African Peace and Security Architecture: Fit for Purpose?

2021 ◽  
pp. 127-159
Author(s):  
Francis Onditi ◽  
Gilad Ben-Nun ◽  
Edmond M. Were ◽  
Israel Nyaburi Nyadera
Keyword(s):  
Security Architecture ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Fit For Purpose

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

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-194
Author(s):  
Bewuketu Dires Gardachew
Keyword(s):  
Early Warning ◽  
Early Warning System ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
Security Architecture ◽  
African Union ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Operational Structure

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 PEACEMAKING PEACEBUILDING-DEVELOPMENT NEXUS: MARRYING SOUTH AFRICA'S PEACE DIPLOMACY AND DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Faith Mabera
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Security Architecture ◽  
Development Partner ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Profound Influence ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Security Affairs

South Africa has often been lauded as an influential and pivotal actor inpeace and security affairs on the evolving African peace and security architecture. The centrality of Africa in South Africa's foreign policy has driven its exercise of peace diplomacy in a significant number of conflicts in Africa; where its mode of engagement has ranged from mediation to peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction and development assistance. Concomitant to its peace actor profile, South Africa's repertoire as an emerging development partner also forms a large part of its African agenda. The embedding of sustainable peace as a goal in the post2015 development agenda and the enduring relevance of the securitydevelopment nexus continue to exert profound influence on the parameters and conduct of South Africa's foreign policy and its pointedly Afro-centric agenda. This article argues for greater integration and harmonisation between South Africa's peace diplomacy and its development partnership agenda through the formulation of a peacebuilding and stabilisation strategy.

Researching the Inner Life of the African Peace and Security Architecture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina P.W. Döring ◽  
Ulf Engel ◽  
Linnéa Gelot ◽  
Jens Herpolsheimer
Keyword(s):  
Security Architecture ◽  
Inner Life ◽  
Peace And Security

Part V Global and Regional Security Mechanisms, Ch.53 The African Union: Security Governance under the African Peace and Security Architecture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owino Jerusha Asin
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Development ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Security Architecture ◽  
African Union ◽  
Dense Network ◽  
Collective Security ◽  
Union Security ◽  
Security Governance ◽  
Security Regime ◽  
Peace And Security

This chapter describes the security regime of the African Union(AU) mandated to promote peace and stability under the AU: the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) established in 2003. The chapter charts the institutional development of the mechanisms under the APSA against a volatile threat matrix and the deployment of these mechanisms in situational exigencies. It also illustrates the nature of the APSA as a security regime complex by unpacking the dense network of partnerships that operate within it. The chapter next demonstrates the pillars on which the APSA rests by engaging with select interventions made under each pillar. While the chapter concludes that the APSA has been proven to be an indispensable mechanism in addressing some conflicts, it also partly mirrors the past, present, and potential future of the large and fragmented continent it was designed for. The APSA is therefore not the penultimate representation of a collective security apparatus, but an evolving work in progress.

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