A Review of the African Union framework and mechanism on political peace and security

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-90
Author(s):  
Tinashe Sithole
Keyword(s):  
African Union ◽  
Peace And Security

The African Union and coercive diplomacy: the case of Burundi

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Wilén ◽  
Paul D. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Management ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
Military Force ◽  
African Union ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Coercive Diplomacy ◽  
Civilian Protection ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
New Type ◽  
The Government

AbstractIn December 2015, the African Union (AU) took the unprecedented step of threatening to use military force against the government of Burundi's wishes in order to protect civilians caught up in the country's intensifying domestic crisis. This article traces the background to this decision and analyses the effectiveness and credibility of the AU's use of coercive diplomacy as a tool of conflict management. After its usual range of conflict management tools failed to stem the Burundian crisis, the AU Commission and Peace and Security Council tried a new type of military compellence by invoking Article 4(h) of the Union's Constitutive Act. We argue that the threatened intervention never materialised because of (1) the Burundian government's astute diplomacy and (2) several African autocrats’ resistance to setting a precedent for future interventions where concerns about civilian protection might override state sovereignty.

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”.

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.

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

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 322-333
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 Peace and Security Council of the African Union: evaluating an embryonic international institution

2009 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Security Council ◽  
International Security ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
African Union ◽  
International Institution ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Five Elements ◽  
Efficiency And Productivity

ABSTRACTHow has the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union helped promote peace, security and stability on the African continent? This article assesses the PSC's activities in light of insights generated by the literature on international security institutions. After providing an overview of the immediate origins of the PSC, it discusses five elements of the Council's institutional design. It then evaluates the PSC's activities during its first five years (2004–9), by examining the Council's political relevance, its efficiency and productivity, and whether it is the institution best placed to deal with the continent's security problems. It concludes that the PSC's future will hinge on whether more of the African Union's members can be persuaded to devote more serious levels of resources (human and financial) to it.

The African response

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Emerson ◽  
Hussein Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
African State ◽  
International Community ◽  
African Union ◽  
Security Culture ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cooperative Security ◽  
Peace And Security

Paradoxically, as much as Africa’s current problems are often rooted in the past, the continent today finds itself squarely at the forefront of new security thinking. Although the international community historically has played a critical role in shaping the African security agenda, true security—and solutions—begins at home. The often misappropriated mantra of ‘African solutions for African problems’ has taken on real and significant meaning in recent years with the development and implementation of new national, sub-regional, and regional approaches to advancing peace and security. This chapter examines these approaches, past shortcomings of the modern African state and its limitations, and looks at ways the African Union, regional NGOs, and civil society are seeking to fashion a cooperative security culture for 21st century needs. Without doubt many obstacles and challenges still remain, but these efforts are already proving useful in recasting the continent’s security priorities and, moreover, in establishing a direction for future engagement by Africans and non-Africans alike.

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