Erik E Mueller

The authors describe how Russia's armed presence in Africa has changed from mid-2023 to September 2024. The authors seek to identify where Russian mercenaries have a presence in Africa, what types of activities they perform, and the resulting implications of mercenaries' use for African governments, economies, and civilian populations. The authors also analyze African publics' sentiment regarding Russian mercenaries and Russia itself.

Violent nonstate actors must have the resources to carry out their activities. Disrupting their financing plays a critical role in degrading these groups. It is not, however, always obvious which tools are effective and which would be counterproductive. This report presents five cases describing how five groups financed their activities, the effectiveness of various tools to disrupt that financing, and how the Army can contribute to the effort.

Stressors from climate change will become more intense and more frequent in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility. This development will likely contribute to CENTCOM's shift from a warfighting-focused command to a command that responds to and conducts traditional and nontraditional security missions. The aim of this report is to help CENTCOM planners prepare for a future security environment that is affected by climate change.

The authors examine the humanitarian and security conditions in two camps for internally displaced persons in Syria: al-Hol and Roj. They address concerns about radicalization and highlight challenges in returning displaced residents to their home communities and countries. They offer recommendations to improve living conditions, address the legal and judicial conundrums facing foreign camp residents, and mitigate the threat of radicalization.