Africa

News

Why civil service reform fails—and what actually works

May 27, 2026

Martin Williams draws on over a decade of research across six African countries to explain why civil service reforms so often fall short, and what leaders should do instead—in VoxDev.

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News

Ambassador Camara discusses the relationship between military actors and civil society in the Sahel region

Apr 16, 2026

Ford School professor of practice Ambassador Kamissa Camara was among the expert panelists invited to discuss rising extremism in the African Sahel region at an event hosted by Columbia University's Kent Global Leadership Program. Camara and her fell...

News

Hassan joins global effort to center African perspectives in technology ethics

Jan 26, 2026

Ford School assistant professor Yousif Hassan is contributing to a growing international effort to explore how the African humanities “can inform and transform global conversations on technology and ethics."

In the Media

Camara discusses Global South influence on global economic growth

Jan 24, 2026 NOTUS

Looking at what's on the horizon in global economics, the Ford School's Kamissa Camara touches on the Global South and its upcoming influence on supply chains.

Alumni spotlight

Designing investment policies to strengthen economic resilience

Dec 8, 2025

Zenia Rogatschnig (MPP ’09) turns ideas into practice at the World Bank, helping developing countries build stronger economies.

State & Hill

Faculty news, fall 2025

Dec 8, 2025

Ford School experts are publishing research, sharing their knowledge, and getting recognized.

Headshots of Javed Ali, Bill Axinn, Samuel Bagenstos, Jenna Bednar, Elizabeth Gerber, Devin Judge-Lord, Alexander Ralph, Fabiana Silva, Alton Worthington, and Dean Yang.

News

Hassan’s summer fieldwork explores politics and practice of AI development in Africa

Oct 17, 2025

Building on his long-term research on technology and decolonialization, Yousif Hassan's summer fieldwork examined the politics of AI and international development in Africa, with a focus on local agency, imagination, and innovation.

News

Ambassador Camara participates in inaugural African School of Governance event

Aug 14, 2025

In July, Ambassador Kamissa Camara, professor of practice in international diplomacy at the Ford School of Public Policy, was invited to participate in the inaugural Executive Education program at the African School of Governance (ASG), a new pan-Afr...

News

Ambassador Camara speaks at NATO conference on evolving terrorism in the Sahel

Aug 11, 2025

Former Ambassador Kamissa Camara, professor of practice in international diplomacy at the Ford School of Public Policy, was one of 85 subject matter experts convened at the NATO Strategic Direction – South Hub Conference on “Terrorism: A common asymm...

News

Hassan co-organizes workshop at University of Nairobi to chart Africa’s data future

Aug 6, 2025

Yousif Hassan co-organized and facilitated the “Empowering Africa Through Data Governance” workshop at the University of Nairobi this July.

State & Hill

Faculty news, spring 2025

May 7, 2025

Read about the latest faculty accomplishments and news.

Headshots of faculty featured within this article.

Publication

Hassan on AI, power, and decolonial possibility in Africa

Apr 29, 2025

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an increasingly defining force, shaping global advancements and influencing crucial aspects of society. Assistant professor Yousif Hassan’s research examines the social, economic, and political implications of emerging...

News

Hassan to examine social dimensions of Africa's data infrastructure and data economy

Mar 26, 2025

Yousif Hassan, assistant professor at the Ford School of Public Policy and the School of Information, has been awarded funding from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) for a new project Defining and Measuring the Sustain...

In the Media

Camara comments on French military withdrawal Chad

Feb 5, 2025 ABC Australia

Kamissa Camara, Ford School professor, gave context to and explains French troops withdrawal from Chad and the Sahel region of Africa a place she called "the world epicenter of global terrorism" and discussed the failure of the French military partne...

News

Ambassador Camara highlights EU’s security commitment but criticizes political partnership with Sahel countries at the Trilateral Commission in Madrid

Jan 9, 2025

In November, Ambassador Kamissa Camara, professor of practice at the Ford School of Public Policy, presented to members of the European Trilateral Commission about “North Africa and the Sahel—Factors for Europe’s Future.”

Photo of Ambassador Kamissa Camara speaking on stage at the European Union Trilateral Commission

News

Hassan awarded U-M anti-racism grant

Sep 10, 2024

Ford School assistant professor Yousif Hassan has been chosen for a University of Michigan research grant for his work that explores how AI innovations and data can center social justice and address racial and economic inequalities in African societi...

News

Hassan named Anti-Racism Research & Community Impact Faculty Fellow

Aug 29, 2024

Ford School assistant professor Yousif Hassan is among six faculty members chosen for Anti-Racism Research & Community Impact Faculty Fellowships. The National Center for Institutional Diversity selected faculty from the University of Michigan’s Ann ...

State & Hill

Discourse: Fordies in the news, spring 2024

Apr 24, 2024

“The most likely explanation for our findings is that Black—and to a lesser extent Hispanic—families were more concerned about the health risks associated with in-person schooling than white families. This is consistent with the fact that nonwhite co...

Headshots of Jacob, Camara, Wolfers, Raimi, and Ivacko

State & Hill

Faculty news, fall 2023

Dec 12, 2023

Axelrod's adventures Robert Axelrod, William D. Hamilton Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, writes about the difficulties and rewards of interdisciplinary collaboration in his new autobiography, A Passion for Cooperation: Adventures ...

Headshots of Axelrod, Cavaillé, Michelmore, Neggers, Ostfeld, Parthasarathy, Pilkauskas, Stange, Torres, and Weiss

State & Hill

Confronting the “Coup Belt” in Africa

Dec 12, 2023

Susan D. Page and Kamissa Camara in discussion An alarming number of countries in Africa have been experiencing coups over the past few years—a total of nine coups in three years—in Sudan, Burkina Faso (twice), Chad, Guinea, Mali (twice), and more...

News

Ford School welcomes Yousif Hassan as faculty

Aug 21, 2023

Yousif Hassan will join the Ford School faculty as an assistant professor in January 2024. Hassan’s work examines the social, economic, and political implications of emerging technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and data focusing on th...

News

Ambassador Page widely sought for Sudan insights

May 10, 2023

As two rival generals continue their deadly feud for control of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, fears are rising of of another major regional conflagration. Ambassador Susan D. Page, Ford School Professor of Practice in International Diplomacy, has be...

News

Susan D. Page: Peace elusive in Sudan, with intractable generals and real risks of worsening conflict

Apr 24, 2023

As foreigners flee the continued fighting in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and the death toll rises, there are fears of full-blown civil war breaking out. At least 400 people have been killed and 3,500 injured since fighting broke out April 15, acc...

News

Ciorciari on 5 global regions likely to make big news this year, and potential diplomatic implications

Jan 24, 2023

Over the past few years, deepening ideological and strategic divisions in many parts of the globe have suggested the arrival of a new Cold War. The coming year may reveal much about this new phase of world politics, with profound diplomatic impli...

In the Media

Page discusses Yellen's African tour

Jan 18, 2023 Africa News

Susan Page, Africa News: "I think the main objective [of the trip] will be to position themselves in relation to China, which is a shame because African countries want to be considered for what they are, not as a battleground between great powers."

Publication

Allen investigates effect of overlap in school and farming calendars on children's education

Nov 30, 2022

In rural countries, families often have to choose between sending their children to school or keeping them home to help with farming—often having a detrimental impact on educational outcomes. In a new study featured in World Bank Blogs, PhD student J...

In the Media

Khumbah encourages business and industrial sector in Zimbabwe to embrace new opportunities

Sep 20, 2022 Pan African Visions

Nkem Khumbah, faculty associate for the Science, Technology and Public Policy program, recently delivered a keynote speech at the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) Annual Congress. In the speech, he outlined the steps he believed Zimbabwe's ...

News

COVID-19 survey work builds on U-M researcher's projects in Mozambique

Jul 9, 2020

In more than a decade of work on diverse projects in the African nation of Mozambique, University of Michigan researcher Dean Yang sees a common theme: The importance of social connections in attitudes and actions affecting lives and livelihoods. ...

State & Hill

Laying the foundation, Leah Ouellet (AB '13) and 17 Detroit teens build a Malawi school

Nov 27, 2015

As the plane hummed on the runway at Detroit Metro Airport, 17 anxious teenagers fidgeted in their seats, peering through the drawn window shades. “Are we in the air yet?” It was the third time Leah Ouellet (AB ‘13) had heard the same questio...

Microfinance study: Yang finds people may give more generously when they can choose what their dollars purchase

Mar 17, 2015

At a microfinance bank in Maputo, Mozambique, Dean Yang and colleagues engaged clients in a lab-in-the-field experiment with interesting implications for those who care about increasing the number and level of remittances, the financial contributions...

Preventing vote-selling in the Philippines image