1st Edition

Towards an African Peace and Security Regime Continental Embeddedness, Transnational Linkages, Strategic Relevance

Edited By Ulf Engel, João Gomes Porto Copyright 2013

    Towards an African Peace and Security Regime: Continental embeddedness, transnational linkages, strategic relevance provides an informed and critical reflection on the adequacy of the emerging African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) to the medium- and long-term challenges and opportunities of conflict prevention, management and resolution in Africa. Complementary to the editors’ Africa’s New Peace and Security Architecture: Implementing norms, institutionalising solutions (Ashgate 2010), this volume revolves around three main areas of focus: the continental ’embeddedness’ of norms, values and processes required for the gradual coming into shape of the African peace and security regime; its transnational linkages as well as the wider collective security environment; and the empirical analysis of the connections between the continental level and the regional economic communities with case-studies on ECOWAS, SADC and COMESA.

    Contents: Introduction, João Gomes Porto; Part 1 Continental Embeddedness: The African Union and contested political order(s), Antonia Witt; From non-interference towards non-indifference: an ongoing paradigm shift within the African Union?, Martin Welz; The responsibility to protect by African organizations: a new trend in the cooperation between the UN and regional organizations, Rodrigo Tavares and Tânia Felício. Part 2 Transnational Linkages: Africa’s regional economic communities and the multi-level logic of security cooperation on the continent, Benedikte Franke; Lessons learned and best practice from a troubled region: ECOWAS and the development of the ECOWAS standby force, Emma Birikorang; The weight of history: prospects and challenges for the Southern African Development Community, Anthoni van Nieuwkerk; COMWARN: COMESA’s distinctive contribution to the continental early warning system, João Gomes Porto. Part 3 Strategic Relevance: Positive, negative, or ambiguous? Peace-keeping in the local security fabric, Andreas Mehler; Regional security and intelligence cooperation in Africa: the potential contribution of the Committee on Intelligence and Security Services in Africa, Lauren Hutton; Capacity building for the African peace and security architecture: dos and don’ts in program design, Markus Koerner and Mulugeta Gebrehiwot; Challenges and opportunities for the AU’s peace and security council: a critical reflection from a regime analytical perspective, Kwesi Aning; Bibliography; Index.

    Biography

    João Gomes Porto, Ulf Engel

    A Baker & Taylor Academic Essentials Title in Area/Ethnic Studies, Africa A Baker & Taylor Academic Essentials Title in Area/Ethnic Studies: Black Studies outside the U.S. ’This volume lays bare both the inner workings of, and the dynamic interaction between, the levels that make up the structure - including the internal organs of the AU, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), national states and local actors. The measured conclusions that the contributors come to are often based on a practical experience of working with the institutions concerned. For anyone wanting to understand where the current debate about African peace and security stands, look no further.’ Paul Nugent, University of Edinburgh, UK '... an important contribution to thinking about the African peace and security landscape and the actors who populate it. Just as a discipline - not quite political science and not quite international relations - has emerged around the study of European Union politics, this book shows there is much to be gained from studying the unique way in which the African Union, the RECs, African States, and external actors work - or do not work - together to achieve a more peaceful African continent. ... this book is a key contribution to the study, not only of the instruments of maintaining peace and security on the African continent, and Africa’s international relations, but most importantly to the illumination of how African continental conflict management modestly works and, in places, succeeds. It will be useful to any scholar of Africa, as well as those conducting comparative research on peace and security architectures across a number of regions. It will be useful to university students of African continental politics and established scholars alike.' African Journal on Conflict Resolution