Africa at the Center: Power, Partnership, and the Future Global Order

As global power shifts and competition intensifies, Africa is moving from the margins toward the center of the global strategic stage. The question is whether the continent will become a decisive global actor—and whether its partners are prepared for that repositioning.  Too often, policymakers consumed by immediate crises overlook the deeper structural forces reshaping Africa’s trajectory. Trade integration, demographic shifts, and greater African agency will shape the continent's role in the changing global order. Drawing on decades of forecasting data and scenario modeling, Jakkie Cilliers, Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Security Studies and Director of the Africa Futures program, joins Oge to unpack the structural forces shaping the continent's future. Together, they explore the slow-moving but transformative trends shaping Africa's future.