From 6–9 May 2024, the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies, in partnership with United States Africa Command, held a focused workshop with 29 participants in Casablanca, Morocco. The 29 senior government and civilian security experts came from 11 countries, including a number from the Americas. The participants (40% were women) provided a “whole of society” approach and came from various countries across the globe, including countries from Latin America, Africa, the Levant, the U.S., and also from U.S. AFRICOM and the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies (WJPC).
Under the leadership of Course Director Professor Anne Moisan and Deputy Course Director Fahad Malaikah, the “Transnational Threats Know No Borders Workshop” represented an 8-year collaboration between Latin American WJPC senior Alumni and Africans across the Atlantic. The group continued the analysis with sessions on Global Trends and Security Threats: Ten Priorities for the 2020s and Beyond; Digitalization and Technology in Crime and Financing; Globalization of Crime and Networks; Feminists, Gender and Crime; Corruption, Mafias and Money Laundering; Weaponizing Migration and Impacts of Sovereignty; Terrorism and Criminal Convergence; and Environmental Corruption: Crimes against Humanity and Culture (Antiquities Smuggling, Wildlife, Fishing/Maritime, Illegal Mining). Almost of the speakers and participants in the workshop were women. This provided an opportunity to include women’s unique perspectives on these issues and the critical and key role they can and should play in addressing/resolving many of these transitional threats. The workshop concluded with an extended half-day tabletop exercise, building on the presentations addressing “Threats/Challenges that Keep You Up at Night?”
Professor Anne Moisan, Fahad Malaikah, and WJPC Professor Celina Realuyo moderated the speaker/panel sessions. U.S. AFRICOM’s Law Enforcement and Maritime Security Branch Chief, CDR Lane Munroe (U.S. Coast Guard), was an ideal fit for the topic and for presenting AFRICOM’s maritime focus. As valuable as the presentations were, the built-in 24/7 opportunities between sessions and over meals for open discussions, extensive and structured networking, and a variety of side-bar meetings with NESA Center and WJPC provided opportunities to deep dive into topics and exchange lessons learned/best practices with experts from both sides of the Atlantic. In addition, the workshop’s key role, as in past years, is to establish strong networking connections between Latin Americans and Africans that go beyond the workshop itself.
All participants’ feedback was exceptionally positive in terms of context, topics, speakers, case studies, the mix of expertise from government and civil society, personalized support, and the informal/relaxed format. The government officials attending were especially impressed with the “whole of society” approach, providing many, for the first time, perspectives and ideas outside of their traditional government/ministry stovepipes.
