High expectations: Civil society participation in conflict early warning and response systems of the AU, ECOWAS and IGAD

Abstract

ABSTRACT Civil society organisation (CSO) participation in conflict early warning and response systems (CEWRS) of African intergovernmental organisations is expected to be beneficial to collect data, conduct analyses, and respond timeously to the potential escalation of violent conflict in a way that is relevant to local stakeholders. These high expectations contrast with CEWRS’ protracted operationalisation procedures, low capacity of many CSOs, and the challenges of integrating civil society into (inter)governmental structures, which militate against effective participation. This article considers the net effect of CSO participation, examining how CSOs contributed to data collection, analyses, early warning and responses of CEWRS in the AU, ECOWAS and IGAD, and assesses their participation models. The article finds that CSO participation is a long way from delivering on expectations. It argues that CSOs can only fully deliver by building independent CEWRS that complete early warning-response processes in parallel to the intergovernmental systems, as in West Africa.