Q&A | The Islamic State’s pivot to Africa

The Islamic State is increasingly pivoting its operations toward Africa, where it maintains the capacity to coordinate violence across a broad area, generate financial resources, and expand its recruitment base. Over two-thirds of the Islamic State’s global activity in the first half of 2025 was recorded in Africa (see graph below). This pivot to Africa comes as the group’s propaganda also focuses more and more on its operations in Africa, with its affiliates gaining influence and prestige in the global IS network. This surge in activity raises urgent questions about the Islamic State’s capacity for violence in Africa, its strategies, and the threat it poses to regional governments and the world.

Meet the Muslim Brotherhood

In 1918, V.I. Lenin renamed the Bolshevik Party the Russian Communist Party. Western scholars and policymakers soon began studying communism and the threat it posed to free nations.

In 1920, the German Workers’ Party adopted a new name: the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, better known as the Nazi Party. Western scholars and policymakers soon began studying Nazism and the threat it posed to free nations.