Africa S Irregular Security Threats

The U.S. has a growing strategic interest in Africa at a time when the security landscape there is dominated by a wide range of irregular, nonstate threats. Organized criminal activities, particularly kidnapping, human smuggling and trafficking in persons, weapons smuggling, and environmental and financial crimes, are increasingly brazen and destructive. This paper provides an overview of Africa¿s irregular, nonstate threats, followed by an analysis of their strategic implications for regional peace and stability, as well as the national security interests of the U.S. The conclusion highlights a number of new and innovative tools that can be used to build political will on the continent to confront these security challenges. Map.

Security in Africa: A Critical Approach to Western Indicators of Threat questions the dominant Western narrative of security threats in Africa. Based on an analysis traditional security studies and Western security policy, it argues that commonly used indicators are based on mainstream security studies and provide only circumscribed analyses of threats to international security. By assessing the origins of this traditional approach to security and problematizing failed states, political instability, Muslim populations, and poverty among others, it makes the case for a critical approach to framing security challenges in Africa.

Provides a context for understanding West Africa's security dilemmas, highlighting the link between failures of economic development, governance, and democratization on the one hand and military insecurity and violent conflicts on the other.

The refugee phenomenon is a major force in international politics. This is more so in sub-Saharan Africa where refugees are major actors in the affairs of their home and host countries. But, are refugees just victims of insecurity or also major causes of insecurity? Mogire analyses how and why refugees, victims of insecurity caused by persecution and the many incessant conflicts which continue unabated, have come to be viewed by scholars and practitioners as security threats. Using Kenya and Tanzania as empirical case studies, this volume examines the nature of this threat, its projection and responses. Moreover, it highlights how, if at all, these threats are different or similar to other security threats faced by these countries.

"This is a collection of essays by scholars of African international relations about security concerns affecting Africa today"--

This book is a multidisciplinary approach to Africa's international relations in an era of globalization and the shifting of power from the West. It moves beyond colonization, marginalization, imperialism to look at the forces and dynamics that are reshaping Africa's external relations today.

As a comprehensive resource for readers interested in contemporary security issues in Africa, this compelling book details the impact of complex challenges in Africa and explains why addressing them grows increasingly important. Presenting both general overviews and specific case studies, this book introduces contemporary security issues in Africa, home to more than thirty of the fifty most fragile nations in the world. It covers the past three decades of conflict on the continent, focusing on such topics as weak and failing states, ethnic conflict and civil wars, natural resources and environmental security, political violence and terrorism, piracy and maritime security, food security and poverty, international responses, and future prospects. The core of the book comprises detailed analysis of the nexus between culture, politics, and security in Africa, while the volume as a whole examines key regional and transnational security issues affecting Africa and their implications at the state, regional, and international levels. The book explores the dynamic role that African nations play in influencing international security and investigates and articulates factors heightening the importance of Africa's role in international affairs.

This new Handbook examines the issues, challenges, and debates surrounding the problem of security in Africa. Africa is home to most of the world's current conflicts, and security is a key issue. However, African security can only be understood by employing different levels of analysis: the individual (human security), the state (national/state security), and the region (regional/international security). Each of these levels provides analytical tools for understanding what could be called the "African security predicament" and these debates are animated by the "new security" issues: immigration, small arms transfers, gangs and domestic crime, HIV/AIDS, transnational crime, poverty, and environmental degradation. African security therefore not only presents concrete challenges for international security but provides a real-world context for challenging conventional conceptions of security. Drawing together contributions from a wide range of key thinkers in the field, the Routledge Handbook of African Security engages with these debates, and is organized into four parts: Part I: The African security predicament in the twenty-first century; Part II: Understanding conflict in Africa; Part III: Regionalism and Africa; Part IV: External influences. This Handbook will be of great interest to students of African politics, human security, global security, war and conflict studies, peacebuilding, and IR in general.