Dr. Gerrit Kurtz
Africa and Middle East Associate
Areas of Expertise
- Ethiopia
- Horn of Africa
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Sudan
- Civil wars
- Conflict prevention
- Peacebuilding
- UN missions
- United Nations Security Council
Short Curriculum Vitae
Since January 2022 Associate in the Research Group Africa and Middle East
2019-2021 Research Fellow, Conflict Prevention and Diplomacy in Africa, German Council on Foreign Relations
2015-2019 PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies, King’s College London
Since 2015 Non-Resident Fellow, Global Public Policy Institute
2012-2015 Research Associate, Global Public Policy Institute
SWP Publications
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International Sudan Conference in Berlin: Time for a change of perspective
Germany is inviting key international and Sudanese actors to Berlin. The conference offers an opportunity to develop a civilian-centred perspective on ending the war in Sudan, says Gerrit Kurtz.
Point of View, 10.04.2026 -
A Sustainable Commitment to Peace in an Age of Transient “Deals”
in: With, Without, Against Washington: Redefining Europe’s Relations With the United StatesContribution to a Research Paper 2026/RP 05, 27.03.2026, 81 Pages, pp. 39–42
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Protecting Civilians in Sudan
Even without a Ceasefire, There Are Ways to Curb the Brutal Violence against the Civilian Population
SWP Comment 2025/C 31, 08.07.2025, 8 Pagesdoi:10.18449/2025C31
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Horn of Africa: Time for preventive diplomacy
In both Ethiopia and South Sudan, conflicts are escalating again. To prevent further regionalisation of the conflict landscape, Europe should support high-level diplomacy, says Gerrit Kurtz.
Point of View, 21.03.2025 -
Escalations Risks in the Horn of Africa
Threats from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Somalia Exacerbate Local Conflicts
SWP Comment 2024/C 50, 28.10.2024, 8 Pagesdoi:10.18449/2024C50
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The Narrow Limits of Ethiopia’s National Dialogue
In its current form, the process will do little to address the country’s structural problems
SWP Comment 2024/C 32, 05.08.2024, 8 Pagesdoi:10.18449/2024C32
Publications of the Megatrends Afrika project
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Megatrends Afrika: Drone warfare and the balance of military power in Africa
Advanced combat drones are increasingly used in conflicts in Africa. Countries like Iran, Turkey and the UAE provide these weapons. Gerrit Kurtz and Wolfram Lacher explain how drone usage has the potential to shift the balance of military power between state forces and insurgents.
SWP Podcast 2025/eP 01, 11.03.2025 -
The Myth of the Gamechanger: Drones and Military Power in Africa
Advanced combat drones are increasingly used in conflicts in Africa. This analysis of the conflicts in Mali, Chad and Sudan shows, their potential to shift the balance of military power between state forces and insurgents depends on symmetrical access to technology, type of warfare and topography.
Megatrends Policy Brief 33, 05.03.2025, 14 Pagesdoi:10.18449/2025MTA-PB33
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How (Not) to Talk About the War in Sudan
Reporting about the war in Sudan is clouded by three oversimplified narratives – “forgotten conflict”, “war of two generals” and the “proxy war” classification. Gerrit Kurtz (SWP) calls for a more nuanced phrasing by journalists and policymakers.
Megatrends spotlight 30, 22.04.2024 -
Crisis Prevention and Stabilisation in Africa: three implications for Germany’s National Security Strategy
Germany’s new National Security Strategy should emphasise crisis prevention, stabilisation, and peacebuilding. It should look at not only threats but also opportunities, identify principles for coherence, and ensure greater review of effectiveness, writes Gerrit Kurtz (SWP) in this Megatrends Afrika Spotlight.
Megatrends spotlight 14, 14.09.2022
External publications
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The Role of Civil Society in Transitional Justice and Peace in Sudan
The devastating war in Sudan centres, by definition, on those waging it: the army, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), armed groups, militias, mercenaries. It seems to relegate civilians to the passive position of victims of the hostilities, of mass atrocities, forced displacement, starvation and gender-based violence. Conventional approaches to ending the war, based on Sudan’s long experience with conflict, tend to be narrow elite bargains that privilege those with guns through power and wealth sharing arrangements. Impunity reigned, either through blanket amnesty or long-delayed implementation ofofficial commitments.
in: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Policy Paper, 09.04.2026 -
Rethinking Transitional Justice in Sudan
in: Verfassungsblog - on matters constitutional, 26.06.2025 -
Mediation Efforts on Sudan: Beware the Pitfalls of Diplomatic Coordination
ISPI Commentary, 15.04.2025 (online) -
Peace in Sudan: a fresh mediation effort is needed – how it could work
in: The Conversation, 28.01.2025 (online). -
Power Struggle in Tigray
As Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed continues to renege on the Pretoria Agreement that ended hostilities two years ago, infighting within the TPLF further threatens the tenuous stability in war-shattered Tigray.
in: African Arguments, 29.10.2024 -
Navigating shifting power relations in Sudan – implications for the aid response
Better Aid Blog, 30.07.2024