt will be hosting the European Union – Arab League summit on migration. The two partners will attempt to deal with the migration problem which has troubled policymakers in Europe, Africa, and the Middle-East for years. What needs to be addressed in the meeting is that the EU’s initiatives have failed, their own funding might help driving the migration business, and the importance of empowering southern Libya.    …

Namibia’s fight to keep the animals alive
: A success story or efforts in a losing battle?

February 15, 2019

Dylan Ramshaw

  Namibia is on the forefront of combatting poaching in southern Africa. The country’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism claims that 32 rhinos, one of the most endangered species in the region, were poached in 2017 compared 61 in 2016. This number is still dramatically less than South Africa, where in 2017 the number of rhinos killed were 1,028. 2018 saw the number of rhinos poached increase slightly, although still less than its neighbors. For several years now, the strategy…