Interorganizational Cooperation and the Fight against Terrorism in West Africa and the Sahel

The transnational nature of security threats in the 21st Century are such that interorganizational cooperation is necessary to effectively combat these threats. This article explores a key organization, the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), charged with curtailing the threat posed by terrorism in certain parts of the Sahel and West Africa. Using the theoretical framework of Walt’s balance of threat and a combination of data obtained from ACLED and expert interviews, the article argues that the MNJTF has not been successful in achieving its mandate. This could be attributed to five lapses in the restructuring of the organization in 2015 to combat terrorism. The article concludes that for interorganizational security cooperation to be successful, the allies must equally acknowledge that they face the same existential threats which will make them commit to the demands of the organisation.

Tania Wallis, Chris Johnson, and Mohamed Khamis, Interorganizational Cooperation in Supply Chain Cybersecurity: A Cross-Industry Study of the Effectiveness of the UK Implementation of the NIS Directive

The transposition of the EU Directive on Network and Information Security (NIS) by EU Member States involved assigning a set of responsibilities to operators, regulators and policy makers within a national cybersecurity strategy, in order to improve cybersecurity levels across critical infrastructures. This research investigates the perspectives and experiences of organisations affected by the NIS Directive focussing on three different sectors (Energy, Water & Aviation). The authors evaluate the response of different actors to NIS interventions and their challenges in meeting their assigned responsibilities, in particular their ability to oversee supply chain cybersecurity. It proposes further support for partnerships and cooperation across organisations to increase the effectiveness of NIS implementation. Based on results from semi-structured interviews and observations of industry working groups, an approach to supply chain oversight to achieve a balance between control and cooperation is recommended, to improve cybersecurity within industry sectors and across critical national infrastructures. Although our initial focus has been on working mainly with UK stakeholders, we argue that our recommendations have a more general application beyond those countries directly affected by the Directive.