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Expert Bio
Michelle D. Gavin is the Ralph Bunche senior fellow for Africa policy studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). She has over twenty years of experience in international affairs in government and non-profit roles. She was formerly the managing director of The Africa Center, a multidisciplinary institution dedicated to increasing understanding of contemporary Africa. From 2011 to 2014 she was the U.S. ambassador to Botswana and served concurrently as the U.S. representative to the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
During Ambassador Gavin’s tenure, the United States and Botswana launched the most ambitious HIV prevention study in the world; Botswana hosted Southern Accord, the 1,400-strong joint SADC-U.S. military exercise; and the U.S. embassy helped to found Botswana’s first American Chamber of Commerce. Prior to that, she was a special assistant to President Obama and the senior director for Africa at the National Security Council, where she helped to originate the Young African Leaders Initiative and led major policy reviews of Sudan and Somalia.
Before joining the Obama administration, Gavin was an international affairs fellow and adjunct fellow for Africa at CFR. Earlier in her career she worked in the U.S. Senate, where she was the staff director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s subcommittee on African affairs, director of international policy issues for Senator Russ Feingold, and legislative director for Senator Ken Salazar.
Gavin received an MPhil in international relations from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes scholar, and earned her BA from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where she was a Truman scholar. She serves on the board of directors of Points of Light and the Africa-America Institute.
Affiliations:
- Africa-America Institute Board, member
- Emerging Public Leaders Board, member
- Points of Light Board, Program and Impact Committee, chair
- WesExec Advisors, senior advisor
Current Projects
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Democracy is decidedly worse for wear in Africa following a set of sham elections in Zimbabwe and Gabon, with few bright spots in the upcoming electoral calendar.
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With no clear end in sight for Kenya’s cost of living crisis, the Ruto administration will struggle to promote calm while managing expectations.
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Three decades after the fight for multiparty democracy in Africa, many on the continent still face sham elections, restrictions of rights, and few improvements.
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Across the continent, ill-conceived security arrangements are having unintended consequences
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With news of the dissolution of Senegal’s main opposition party, it is one step forward and two steps back for Senegalese democracy.
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Pro-democracy forces must address the conditions that create fertile ground for coup d’états.
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African populations are eager for partners and reform in the international system, the United States should embrace change.
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With recent questions surrounding the June 24 election in Sierra Leone, international partners must reevaluate their response to seriously flawed elections.
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Sudan’s crisis is deepening, and the international response is utterly inadequate.
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Echoes of the past in Senegal as growing uncertainty over a potential third term for President Sall triggers protests and unrest.
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Walking on eggshells with South Africa only obscures an increasingly discordant U.S.-South Africa relationship.
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Amidst a flurry of international voices working to mediate the crisis in Sudan, the United States must not allow Sudanese civil society to be drowned out.
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International re-engagement and new peace talks point in a positive direction, but multiple indicators point to fragility and risk.
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Amid protracted conflict in Sudan, the United States should work to lower the temperature amongst external actors, and support Sudanese citizens, who remain steadfast in their aspirations for a civilian-led government.
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Though the military claims to be a stabilizing force for Sudan’s transition to democracy, divisions amongst the security elite continue to hinder progress toward civilian rule.
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An impenetrable electoral process in Zimbabwe breeds cynicism in the next generation of voters, to the peril of democracy efforts.
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As the Democratic Republic of Congo’s decades-long struggle with insecurity heats up, increased regional military engagement heightens risks.
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Puzzling voter turnout numbers and process failures risk turning a frustrated population away from democratic expression.
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In the wake of reports of a Wagner Group plot in Chad, Washington should resist the urge to resurrect Cold War-era partnerships.
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The example of Nigeria’s consequential upcoming elections could shape politics across the continent.
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As President Paul Biya turns ninety this week, an escalating power struggle for his position leaves most Cameroonians with little to celebrate.
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The Biden administration’s attempts to build closer bonds with South Africa may not bear fruit, but it may be worth devoting more attention to nongovernmental actors.