Regional Arrangements and Transnational Security Challenges: The African Union and the Limits of Securitization Theory

Abstract

ABSTRACT How do regional arrangements construct and respond to threat agendas, and to what extent can the existing literature on securitization theory help us understand this process? This article explores these questions by analyzing how the African Union (AU) has responded to contemporary transnational challenges. After providing an overview of the Copenhagen School's concept of securitization, the article discusses whether the known problems and limitations of securitization theory prevent this approach from being applied to regional arrangements. Arguing that they do not do so per se, the article then provides an overview of transnational challenges on the AU's agenda and explores the extent to which the organization has “securitized” them. It concludes that the AU has collectively securitized only a limited number of transnational challenges, particularly terrorism and HIV/AIDS, and that significant problems remain when attempting to apply the Copenhagen School's framework to regional arrangements.