Supranational Institutions and Peacebuilding in Africa The African Union and Regional Economic Communities

Chapter One

Introduction: Synthesising AU-RECs Linkages in the Context of Peacebuilding in Africa?

Redie Bereketeab

PART I: AU, RECs AND PEACEBUILDINGING IN AFRICA: THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL DISCUSSION 

Chapter Two

AU and RECs: An Alchemy of Theoretical and Conceptual Debases on Peacebuilding

M A Mohamed Salih 

Chapter Three

Academic Knowledge Production on AU/RECs Peacebuilding

Ulf Engel

PART II: AMU AND PEACEBUILDING IN THE ARAB MAGHREB REGION

Chapter Four

The Arab Maghreb Union: An Illusory Dream?

Yahia H. Zoubir

Chapter Five 

The Arab Maghreb Union Still Lagging Behind in Peacebuilding in Africa

Laeed Zaghlami

Part III: ECCAS AND PEACEBUILDING IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REGION

Chapter Six

Assessing ECCAS’s Peacebuilding Initiative in the Central African Sub-Region: From Where to Where

Tazoacha Francis

Chapter Seven

ECCAS in Peacebuilding in Central Africa

Paul Batibonak

PART IV: ECOWAS AND PEACEBUILDING IN THE WEST AFRICAN REGION

Chapter Eight

ECOWAS and Peacebuilding in the West African Region

Remi Ajibewa and Daniel Oduyingbo

Chapter Nine

Democracy as a Peacebuilding Tool in West Africa: In Search of Holistic ECOWAS Response to Coup Resurgence

Ndubuisi Christian Ani 

PART V: IGAD AND PEACEBUILDING IN THE GREATER HORN REGION

Chapter Ten

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Peacebuilding in the Horn of Africa: Programmes, Opportunities, Challenges and Prospects

Kizito Sabala 

Chapter Eleven

Peacebuilding in IGAD Region: Between Policy and Practice

Aleu Garang

PART VI: SADC AND PEACEBUILDING IN SOUTHERN AFRICAN REGION

Chapter Twelve

SADC and Peacebuilding in the Southern African Region

J, Shola Omotola

Chapter Thirteen

Towards an Integrative Regional Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding Infrastructure in the SADC Region: A Policy Proposition

Adane Ghebremeskel and Sheuneni Kurasha

Biography

Redie Bereketeab, PhD, is associate professor of sociology. Currently he works as senior researcher at the Nordica Africa Institute. He run a research project on conflict and state building in the Horn of Africa.  His latest publications include National Liberation Movements as Government in Africa (2019), Alternatives to Neoliberal Peacebuilding and Statebuilding in Africa (2021), Historical Sociology of Nation formation in the Horn of Africa (2023), Recent Developments in Peace and Security in the Horn of Africa (2023). His research interests expand across political sociology, development sociology, African studies, conflict, peacebuilding, regional integration, RECs, nation formation, state formation. ORCID: 0000-0002-4378-1893

The importance of an effective supranational peace and security framework for the African continent cannot be underestimated. This book not only unpacks the problems of achieving this goal but, more importantly, offers nuanced suggestions for ensuring that regional institutions are well equipped to deal with Africa's hydra-headed security challenges. It is an important addition to the body of knowledge in this area.

Babatunde Fagbayibo, Professor of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa

As African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) assume roles beyond their traditional economic integration mandates, we need to understand how they are managing these roles alongside the African Union (AU). Redie Bereketeab's book Supranational Institutions and Peacebuilding in Africa: The African Union and Regional Economic Communities is one of the first to provide an in-depth analysis of peacebuilding initiatives by five RECs. Apart from two chapters devoted to each of the RECs, the introductory chapters provide useful insights into the AU and peacebuilding in Africa. This is a vital contribution to understanding the debates on African regional institutions and peacbuilding. It should find a wide policy and academic audience.  

Gilbert M. Khadiagala, Jan Smuts Professor of International Relations and Director of the Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS) at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

For so long, African statebuilding academic and policy debates have been in search for analytical and theoretical frameworks suited to the African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs). Redie Bereketeab and his colleagues endeavored to answer the pertinent question: what is the praxis or theory of practice guiding Africa’s supranational institutions in peace operations and stastebuilding?

Dr. Abdalla Hamdok, former Deputy Executive Secretary for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and Sudan Prime Minister during (2019-2022).

With Supranational Institutions and Peacebuilding in Africa, Redie Bereketeab and his collaborators have made an important contribution to the literature on international peacebuilding. The focus on the activities of the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities leads to an even-handed assessment of peacebuilding efforts in Africa, which is highly relevant both from an academic and a policy-making perspective.

Wil Hout, Professor of Governance and International Political Economy, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands