Since the beginning of the 21st century, Africa has attracted growing interest from numerous international actors, not only the BRICS but some Middle Eastern states as well, including the Gulf countries and Turkey. The economic growth experienced by several states within the continent, as well as the growing presence of new counterparts, generates both awareness and concern among the former colonial metropoles, other Western States and international financial institutions. Armed conflict in some areas, migration, and population growth have also generated increasing attention towards Africa. Spain is no stranger to this trend, as reflected by the Spanish Government’s approval of the III Africa Plan in March 2019. After seven years without a programmatic document in regard to the continent, Spain manifests a willingness to consolidate and deepen its relations with Africa. If Spain’s goal is to strengthen these links, it needs all-embracing knowledge and a better understanding of what happens in the continent. This Africa Report 2019: Cross-border dynamics in a globalised context aims at contributing to this endeavour.

  The report contains the following chapters:   

• Introduction (Diego López Garrido)
• 1. New social movements for a new democracy (Carlos Bajo Erro)
• 2. Political and social transformations and processes in North Africa since 2011 (Laurence Thieux and Miguel Hernando de Larramendi)
• 3. African Continental Free Trade Area: a tool for economic transformation? (Artur Colom Jaén)
• 4. Africa on the agenda of the new emerging partners: complementarity or alternative? (Mbuyi Kabunda Badi)
• 5. Armed conflict and peacebuilding: current trends in Africa (Iván Navarro Milián)
• 6. Western Sahel: A region marked by insecurity (David Nievas Bullejos)
• 7. Exploitation of hydrocarbons and minerals in Sub-Saharan Africa: the new struggle for resources and the paradox of plenty (Jesús García-Luengos)
• 8. Africa and EU migratory policy: the current situation and challenges (Gema Serón Aires and Lorenzo Gabrielli)
• 9. The European Union in Africa: development and security in the context of an unequal partnership (Marta Iñiguez de Heredia)
• 10. The European Neighbourhood Policy in the Maghreb: a global view through the cases of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco (Bosco Govantes)
• 11. Is Morocco disengaging from the European Union? (Irene Fernández-Molina)
• 12. Conclusions and recommendations. Strengthening horizontal relations between Spain and Africa (Elsa Aimé González and Itxaso Domínguez de Olazábal)