The highlights this upcoming year: High-stakes elections are scheduled in Ethiopia and other countries, Sudan’s and South Sudan’s crises may converge, and instability in the Sahel will likely continue to spread to anglophone nations.
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The highlights this upcoming year: High-stakes elections are scheduled in Ethiopia and other countries, Sudan’s and South Sudan’s crises may converge, and instability in the Sahel will likely continue to spread to anglophone nations.
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High-Stakes Elections
Africa’s political landscape in 2026 will likely be shaped by high-stakes elections in countries including Ethiopia, Somalia, and Uganda. Experts widely anticipate that these elections will be “tick-box” exercises with largely predetermined outcomes. This could drive widespread youth-led protests, similar to those seen in several African nations in 2025.
What happens in Ethiopia will be especially impactful for global affairs. U.S. President Donald Trump’s transactional foreign policy has led to a realignment of geopolitical partnerships in the Horn of Africa. This has been marked by a decline in traditional U.S.
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