Security Challenges In Africa Research Articles

Overview of the Perceptions on the Dilemma between Data Privacy and Public Security Challenges in Africa

Overview of the Perceptions on the Dilemma between Data Privacy and Public Security Challenges in Africa

UN Peacekeeping in Africa: Nature, Scope and Development

The hybrid nature and scope of contemporary conflicts, the terrorism threat, and the dramatic increase in competition for resources, global militarization and security challenges in Africa do not only carry the risk of state collapse, but have conditioned concerted efforts by national, regional and international actors to protect human rights and remedy the humanitarian situation. In many ways, the African continent with its unique and diverse nature of conflicts has become a platform for the renewal of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping through the development of new operational and normative practices and strategies that, as a distinctive feature of the UN missions in the African continent, have gradually moved from the status of innovations to the category of quite commonplace global practice. This article attempts to assess UN peacekeeping in Africa from the 1960s till 2022. The authors examine the characteristics, nature and scope of peacekeeping operations (PKOs) as well as strategies for transforming peacekeeping mandates. Using a problem-chronological approach, comparative analysis and quantitative assessments of the UN peacekeeping missions, the formats of cooperation with regional organizations (the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)), gender composition of the UN missions, in particular, the authors come to the natural conclusion that the number of the UN peacekeeping operations and political missions in Africa remains high and their mandates have expanded and become more complex with increased activity of the leading world powers. The authors conclude that stabilization and conflict resolution in Africa will greatly depend on effective cooperation between the UN and regional organizations, as well as on the UN reforms and its ability to adapt rapidly to changing conflict scenarios in each African state.

Партнерство ООН и АС в области миротворчества: тенденции и проблемы

A strong partnership between the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) is essential to achieving strategic convergence and coherence as well as effective solutions to complex peace and security challenges in Africa. In this article, the author examines the UN-AU peacekeeping nexus through research onpeacekeeping operations in Africaand analyzesthe key challenges in the UN-AU partnership for peacekeeping, including:the lack of clear regulation of actions in conflict despite attempts to develop common approaches to peacekeeping by the UN and the AU; the necessity of establishing equal, full and constructive participation of women in the peacekeeping process; and the problems in the relationship between the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the Peace and Security Council of the AU. The main objective of this article isto analyze the institutional structure of the African peace and security architecture, the evolution of the UN-AU partnership through the implementation of joint peacekeeping missions, and the challenges to their cooperation, as well as to assess the effectiveness of UN-AU cooperation. Based on a structural analysis of the African security architecture, quantitative methods of assessment,and comparative analysis of the UN and the AU statistics on partnership peacekeeping, as well as onwomen’s participation in peacekeeping operations in Africa from 2003 to 2019, and the voting patterns of the A3 (Niger, South Africa and Tunisia) countries to UNSC resolutions on African peacekeeping, the author concludes that there is a direct correlation between the deteriorating security situation in Africa and the level of strategic partnership between the UN and the AU, and that, in the long term, the priority will be to help national governments to prevent the causes of conflicts, which will make it possible to take into account the local specificities of African states in resolving and preventing conflicts.

Rethinking the taproot of the security challenges in Africa: bringing back the colonial legacy

This paper offers a counter-narrative to the constricted Western narratives that often discount how colonial domination, exploitation, and external interference have shaped Africa’s past and present, especially in the area of security. It focuses on the numerous security challenges in Africa and its complex historical nexus to the colonial legacy. The piece draws from the variegated dominant arguments and counterarguments on African (in)security issues, colonial rule, and the theoretical security models and concepts. The paper demonstrates, through an exploration of the formation of postcolonial states, that colonialism cannot be excused as some distant root cause of the security problem on the continent, but has deliberately crafted some specific subjects, societies and states that serve to perpetuate the challenges in the security complex of Africa. Keywords: security, colonial legacy, nation-state, Africa

Natural Resources, Conflict and Security Challenges in Africa

This article evaluates the impact of natural resource conflicts on Africa’s security. This study is qualitative and based on secondary data that were analysed textually. Hinged on the greed and grievance theory, the study argues that the mismanagement of resources, greed and grievance have had immeasurable negative implications on national security, national growth and development. The issues that have come to the fore in resource management in some selected African countries include rancorous intergroup relations, militancy, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, leadership ineptitude, corruption, warlordism and money laundering. The article recommends that effective resource management strategies in Africa are key in curbing the plaguing security challenges and conflicts ensuing from resource ownership in the continent.

Globalisation of land and food security challenges in Africa

Globalisation of land and food security challenges in Africa

Thermodynamics: Application of its Principles to the Effects of Cross-Border Migration and Boko Haram Crisis on Security Challenges in Africa

Using the principles of thermodynamics for analogical purposes, this article seeks to answer the following question: What can the principles of thermodynamics reveal about the effects of cross-border migration and Boko Haram crisis on security challenges in Africa? The increase in the intensity of terrorist attacks by Boko Haram and the responses of government security forces to curb the situation in Nigeria has resulted in internal displacement of people and the movement of affected people in Northern Nigeria to neighboring African countries such as Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. Consequently, this article uses the principles of thermodynamics in the physical sciences to explain the likely security-related consequences of cross-border migration as a result of Boko Haram activities in Northern Nigeria. Some thermodynamics concepts used in this article include heat transfer, thermal equilibrium, exothermic reaction, and entropy. The major argument of the article is that the persistence of cross-border migration as a result of Boko Haram activities portends dangerous security challenges for African countries especially Nigeria's border countries in the future. It is, therefore, pertinent that effective strategies be identified locally and internationally to curb the activities of the Boko Haram group.

Security Assistance in Africa: The Case for Less

Abstract: US strategic approaches in the African Great Lakes region are primarily based on security assistance for training and equipping African forces for operations in East, North, and West Africa. This assistance risks causing more incidents of violence. A new strategy, based on a comprehensive approach to the security challenges in the region, as well as the deployment of international boots on the ground--American or others--is needed to reduce violence and to minimize the risk of new terrorist safe havens appearing in central Africa. ********* One of the main security interests of the United States in Africa is to counter the violent extremism perpetrated by organizations such as the al-Shabaab in Somalia, Boko Haram in Nigeria and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). (1) In order to do so, current US military strategy aims at training and equipping African forces for peacekeeping and counterterrorist operations. (2) Violent extremism in the Great Lakes region in central Africa (here understood as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda) is rare; nonetheless, over the past seven years, the United States has trained tens of thousands of troops in the region for deployment to other parts of Africa. Burundi and Uganda, for example, have almost 12,000 troops currendy deployed as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and Rwanda has more than 3,500 troops deployed in Sudan as part of the African Union/United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). The Great Lakes region is highly unstable and characterized by a long history of violence, weak governments, a great number of armed groups, and regional power struggles. The most violent and unstable state is the DRC, where 7 million people currently require humanitarian assistance and nearly 2.8 million are internally displaced. (3) After three decades of authoritarian rule and widespread human rights violations by the government of President Mobutu Sese Seko (1965-1997), two regional wars (1996-1997 and 1998-2003), several insurgencies, and perpetual local conflicts, the DRC is currently one of the world's five most fragile states. (4) The ungoverned territory in the eastern part of the country is utilized as a safe haven by a variety of domestic and foreign armed groups, including several from neighboring Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda. Over time, conflicts have been fueled across borders, creating an intricate web of violence within the region. This article argues improving the capacity of the armed forces in this unstable region to conduct peacekeeping and counter-terrorism operations against violent extremists, current US military strategy actually risks escalating violent conflict in the Great Lakes. Not only would such an escalation be devastating for the populations living in the region, it would also be counterproductive for the United States, increasing the risk that terrorist safe havens will increase in central Africa. There are two major problems with the current strategic approach. First, states in the region are fragile, making security cooperation perilous. Second, bilateral approaches in this region, which is characterized by intricate entanglements, risks disturbing the balance of power and increasing the risk of violent conflict. By changing the current US strategy of bilateral security assistance and small-footprint interventions to one of putting international boots on the ground--American or others--the same amount of US resources might have more success in countering violent extremists in Africa. The United States should therefore support a regional intervention, either by the United Nations or the African Union. United States in the Great Lakes Region The United States military strategy in Africa rests on the principle that efforts to meet security challenges in Africa is best led and conducted by African partners. (5) The United States thus relies on providing security assistance and small-footprint interventions. …

Human Security: The Panacea for Africa's Security Challenges

The failure of human security and in most cases lack of it in most African states has led to an increasing wave of violence, protests and intrastate conflict all across the continent. Countries such as Burundi, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda have been involved in or are still in the middle of intrastate armed conflicts all of which threaten international peace and security. These armed conflicts have produced over 10 million refugees and internally displaced persons while several thousands of people, men and women, young and old have been murdered. All of these have however pushed governments on the continent to invest more on internal state security rather than focusing human security by tackling the persistent poverty; massive unemployment, poor health care issues as well as creating equal opportunity for people to enjoy all their rights and fully develop their human potentials. Increasingly, research and strategies are focusing on the importance of human security to development, peace and security. Given that conflicts and disaster risks are on the rise on the continent, the importance of having a better understanding of human security is evident. Using comparative analysis of selected counties in the western world and in Africa, this paper argues that although state security remains pivotal to peace, security and stability, it can only be complementary to human security which remains the only solution to the internal conflicts on the continent of Africa and the bedrock for guaranteed lasting peace and stability.

Current Security Challenges in Africa

Current Security Challenges in Africa

Cooperating for peace and security or competing for legitimacy in Africa? The case of the African Union in Darfur

The 21st century has witnessed institutional transformations at the regional and sub-regional levels to address peace and security challenges in Africa. At the centre of this transformation process is the creation of the African Union and its security organ, the Peace and Security Council (PSC), which has the mandate to maintain peace, security, and stability in Africa. Since its inception in 2004, the PSC has been the central arbiter of violent and non-violent conflicts in Africa. The PSC authorised its first peacekeeping mission, the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), to monitor the N'djamena Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement between the government of Sudan and the main rebel movements, the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) and the Justice and Equity Movement (JEM) in Darfur. The PSC mandate has opened an avenue for interregional security cooperation with the United Nations and other organisations, including the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. This article discusses this important development in continental politics of the AU with reference to the Darfur conflict. Drawing on insights from the constructivist approach to international relations, the author discusses two interrelated questions. First, what are the factors that drive Security Council and PSC cooperation on Darfur? Second, what are the challenges for this cooperation in the promotion of peace, security, and justice in Darfur and other parts of Africa? The author argues that Darfur provides an opportunity to the AU to assert its legitimacy and authority while cooperating with the Security Council.

Towards the revision of the 1977 Organisation of African Unity/African Union Convention on the Elimination of Mercenarism in Africa

The revision of the 1977 Organisation of African Unity's Convention on the Elimination of Mercenarism in Africa (Mercenary Convention) is now long overdue. The existence of the Mercenary Convention has over the years failed to eliminate mercenarism in Africa, among others as a result of the manner in which it defines a ‘mercenary’. The problem is exacerbated by the rapid growth of the private security sector in the form of the private military/security company (PMSC), which to a large extent arguably represents a new form of ‘mercenary’ outfit that is technically not covered by the Mercenary Convention. Because the Mercenary Convention was adopted during a different epoch in African history there is now a need to take stock of its successes and failures and determine how it can best be revised to address the new security challenges in Africa. In this contribution the need for the revision of the Mercenary Convention is discussed. Given the difficulties and challenges presented by the Mercenary Convention, the contribution advocates the drafting of two conventions, one focusing on the regulation of PMSCs and the other focusing on the elimination of mercenarism in Africa.

West Africa's Security Challenges: building peace in a troubled region edited by ADEKEYE ADEBAJO and ISMAIL RASHID Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2004. Pp. 449. US$59.95; US$22.00 (pbk.).

West Africa's Security Challenges: building peace in a troubled region edited by A<scp>DEKEYE</scp> A<scp>DEBAJO</scp> and I<scp>SMAIL</scp> R<scp>ASHID</scp> Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2004. Pp. 449. US$59.95; US$22.00 (pbk.).

West Africa's security challenges: building peace in a troubled region

Among the world's most unstable regions, West Africa in the last decade has experienced a web of conflicts with profound and wide-ranging effects. West Africa's Security Challenges is the first comprehensive assessment of the resulting mix of setbacks and progress. The authors provide a context for understanding the region's security dilemmas, highlighting the link between failures of economic development, governance, and democratization on the one hand and military insecurity and violent conflicts on the other. The role of key regional and external actors in foiling - and sometimes fueling - conflicts is also examined. The result is an analysis that is not only academically rigorous, but relevant to current policy debates.

THE AU PLAN ON TERRORISM

At a senior officials' meeting held in Algiers from 11–14 September 2002, the African Union proved ready and able to provide the political cohesion and sense of purpose needed for Africa to combat terrorism. While member states inevitably played to a global gallery in demonstrating their commitment to the ‘war on terrorism’, the practical counter-terrorist proposals adopted at the meeting substantially address Africa's security challenges. The resulting Plan of Action on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism focuses on state building and inter-governmental co-operation, to literally and figuratively close Africa's borders to terrorist activities. Implementing the plan will be a tough challenge for many African governments, especially to ensure that their counter-terrorist measures adhere to international and regional human rights accords.

Securing South Africa's democracy: defence, development and security in transition

List of Abbreviations - Acknowledgements - Introduction - New Thinking: Security in Developing Countries - The Origins of South Africa's Security Challenges - Security in Transition - The Domestic Security Environment - The Maintenance of Internal Security - Security through Nation-building and Development - External Security - The Transformation of Security Institutions - Conclusion - Bibliography - Index