Alan Boswell

Alan Boswell

Project Director, Horn of Africa
Nairobi

Crisis Group Role

As Crisis Group’s Project Director for the Horn of Africa, Alan oversees the organisation’s research on Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan and regional dynamics. He also hosts Crisis Group’s fortnightly The Horn podcast since its launch in 2019.

Professional Background

Alan has worked for over a decade in East Africa. Prior to joining Crisis Group as Senior Analyst for South Sudan in 2019, he served as a formal adviser and researcher for a number of organisations, including the United Nations, USAID, U.S. Institute of Peace, European Institute of Peace, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Folke Bernadotte Academy, Friedrich Egbert Stiftung and World Peace Foundation. He also published extensive conflict research on South Sudan through the Small Arms Survey and was an associate of the Conflict Research Programme at the London School of Economics. 
Alan previously covered Africa as a Nairobi-based journalist, reporting from Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Central African Republic, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. He also covered Sudan's split into two countries while based in Juba from 2010-2011. Alan has written for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Time magazine, The Atlantic, a variety of U.S. newspapers, and Bloomberg.

Select Publications

In The News

21 Sep 2023
The east [of Sudan] is a powder keg. We just haven’t seen it blow up yet. Al Jazeera

Alan Boswell

Project Director, Horn of Africa
31 May 2023
The concern now is if these Jeddah talks collapse, it confirms more or less that Sudan is basically in freefall into a full civil war. Al Jazeera

Alan Boswell

Project Director, Horn of Africa
3 May 2023
Both sides [fighting in Sudan] have their own reasons for confidence, which is one reason we haven’t gotten to peace talks. Washington Post

Alan Boswell

Project Director, Horn of Africa
15 Apr 2023
Sudan is on the precipice of civil war. This is the double-headed monster that seized power after Bashir. Now the two heads have turned on each other. Washington Post

Alan Boswell

Project Director, Horn of Africa
3 Feb 2023
The situation is horrendous in South Sudan, and it seems to keep getting worse despite the peace deal. Washington Post

Alan Boswell

Project Director, Horn of Africa

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