African Peace And Security Architecture Research Articles

Two Decades of the African Peace and Security Architecture: Call for Reforms

This article argues for the rethinking of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and calls for reforms in the wake of APSA’s 20th anniversary since its adoption. The article proposes the adoption of an APSA PLUS approach to allow for structured cooperation with other States and non-State actors beyond the African continent, as well as the expansion of the number and scope of the existing pillars from the current five to six. The findings of this article are intended to offer recommendations on key areas that could benefit from such efforts.

The European Peace Facility in action: rethinking EU-Africa partnership on peace and security?

The European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) have had and continue to maintain a long-standing partnership on peace and security, which dates back to the establishment of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) at the beginning of the 2000s. However, in 2021, the EU embarked on a different pathway of financing its activities in the field of peace and security by establishing the European Peace Facility (EPF). This new financial instrument allows the EU to directly finance (bypassing the AU) national and sub-regional military initiatives on the African continent, to finance lethal equipment for African armies and expand its scope globally. While the vast majority of current debates and research focus solely on the „train and equip“ provision of the EPF and its implications in the Ukrainian war, the EU engagement in Africa through the instrument mentioned above is scarcely assessed. Therefore, drawing on the theory of interregional security cooperation, this paper considers how establishing the EPF impacts the EU‘s engagement on the African continent in the security field. Empirically assessing the instances in which the EPF has been implemented on the African continent, this paper aims to answer the research question: how does the establishment and implementation of the EPF impact the EU-AU partnership on peace and security? This paper employs a qualitative research design, namely a case study approach of inquiry and process tracing methods. The results of this approach show two distinct tendencies. First, while implementing the EPF in Africa can solve certain operational and technical aspects of the EU engagement on the continent, the EU-AU partnership must be reinforced on the political and strategic levels. Moreover, considering the plethora of international and regional actors involved in managing the security dynamics on the African continent, it is essential to prioritise the political dimension of the EU-AU partnership.

Military ad hoc coalitions and functional differentiation in inter-organisational relations

AbstractThe emergence of military ad hoc coalitions (AHCs) in Africa as a tool for conflict management outside established institutional frameworks brings about a number of questions: are they undermining existing security structures such as the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) or are they contributing to further regime complexity? In order to answer these questions, the article applies the logic of functional differentiation as it is used in the literature on regime complexity and inter-organisational studies. Scope conditions are developed exploring when and how functional differentiation operates and what consequences it brings about for interacting institutions. Empirically the example of military ad hoc coalitions in the Lake Chad Basin and Sahel is at the centre of analysis. It will be argued that ad hoc coalitions are part of a functionally differentiated system response within the African Security Regime Complex and not in direct competition to the APSA.

Ad-hoc Security Initiatives, an African response to insecurity

ABSTRACT This article contends that Ad-hoc Security Initiatives (ASI) have developed over the last decade in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin and represents a new form of African collective security mechanism. The G5 Sahel Force and the Multi-National Joint Task Force emerged from a context-specific need for small clusters of African states to respond collectively to a shared cross-border security threat(s). The existing African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) mechanisms were not specific and responsive enough to meet this emerging need. Despite substantial investments over the last twenty years by the African Union, Regional Economic Community/ Regional Mechanisms and international partners to establish the African Standby Force, this instrument was not agile enough to respond to the type of threats experienced in the greater Sahel region. In this article, we trace the emergence of a new type of ASI, examine how they fill an essential gap and analyse why the African Standby Force was not able to meet this need. We then consider the implications of these developments for the future of the APSA and how closer collaboration between ASIs and APSA can be developed.

Nigeria’s Foreign Policy towards African Union’s Integration: Challenges & Advantages (2002 – 2020)

This study investigates the nexus between Nigeria’s foreign policy and African Union Integration towards collaboration and cooperation. Since Nigeria’s independence, its foreign policy has been Afrocentric, as it has made Africa the centre-piece in external relations with other countries in the continent. Nigeria has been one of the principal founders of organization of African Unity (OAU) and its transformation into the African Union (AU) and its integration initiative programmes like New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) in which it has contributed greatly through her foreign policy disposition. The study identifies some challenges like most African economies suffered from harsh macro-economic disequilibrium, foreign debt services/burden, narrow tax base with custom duty, limited and national regional capacity, Nigeria’s domestic challenges, intra – African crises, lack of common language to facilitate integration while the study proposes benefits and prospects such as regionalization of economies, monetary integration, trade creation, communication and transportation linkage to aid collaboration and cooperation. The study therefore adopted qualitative, historical and descriptive methods through the use of secondary source to collect and analyse data, while it makes use of integration theory as its theoretical framework to navigate the study. Keywords: African Union: Domestic Politics: Diplomacy: Foreign Policy: Integration: National Interest.

The Subsidiarity Principle in the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA): A case of diffusion by imitation of the European Union (EU)

The Memorandum of Understanding between the African Union (AU) and the Regional Economic Communities (REC) and Regional Mechanisms (RM) signed in 2008 identifies subsidiarity as an ordering principle of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). This was the first reference to the subsidiarity principle within the African context in a process of diffusion from the European context. Through process tracing and an analysis of hard and soft law documents of APSA this paper identifies that imitation was the mechanism of diffusion in 2008 in a process led by African agency and with Europe as a normative power. This result contributes to an investigation into the challenges that the APSA faces into becoming fully operational.

Demystifying China’s Involvement in African Peace and Security Architecture

Until the last decade, Peace and Security (PAS) issues were among the least discussed topic in the budding China–Africa relations. However, China’s recent involvement in African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) has attracted critical review. Critics aver that China’s expanding security engagement in Africa is a clear manifestation of China’s willingness to use its growing military to challenge the global status quo. This paper reviews China’s involvement in APSA to ascertain whether the realities of China’s PAS engagement in Africa support the ‘China Threat’ narrative (zhōngguó wēixié lùn). The paper establishes that, albeit the considerable flexibility in China’s foreign security policies, many of its aspects are still guided by the policy constraints of sovereignty, non-interference, and non-aggression. By upholding these policy constraints, China’s involvement in APSA has occurred on a constructive interactive basis and principally within the multilateral frameworks and mandate of regional and international bodies. However, the novelty is that China has taken an endogenous viewpoint in its security engagement with Africa that is hinged on the idea that Africa’s problems must be confronted with African solutions and capabilities. This is manifested in the increasing level of functional security exchanges and capacity-building activities to enhance African countries’ security capabilities to confront common security challenges independently.

COLLECTIVE SECURITY IN AFRICA: THE TENSION BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE

The promotion of peace and security in Africa necessitates security cooperation between states and collective security remains a way to pursue it. This paper explores the changed meaning and application of the concept of collective security within the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) to deal with both interstate and intrastate security concerns within the African Union (AU). Since the AU has made clear commitments to collective security, the aim is to determine to what extent the AU subscribed to collective security and applied it in terms of coercion, which includes interventions. While dealing with genocide, war crimes and extended presidential terms remains problematic, the AU has taken an assertive stand with the use of coercion in cases of unconstitutional changes of government. The article highlights the tension between the theory and practice of collective security in Africa.

Operationalising the African Standby Force: Challenges and Prospects

The African Standby Force (ASF) is the implementation arm of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), a security arrangement between the AU and the Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms to address the security challenges of the continent. However, the ASF is yet to be operationalised after almost two decades of its existence due to its inability to develop a rapid response capability. The challenges include the changing nature of the security environment, inadequate political will, weak institutional framework, and financial status of members. Nonetheless, there are still good prospects which could be explored to overcome the challenges of operationalising the ASF.

THE 2019 SUDAN COUP AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION BY THE AFRICAN UNION

The intervention of the African Union (AU) in the 2019 coup and post-coup crisis of Sudan is the focal point of this study. The objective of the study is to evaluate the peaceful resolution of the 2019 coup and post-coup crisis in Sudan by the African Union. The research questions of the study are: What is the background of the 2019 Sudan Coup? What role did the Forces of Freedom and Change play in the 2019 coup and post-coup crisis of Sudan? How effective is the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) with respect to its mandate to intervene in member states. What are the methods used by the AU as it intervened in the 2019 coup and post-coup crisis in Sudan? The study is guided by the theoretical framework of Collective Security theory with major proponents such as Cardinal Richelieu Immanuel Kant, Woodrow Wilson etc. The study concludes that the prominent role played by the AU in the coup and post-coup crisis in Sudan is highly commendable but the lessons drawn there from can enhance future operations. The study recommends that the military capacity of the African Standby Force should be invigorated with adequate manpower and firepower to effectively carry out peace enforcement operations. Also the AU should draw a template and procedure for interface with the regional organisation of the state engulfed in conflict or crisis that the APSA is to mediate to avoid disjointed and uncoordinated mediation. The qualitative research methodology was adopted for the study.

Beyond Silencing the Guns: China and a new Metaphor for Peace and Security in Africa

The author presents the tentative results of ongoing research into a new paradigm for peace and security in Africa. The empirical foundation of the research is the result of a triangulation of research methods that involved literature study, reflexive journaling and thematic analysis. The discussion aims to determine how China can contribute to the renewal of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). The aim is achieved by discussing and analysing the current APSA, including the challenges experienced, as well as the policy commitments and security activities of China in Africa. The research concludes that China is building a military intervention capacity to protect its interests in Africa. However, a new metaphor is needed that will bring solutions to the peace and security challenges of Africa. In this regard China can play an important role in assisting the APSA to focus on issues such as social transformation, capacity building for socio-economic development, and education aimed at peace and security.
 KEY WORDS: PEACE, SECURITY, CHINA, AFRICA, MILITARY INTERVENTION

The African Peace and Security Architecture as a Tool for the Maintenance of Peace and Security. Part 1

This study critically explores the extent to which the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) (such as the African Standby Force (ASF), the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS), Panel of the Wise (PoW) and the Peace Fund (PF)) have been successful in achieving their institutional objectives, as well as the degree to which they are able to contribute to the work of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC). The AU PSC as a key pillar of the APSA is the main decision-making body regarding issues of peace and security. In order to achieve its responsibility, the AU PSC shall be supported by the African Standby Force, the Continental Early Warning System, Panel of the Wise and the Peace Fund. APSA is the umbrella term for the key African Union (AU) mechanisms for promoting peace, security and stability in the African continent. More specifically, it is an operational structure for the effective implementation of the decisions taken in the areas of conflict prevention, peace-making, peace support operations and intervention, as well as peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction. APSA is envisioned as a means by which Africa can take a greater role in managing peace and security on the continent, with the objective of offering “African solutions to African problems”.

The African Peace and Security Architecture as a Tool for the Maintenance of Peace and Security. Part 2

This study critically explores the extent to which the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) (such as the African Standby Force (ASF), the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS), Panel of the Wise (PoW) and the Peace Fund (PF)) have been successful in achieving their institutional objectives, as well as the degree to which they are able to contribute to the work of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC). The AU PSC as a key pillar of the APSA is the main decision-making body regarding issues of peace and security. In order to achieve its responsibility, the AU PSC shall be supported by the African Standby Force, the Continental Early Warning System, Panel of the Wise and the Peace Fund. APSA is the umbrella term for the key African Union (AU) mechanisms for promoting peace, security and stability in the African continent. More specifically, it is an operational structure for the effective implementation of the decisions taken in the areas of conflict prevention, peace-making, peace support operations and intervention, as well as peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction. APSA is envisioned as a means by which Africa can take a greater role in managing peace and security on the continent, with the objective of offering African solutions to African problems.

African peace and security architecture in the context of African solutions to African problems

The African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) is the umbrella term for the key African Union (AU) mechanisms for promoting peace, security and stability on the continent. More specifically, it is “an operational structure for the effective implementation of the decisions taken in the areas of conflict prevention, peace-making, peace support operations and intervention, as well as peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction”. APSA is envisioned as a means by which Africa can take a greater role in managing peace and security on the continent, with the objective of offering “African solutions to African problems”. This study critically explores the extent to which APSA (such as the African Standby Force (ASF) and Panel of the Wise (PoW) have been successful in achieving their institutional objectives, as well as the degree to which they are able to contribute to the work of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC). The findings of the study reveal that the African Standby Force's potential as a tool for the maintenance of peace and security on the continent depends on the political consensus (political buy-in) and predictable sources of financing. Vis-? -vis the Panel of the Wise, the study has discovered that the role of the Panel has been undermined by geo-political dynamics, limited mandate, membership size and its institutional design.

Peace process protagonism: the role of regional organisations in Africa in conflict management

ABSTRACT Regional and sub-regional organisations in Africa play vital roles in the promotion of peace and security on the continent. The African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) mandates certain roles for AU-recognised Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and RECs have been active in many peace and security spheres from early warning to peace missions. This article seeks to illuminate the changing landscape of regional security governance in Africa, primarily through the lens of formal peace agreements, which are important tools for ending violent conflict. Extant research does not establish the frequency and capacity of regional organisations’ engagement in peace agreements. We present original quantitative data, systematically tracing these evolving and uneven activities. Our data establishes trends of REC peace agreement engagement that vary across Africa's sub-regions during 2002–2015. We further explore patterns of organisational interaction, presenting case studies of peace processes that highlight important variation in terms of the distribution of influence and authority.

Regional Mechanisms and Intra-State Conflicts: Implementing the African Union’s Principle of Non-Indifference?

The member states of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) established the African Union (AU) in 2001, following recognition that Africa needed a more effective institution that could maintain peace and security. In particular,the 1994 genocide in Rwanda demonstrated to the continent that it needed to enhance its ability to act before conflicts became unmanageable and destructive.The AU consequently established an institutional framework for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflicts. This institutional framework consistsof two parallel frameworks, namely the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA).

Exploring the roles of the AU and ECOWAS in West African conflicts

ABSTRACT The working relationship between the African Union (AU), on the one hand, and the regional economic communities and regional mechanisms, on the other, is one of the key components of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). This article investigates how the AU and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have attempted to define their respective roles for intervention in West African conflicts. There are three instruments of intervention: diplomacy, mediation and peace support operations. Empirical analysis of interventions in conflicts in Guinea, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Guinea-Bissau from 2008 to 2013 shows that, after disagreeing with ECOWAS regarding appropriate approaches, the AU has gradually refrained from taking a mediation role but has continued with its diplomatic efforts. ECOWAS has continued to initiate unilateral efforts at mediation and peace support, while it attempts to coordinate its diplomatic efforts with the AU and other actors. This article outlines the differing roles of these regional entities, and analyses their developing relationship in the context of continuing conflict in West Africa.

Taking Intervention Politics Seriously: Media Debates and the Contestation of African Regional Interventions ‘from Below’

ABSTRACTScholars increasingly investigate how the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) is contested and negotiated in practice. Yet little knowledge exists on the politics African regional interventions provoke in the societies affected by such interventions. Based on an analysis of media reports from Burkina Faso and The Gambia, we show that regional interventions are indeed contested locally, irrespective of the means of intervention applied. Our analysis demonstrates how local elites use regional norms and policies in order to claim power and define what is going (wr)on(g). With this, we provide evidence for the (contested) local effects of APSA and for the relevance of media for researching such effects.

Beyond Silencing the Guns: China and a New Metaphor for Peace and Security in Africa

The author presents the tentative results of ongoing research into a new paradigm for peace and security in Africa. The empirical foundation of the research is the result of a triangulation of research methods that involved literature study, reflexive journaling and thematic analysis. The discussion aims to determine how China can contribute to the renewal of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). The aim is achieved by discussing and analysing the current APSA, including the challenges experienced, as well as the policy commitments and security activities of China in Africa. The research concludes that China is building a military intervention capacity to protect its interests in Africa. However, a new metaphor is needed that will bring solutions to the peace and security challenges of Africa. In this regard China can play an important role in assisting the APSA to focus on issues such as social transformation, capacity building for socio-economic development, and education aimed at peace and security.

Competing Architects: Applying Social Contextualist Analysis to Negotiations on the African Peace and Security Architecture

ABSTRACT Social contextualist analysis, by contrast to much of the existing research on international negotiations, emphasizes the social and organizational environment in which negotiations take place and the effect that it can have on the decision-making of participants. This paper applies a social contextualist lens to negotiations held to decide upon the form and function of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). Certain elements of the Architecture, which is one of the central pillars of the African Union (AU), present something of a puzzle for theorists, given the cession of sovereignty they represent on a continent where leaders have traditionally been very protective of their authority. After illustrating the limited value of the most prominent approaches to negotiation analysis, the social contextualist framework is outlined. The analysis incorporates negotiations held to decide upon a number of features of APSA. Its findings rest upon interviews conducted with representatives from AU member states and AU officials, as well as examination of a broad range of primary and secondary documents. In highlighting the significance of factors that are generally overlooked by traditional approaches, a case is made for greater consideration of social contextual factors in analysis of international negotiations.