J Peter Pham
Biographic Data
| ID | 3940762 |
|---|---|
| NAME | J Peter Pham |
| GIVEN NAMES | J Peter |
| FAMILY NAME | Pham |
| SIGNATURE | PHAM J P |
| AFFILIATIONS | Atlantic Council |
| ORCID | 0009-0009-8678-9156 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 20 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Africa Isn’t an Island
Boko Haram
The Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram has distinguished itself as one of the fastest evolving of its kind, undergoing several major transformations in the space of barely more than half a decade, successfully transitioning from a small militant band focused on localized concerns and using relatively low levels of violence to a significant terrorist organization with a clearer jihadist ideology to a major insurgency seizing and holding l…
The Mind of the African Strongman
There are very few Americans who can match Herman J. Cohen in terms of the sheer length and breadth of his experience in and engagement with Africa, both within government and, subsequently, in the
The Development of the United States Africa Command and its Role in America’s Africa Policy under George W. Bush and Barack Obama
The announcement in early 2007 of the decision to create the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) generated considerable controversy, not only in Africa, but also within the United States. Seven years into its existence, it is possible to tentatively reexamine the premises underlying the establishment of AFRICOM as well as its activities to date, measuring them against both the promises held out by the command’s proponents and the fears raised …
Perilous Desert
Once written off as a wasteland at the fringes of geopolitical relevance, the Sahel—the belt of territory running from Mauritania on the Atlantic Ocean to Somalia on the Indian Ocean and connecting
India’s new African horizons
While the extensive network of economic, political, and military ties which the People’s Republic of China has constructed across Africa has been the subject of considerable scrutiny – and, increasingly, not a little alarming – on the part of policy-makers and scholars in both the USA and Europe, the emergence of India as a major player on the continent has, until rather recently, gone largely unnoticed. That is changing, however, as Africa with …
Pirates and Dragon Boats
In January 2009, two destroyers and a supply ship from the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) began counterpiracy operations off the coast of Somalia. The mission of this modest task force was to offer protection to Chinese merchant vessels passing through the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden, but the unprecedented deployment also had the strategic effects of burnishing the international image of the People's Republic of China (PRC) a…
State Collapse, Insurgency, and Famine in the Horn of Africa
The failure of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to defeat the insurgency led by the militant Islamists of al-Shabaab—to say nothing of accomplishing the political tasks of state-building that are its very raison d'être—is due to its inability to garner internal political legitimacy. In contrast, both the Islamist insurgents fighting the TFG and the relatively stable new polities that have emerged in various parts of the territory o…
The Dangerous “Pragmatism” of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Since its “rebranding” from a terrorist group narrowly focused on the violent overthrow of the Algerian government into the regional affiliate of al-Qaeda, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), has seen a significant transformation not just in its geographical space but also in its operational and strategic emphasis. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), as the organization now denominates itself, has proven to be remarkably pragm…
Foreign Influences and Shifting Horizons
Africom from Bush to Obama
The creation of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) generated considerable controversy, not only in Africa, but also within the United States. Four years on, it is possible to tentatively re-examine the premises underlying the establishment of AFRICOM as well as its activities to date, measuring them against both the promise held out by the command's proponents and the fears raised by its critics. The conclusion is that, protestations to t…
Putting Somali piracy in context
While it is not necessarily the gravest threat to international security emanating from Somalia, maritime piracy has received the most attention among the disorders resulting from that country's two decades of state collapse. The phenomenon is best understood in its proper context in relation to the national politics – or, rather, the failure thereof – among the Somali. Thus the successful strategy will be one that is adapted to the reality of So…
U.S. Interests in Promoting Security across the Sahara
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on the American homeland, the United States has made security across the Sahara, from the Mediterranean coast of North Africa to the resource-rich West African waters of the Gulf of Guinea, a significant priority. This article looks at the current status of the threat posed by the regional affiliate of Al Qaeda and other extremist groups in the region both to the states there and to the broader i…
Not Another Failed State
One of Africa's most bitter territorial disputes, with profound implications for both regional and global stability and security, the “question of Western Sahara” has defied the international community's efforts to facilitate its “solution” for decades. This article explores the historical background to the conflict, the viability of the self-proclaimed “Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic,” and the strategic significance of the integration of both …
Been There, Already Doing That
Africa. 1 One year later, AFRICOM became fully operational as an independent unified command in its own right, assuming responsibility for the remaining African countries previously covered by the Pacific Command (PACOM) 2 and the Central Command (CENTCOM). 3 While American officials have continually tried to portray the creation of AFRICOM as primarily an internal bureaucratic shift, a more efficient way of organizing the American military’s rel…
Next Front? Evolving United States–African Strategic Relations in the “War on Terrorism” and Beyond
Recent years have seen a shift in United States foreign and security policy vis-à-vis Africa, a process that has been accelerated by the needs of America's post-9/11 “global war on terrorism.” This evolution away from the “hands off” approach to the continent is a recognition of its geopolitical significance not only as a major front in the counterterrorism struggle, but also an increasingly important theatre for strategic competition for resourc…
Beijing's Great Game
A compelling case for concluding that China's interest in the Central Asia region goes back to the beginning of modern state building and represents an evolving frontier stabilization-cum-imperial project involving economic, military, and diplomatic components that continue to today. Notes 1. A notable exception in this regard is the comprehensive May 2005 report prepared for the National Committee on American Foreign Policy by the director of it…
Foreign Influences and Shifting Horizons
The Development of the United States Africa Command and its Role in America’s Africa Policy under George W. Bush and Barack Obama
The announcement in early 2007 of the decision to create the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) generated considerable controversy, not only in Africa, but also within the United States. Seven years into its existence, it is possible to tentatively reexamine the premises underlying the establishment of AFRICOM as well as its activities to date, measuring them against both the promises held out by the command’s proponents and the fears raised …
The Dangerous “Pragmatism” of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Since its “rebranding” from a terrorist group narrowly focused on the violent overthrow of the Algerian government into the regional affiliate of al-Qaeda, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), has seen a significant transformation not just in its geographical space but also in its operational and strategic emphasis. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), as the organization now denominates itself, has proven to be remarkably pragm…
Boko Haram
The Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram has distinguished itself as one of the fastest evolving of its kind, undergoing several major transformations in the space of barely more than half a decade, successfully transitioning from a small militant band focused on localized concerns and using relatively low levels of violence to a significant terrorist organization with a clearer jihadist ideology to a major insurgency seizing and holding l…
Putting Somali piracy in context
While it is not necessarily the gravest threat to international security emanating from Somalia, maritime piracy has received the most attention among the disorders resulting from that country's two decades of state collapse. The phenomenon is best understood in its proper context in relation to the national politics – or, rather, the failure thereof – among the Somali. Thus the successful strategy will be one that is adapted to the reality of So…
U.S. Interests in Promoting Security across the Sahara
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on the American homeland, the United States has made security across the Sahara, from the Mediterranean coast of North Africa to the resource-rich West African waters of the Gulf of Guinea, a significant priority. This article looks at the current status of the threat posed by the regional affiliate of Al Qaeda and other extremist groups in the region both to the states there and to the broader i…
State Collapse, Insurgency, and Famine in the Horn of Africa
The failure of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to defeat the insurgency led by the militant Islamists of al-Shabaab—to say nothing of accomplishing the political tasks of state-building that are its very raison d'être—is due to its inability to garner internal political legitimacy. In contrast, both the Islamist insurgents fighting the TFG and the relatively stable new polities that have emerged in various parts of the territory o…
Beijing's Great Game
A compelling case for concluding that China's interest in the Central Asia region goes back to the beginning of modern state building and represents an evolving frontier stabilization-cum-imperial project involving economic, military, and diplomatic components that continue to today. Notes 1. A notable exception in this regard is the comprehensive May 2005 report prepared for the National Committee on American Foreign Policy by the director of it…
Next Front? Evolving United States–African Strategic Relations in the “War on Terrorism” and Beyond
Recent years have seen a shift in United States foreign and security policy vis-à-vis Africa, a process that has been accelerated by the needs of America's post-9/11 “global war on terrorism.” This evolution away from the “hands off” approach to the continent is a recognition of its geopolitical significance not only as a major front in the counterterrorism struggle, but also an increasingly important theatre for strategic competition for resourc…
Been There, Already Doing That
Africa. 1 One year later, AFRICOM became fully operational as an independent unified command in its own right, assuming responsibility for the remaining African countries previously covered by the Pacific Command (PACOM) 2 and the Central Command (CENTCOM). 3 While American officials have continually tried to portray the creation of AFRICOM as primarily an internal bureaucratic shift, a more efficient way of organizing the American military’s rel…
Putting Somali piracy in context
While it is not necessarily the gravest threat to international security emanating from Somalia, maritime piracy has received the most attention among the disorders resulting from that country's two decades of state collapse. The phenomenon is best understood in its proper context in relation to the national politics – or, rather, the failure thereof – among the Somali. Thus the successful strategy will be one that is adapted to the reality of So…
U.S. Interests in Promoting Security across the Sahara
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on the American homeland, the United States has made security across the Sahara, from the Mediterranean coast of North Africa to the resource-rich West African waters of the Gulf of Guinea, a significant priority. This article looks at the current status of the threat posed by the regional affiliate of Al Qaeda and other extremist groups in the region both to the states there and to the broader i…
Not Another Failed State
One of Africa's most bitter territorial disputes, with profound implications for both regional and global stability and security, the “question of Western Sahara” has defied the international community's efforts to facilitate its “solution” for decades. This article explores the historical background to the conflict, the viability of the self-proclaimed “Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic,” and the strategic significance of the integration of both …
State Collapse, Insurgency, and Famine in the Horn of Africa
The failure of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to defeat the insurgency led by the militant Islamists of al-Shabaab—to say nothing of accomplishing the political tasks of state-building that are its very raison d'être—is due to its inability to garner internal political legitimacy. In contrast, both the Islamist insurgents fighting the TFG and the relatively stable new polities that have emerged in various parts of the territory o…
The Dangerous “Pragmatism” of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Since its “rebranding” from a terrorist group narrowly focused on the violent overthrow of the Algerian government into the regional affiliate of al-Qaeda, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), has seen a significant transformation not just in its geographical space but also in its operational and strategic emphasis. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), as the organization now denominates itself, has proven to be remarkably pragm…
Foreign Influences and Shifting Horizons
Africom from Bush to Obama
The creation of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) generated considerable controversy, not only in Africa, but also within the United States. Four years on, it is possible to tentatively re-examine the premises underlying the establishment of AFRICOM as well as its activities to date, measuring them against both the promise held out by the command's proponents and the fears raised by its critics. The conclusion is that, protestations to t…
India’s new African horizons
While the extensive network of economic, political, and military ties which the People’s Republic of China has constructed across Africa has been the subject of considerable scrutiny – and, increasingly, not a little alarming – on the part of policy-makers and scholars in both the USA and Europe, the emergence of India as a major player on the continent has, until rather recently, gone largely unnoticed. That is changing, however, as Africa with …
Pirates and Dragon Boats
In January 2009, two destroyers and a supply ship from the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) began counterpiracy operations off the coast of Somalia. The mission of this modest task force was to offer protection to Chinese merchant vessels passing through the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden, but the unprecedented deployment also had the strategic effects of burnishing the international image of the People's Republic of China (PRC) a…
The Development of the United States Africa Command and its Role in America’s Africa Policy under George W. Bush and Barack Obama
The announcement in early 2007 of the decision to create the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) generated considerable controversy, not only in Africa, but also within the United States. Seven years into its existence, it is possible to tentatively reexamine the premises underlying the establishment of AFRICOM as well as its activities to date, measuring them against both the promises held out by the command’s proponents and the fears raised …
Perilous Desert
Once written off as a wasteland at the fringes of geopolitical relevance, the Sahel—the belt of territory running from Mauritania on the Atlantic Ocean to Somalia on the Indian Ocean and connecting
The Mind of the African Strongman
There are very few Americans who can match Herman J. Cohen in terms of the sheer length and breadth of his experience in and engagement with Africa, both within government and, subsequently, in the
Boko Haram
The Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram has distinguished itself as one of the fastest evolving of its kind, undergoing several major transformations in the space of barely more than half a decade, successfully transitioning from a small militant band focused on localized concerns and using relatively low levels of violence to a significant terrorist organization with a clearer jihadist ideology to a major insurgency seizing and holding l…
Africa Isn’t an Island
Political science (15 works) · Law (14 works) · Politics (13 works) · Political economy (12 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Law (11 works) · Geography (8 works) · Economics (7 works) · Development economics (6 works) · Foreign policy (6 works)