African Peace and Security Architecture: A Strategic Analysis

摘要

In recent years, global players such as the United States, the European Union (EU), and the People's Republic of China (PRC) have noted Africa's growing strategic importance to their respective interests. Among those interests are Africa's natural resources, particularly crude oil, agricultural raw materials, and mineral resources. These global players also have growing concerns over peace and security threats in Africa, including conflicts, terrorism, cross-border crimes, cyber threats, and piracy. To address these threats, African Union (AU) Member States are developing an African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). This study focuses on the purpose and mechanisms of the APSA. The overall intent of the study is to analyze the mechanisms that have been developed, or are being developed, by the AU and other regional organizations to address peace and security issues in Africa. Using the strategic model of Ends-Ways-Means and DIME (Diplomatic Informational Military Economic) to analyze the APSA, the author concludes that it is a viable security strategy for dealing with the principal threats in Africa. However, it has important shortcomings and its effectiveness is dependent upon three critical ingredients: the political will of AU Member States to implement the strategy; the discrepancies between the regional level and the continental level; and the lack of ways to adequately address the security dimension of the APSA (i.e., the external threats).