CESEDEN presents its new Strategy Paper on the Horn of Africa

 This is a multidisciplinary perspective on a strategic region where Africa, the Middle East and Asia converge

The Higher Centre for National Defence Studies (CESEDEN), through the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies (IEEE), has presented Strategy Paper 237, ‘The Horn of Africa: the new centre of the African world’, at Casa África in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The event was organised in collaboration with Casa África.

The event began with welcoming remarks from the Director-General of Casa África, José Segura Clavell, and the Director of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies, Brigadier Víctor Bados.

Javier Fariñas, editor-in-chief of *Mundo Negro* magazine, then gave an overview of the book. The presentation also featured contributions from Worku Derara, from the Department of History and Archaeology at Addis Ababa University; Daniel Maldonado Rodríguez, a security and international conflicts analyst; and Blanca Palacián de Inza, an analyst at the IEEE, who discussed their respective contributions to the publication.

The Strategy Paper offers a multidisciplinary approach to the Horn of Africa, with analyses of governance, the presence of new powers, water resources, society and demographics, geostrategy, trade, trade routes, culture and political narratives.

The publication focuses on a region situated at the crossroads of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, linked to the Mediterranean via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Its geographical position and the convergence of various strategic interests make the Horn of Africa a particularly significant area for understanding some of the current geopolitical dynamics.

Following the presentations, there was a question-and-answer session with the audience, moderated by Joan Tusell, head of the Media Department at Casa África. The event concluded with a presentation by Lieutenant General Miguel Ballenilla y García de Gamarra, director of CESEDEN.

The Horn of Africa: The New Centre of the African World brings together contributions from various specialists to provide an overview of the region’s key political, social, economic, cultural and strategic dynamics. 

The work forms part of the ‘Cuadernos de Estrategia’ collection, a series of publications promoted by CESEDEN through the IEEE to contribute to the analysis and understanding of issues of strategic interest.