Book Recommendations on African Security Issues

Hello, all. I am a neophyte in the world of security, but I do have 17 years of experience living on the continent of Africa (Zambia and Kenya). Currently, I am a graduate student studying international security.

This fall, I am taking a class on general security studies and I am looking for some good books about current security issues in Sub-Saharan Africa. They can be either very specific (i.e. the experience of the US in Somalia in 1993) or very general. My own personal interests tend toward East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania coastal areas) and the potential for/existence of terrorist cells in that area, rather than conflict zones in the rest of the continent.

I thought I would ask members of this forum as you seem exceptionally well-read and knowledgeable of Africa whereas my prof is not exactly an expert on the continent... Thanks for your help.

I can definitely give you some recommendations...but give me a day or two to get back into my office. What area are you looking for in particular? I have experience in Southern and Eastern Africa.

Also -- can YOU give me any references to readings on the terrorist cells in Eastern Africa (for example in Somalia)?

Thanks!
Claire

I know little of the topic, but there are a couple of long-running threads on Congo and Rwanda here: http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=2129

And Zimbabwe here: http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=4896

Not your specific countries, but in the right area. You may be able to judge from the posts who knows specifics about your particular interests and you might find some useful sources in the threads.

Discovered via a BSAP blog group:

a) www.veteranangola.ru - website of Red Army veterans who served in Angola, in far larger numbers than I recall and support for terrorist groups; yes in Russian, but a part is in English,

b) http://ccrweb.ccr.uct.ac.za/archive/...fdigest03.html or http://ccrweb.ccr.uct.ac.za/archive/...est_index.html
Which is in English, this a paper on Zimbawe's military action in Mozambique.

davidbfpo

Thanks for the recommendations. Claire, I'm pretty ignorant about reading material on terrorist cells in East Africa (that's why I posted on here looking for recommendations).:confused: Only thing I can point you to is the Harmony Project out of West Point. They have done some studies on East Africa.