The African Union and Peacekeeping in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Abstract

Africa continues to suffer from outbreaks of conflict, with evidence pointing to an increasing number of violent armed incidents. The establishment of the African Union (AU) heralded (or so it was hoped) a new era in how African conflicts are managed and resolved. Since 2003, the AU has mandated a number of peace support operations including the African Union Mission in Burundi (AMIB), the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), as a means to manage conflicts on the continent. In more recent times, the organization has also authorized three operations dealing with non-state armed groups namely the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Boko Haram and the Sahel Region Jihadists. Whilst some of these peace support missions recorded successes in meeting their mandates, generally all of them faced or are facing a number of challenges including funding, and logistical inadequacies among others. At the same time, the AU’s engagement in peacekeeping in Africa has occasioned opportunities for the organization including: increasing its capacity building in the area of conflict prevention, management and resolution; adoption of initiatives like “Silencing the Guns” aimed at lessening the outbreak of conflicts; and establishing its own funding mechanisms on how to support its mandated and authorized peace support missions among others.

About the authors

Kasaija Phillip Apuuli

Makerere University

Email: phillip.kasaija@chuss.mak.ac.ug
PhD in International Law, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Administration Kampala, Uganda

References

  1. Abrahamsen, R. (2013). Introduction: Conflict and Security in Africa. In: Abrahamsen, R. (Eds.). Conflict and Security in Africa. Suffolk: Currey. P. 1-13.
  2. Apuuli, K.P. (2013). The African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises (AICRC) and the Establishment of the African Standby Force (ASF). Journal of African Union Studies, 2 (1-2), 63-88.
  3. Apuuli, K.P. (2019). The AU’s New Financing Mechanisms: Self-financing at Last? In: Onditi, F., Ben-Nun, G., D’Alessandro, C. & Levey, Z. (Eds.). Contemporary Africa and the Foreseeable World Order. Lanham: Lexington Books. P. 77-93.
  4. Arthur, P. (2017). Promoting Security in Africa through Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the African Union’s African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). Insight on Africa, 9 (1), 1-21. doi: 10.1177/0975087816674577
  5. Bachmann, O. (2011). The African Standby Force: External Support to an “African Solution to African Problems”? IDS Research Reports, 11 (67), 1-73. doi: 10.1111/j.2040-0217.2011.00067_2.x. URL: www.ids.ac.uk/files/dmfile/Rr67web.pdf (accessed: 06.08.2020).
  6. Bamidele, O. (2013). The Challenges of Peacekeeping in Africa: A Revisit. Strategic Review for Southern Africa, 35 (2), 117-134. URL: https://www.up.ac.za/media/shared/Legacy/sitefiles/file/46/1322/10bamidelepp117134.pdf (accessed: 06.08.2020).
  7. Boutros-Ghali, B. (1992). An Agenda for Peace: Preventive Diplomacy, Peacemaking and Peace-keeping. International Relations, 11 (3), 201-218. doi: 10.1177/004711789201100302
  8. Brubacher, M., Damman, E.K. & Day, C. (2017). The AU Task Forces: An African Response to Transnational Armed Groups. Journal of Modern African Studies, 55 (2), 275-299. doi: 10.1017/S0022278X17000040
  9. De Carvalho, G. (2016). African Peace Operations in Burundi: A Decade of Re-Hatting Experiences. In: Aboagye, F.B. (Eds.). A Comprehensive Review of African Conflicts and Regional Interventions. Addis Ababa: APSTA. P. 169-181.
  10. De Waal, A. (2008). Prospects for Peace in Darfur: A Challenge to the African Union. In: Adejumobi, S. & Olukoshi, A. (Eds.). The African Union and New Strategies for Development in Africa. New York: Cambria Press. P. 435-455.
  11. Diehl, P.F. (2007). New Roles for Regional Organizations. In: Crocker, C., Hampson, F.O. & Aall, P. (Eds.). Leashing the Dogs of War. Washington DC: USIP Press. P. 535-553.
  12. Feldman, R.L. (2008). Problems Plaguing the African Union Peacekeeping Forces. Defense & Security Analysis, 24 (3), 267-279. doi: 10.1080/14751790802321388
  13. Ferim, V. (2013). African Solutions to African Problems: The Fault Line in Conflict Prevention in Africa. In: Muchie, M., Lukhele-Olorunju, P. & Akpor, O. (Eds.). The African Union Ten Years After: Solving African Problems with Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance. Pretoria: Africa Institute of South Africa. P. 143-156.
  14. Guicherd, C. (2007). The AU in Sudan: Lessons for the African Standby Force. New York: IPA. P. 1-35. URL: https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/126721/au_in_sudan_eng_02_2007.pdf (accessed: 07.08.2020).
  15. Hillier, D. (2007). Africa’s Missing Billions: International Arms Flows and the Cost of Conflict. IANSA, Oxfam International and Saferworld Briefing Paper, 107, 1-38. URL: https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/123908/bp-africas-missing-billions-111007-en.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (accessed: 08.08.2020).
  16. Jackson, S. (2006). The United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) - Political and Strategic Lessons Learned. New York: Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum. P. 1-34. URL: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/8D5EBEBA116301578525737800723F14-Full_Report.pdf (accessed: 08.08.2020).
  17. Khadiagala, G.M. (2015). Silencing the Guns: Strengthening Governance to Prevent, Manage and Resolve Conflicts in Africa. New York: International Peace Institute. P. 1-32. URL: https://www.ipinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/IPI_Rpt-Silencing_the_Guns-Strengthening_Governance_Africa.pdf (accessed: 07.08.2020).
  18. Mills, G., Obasanjo, O., Biti, T. & Herbst, J. (2019). Democracy Works: Turning Politics to Africa’s Advantage. London: Hurst & Company.
  19. Neethling, T. (1999). Towards Joint Ventures: Use of UN Observer Missions in Africa. In: Cilliers, J. & Mills, G. (Eds.). From Peacekeeping to Complex Emergencies: Peace Support Missions in Africa. Pretoria: South African Institute of International Affairs and the Institute for Security Studies. P. 27-44.
  20. Williams, P.D. (2009). The African Union’s Peace Operations: A Comparative Analysis. African Security, 2 (2-3), 97-118. doi: 10.1080/19362200903361937
  21. Williams, P.D. (2011). War and Conflict in Africa. Cambridge: Polity Press.
  22. Williams, P.D. (2017). Global and Regional Peacekeepers: Trends, Opportunities, Risks and a Way Ahead. Global Policy, 8 (1), 124-129. doi: 10.1111/1758-5899.12393
  23. Williams, P.D. (2018). Fighting for Peace in Somalia: A History and Analysis of the African Union Mission (AMISOM), 2007-2017. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Copyright (c) 2020 Apuuli K.P.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This website uses cookies

You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website.

About Cookies