Development And Regional Stability In Africa

This book critically engages with the development-security nexus in contemporary Africa, coinciding with the twentieth anniversary of the African Union (AU). Despite widespread discourse on the 'Africa Rising' narrative, many African states grapple with persistent economic challenges, violent conflicts, Afrophobia, and democratic setbacks. The AU's efforts, alongside those of other regional actors, to leverage regionalism for driving socio-economic and political development while ensuring peace and security have yielded limited results. Consequently, this edited volume takes an incisive approach to unpack the complex and vexed issues obstructing sustainable advancements in security and development in Africa. While existing studies have predominantly centered on conventional conflict and development concerns, this book sheds light on the emerging realities and evolving dynamics shaping the region's trajectory. Utilising a comprehensive case study approach, the book places Africa's challenges within both historical and contemporary contexts, aiming to present sustainable policy options to bridge the myriad gaps in the continent's peace, security, and governance architecture. By addressing the intricacies of balancing individual state interests with collective regional advancement, this volume offers a pathway toward unlocking Africa's potential for development and fostering a prosperous and harmonious 'Africa We Want'.

African Stability and Integration is a practical and meaningful analysis of the ways to bring Africans together in order to pursue growth and development on the continent of Africa. By combining vivid examination of past and contemporary uniting efforts of continental and diasporic Africans, Agyemang Attah-Poku stresses unity and its resultant stability as the most important goal for Africa to function as a constructive, harmonic society. Attah-Poku investigates the past activities and ideas of Pan-Africanism, relates Pan-Africanism to contemporary time, and makes suggestions, recommendations, and proposals for the immediate and future stability, growth, and development of Africa. A timely work, African Stability and Integration will be of great interest to students and professors of history, economics, politics, international relations, and cross-cultural studies.

The security and stability of Africa has recently become an important national issue readily seen in the increased time, effort, and resources now devoted to the continent by such new organizations as the U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM). This paper seeks to overcome centuries of ignorance and misunderstanding about the conditions and people of Africa by discussing the fundamental issues of economic development and political governance through which enduring stability and security might be obtained. This paper offers solutions in terms of improving African stability and security and a framework of several key issues which should give policymakers the knowledge they need to work in a constantly changing and very challenging environment.--

Since independence, the West African sub-region has been an arena for a number of large-scale conflicts and civil wars, as well as simmering and low-intensity uprisings. Contrary to perceptions, West Africa in its post-independence history has experienced fewer conflict events and fatalities from conflict than the other sub-regions on the continent. The turn of the millennium has witnessed the recession of large-scale and conventional conflict, and it has ushered in new and emerging threats. The specters of religious extremism, maritime piracy, and narcotics trafficking threaten to undermine some of the progress achieved in recent years. The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa critically examines the key drivers of conflict and violence, and the way in which they impact the countries of the sub-region. In addition to emerging threats, these drivers include the challenges of youth inclusion, migration, sub-regional imbalances, and extractives, as well as challenges related to the fragility of political institutions and managing the competition for power, reform of the security sector, and weakness of institutions related to land management. The book explores how the sub-region, under the auspices of the regional organization ECOWAS, has become a pioneer on the continent in terms of addressing regional challenges. The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa also identifies key lessons in the dynamics of resilience in the face of political violence and civil war drawn from CÃ ́te d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, that can be useful for countries around the world in similar situations. It incorporates knowledge and findings from leading experts and provides insights from academics and development practitioners. Finally, the book identifies possible policy and programmatic responses and directions for policy dialogue at the national and international levels.

This publication explores current global security issues, their development in West Africa and their potential impact on regional stability. It takes a close look at issues such as terrorism and trafficking, climate change, and the links between security and development.

Africa is experiencing one of the greatest transformations of its history. Today’s Sub-Saharan Africa is still marked by enduring instability, mass migrations and crises, but at the same time it is also characterised by positive developments including economic growth and regional integration. This publication sheds light on these changes from three perspectives: economic policies and sustainable development; good governance and democracy; peace and security. Research in relevant regions in Sub-Saharan Africa and key countries (Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria and South Africa) has been conducted by African and European experts with the aim of assessing the role of the private sector and determining the partner-ship opportunities that could potentially be developed with the public sector. A series of policy recommendations are offered to the European Union on how to tackle these opportunities in cooperation with old and new actors.

Prevention is the key to effective policies in Africa, whether the issue is equitable resource exploitation, ethnic conflict, infectious diseases, or famine. African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have moved beyond their initial purpose of a loose confederation of trading partners to become increasingly effective supranational bodies promoting financial, political, and security stabilization in each of their regions. Looking at each of the RECs, their power centers, and areas of weakness, policymakers can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the sometimes symbiotic and often destructive dynamics within and among African states to seek more effective strategic and regional, not national, approaches. This monograph suggests USAFRICOM is uniquely positioned to help design a path to spearhead a pan-African strategy highly likely to have the net long-term effect of attaining considerable competitive advantage for the U.S. economically, militarily, and politically, with a corresponding increase in stability, security, and economic opportunity for the entire continent.