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191. Maritime Insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa and its Effects in the Economy of States

Author:
Fernandes Capitao Ginga
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
It seems clear that African leaders are not aware of the maritime dimension of their states, which has led to a subordination of maritime affairs compared to land issues, as it is essential that African states begin to take concrete steps in order to establish, on the continent, a true maritime security and defense architecture, with the aim of making the best use of the opportunities offered by the oceans, in the name of the interests of these States. The approach was possible, using a bibliographic and documentary review, through a qualitative methodology, following a deductive reasoning.
Topic:
Security, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, Maritime Commerce, and Maritime
Political Geography:
Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa

192. UN Peacekeeping Operations and Pastoralism-Related Insecurity: Adopting a Coordinated Approach for the Sahel

Author:
Gabriel Delsol
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
In recent years, pastoralism has increasingly become associated with violent conflict. In the Sahel, pastoralism-related insecurity is directly linked to macro-level conflict dynamics in contexts with UN peacekeeping missions, including Mali, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Darfur, Abyei, and South Sudan. However, the UN system has been slow to adopt a coordinated response to this phenomenon. This issue brief provides a preliminary overview of peacekeeping missions’ efforts to mitigate growing pastoralism-related insecurity in their areas of operation. It analyzes six missions that are active within or near the Sahel region. After framing pastoralism-related security, it explores how the Security Council has addressed this issue in mission mandates. It then looks at how missions have tried to address pastoralism-related insecurity and how they can leverage partnerships with other actors as part of a multi-stakeholder approach. The paper concludes that while peacekeeping missions are not the primary means for addressing the multidimensional drivers of pastoralism-related insecurity, they can help mitigate risks, including through political and logistical support to other actors. Together with these partners, peacekeeping missions should leverage their comparative advantages to help address pastoralism-related insecurity in the Sahel.
Topic:
Security, United Nations, Peacekeeping, and Pastoralism
Political Geography:
Africa and Sahel

193. Implementing the Mop Barrier Assessment Methodology With the Zambia Police Service

Author:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
In the context of the Canadian-led Elsie Initiative aiming to reduce barriers for uniformed women in UN Peace Operations, DCAF has developed the Measuring Opportunities for Women in Peace Operations (MOWIP) methodology, in partnership with Cornell University and research institutions in eight troop- and police contributing countries across the world. The MOWIP methodology aims to provide institutions with the evidence base necessary to design effective interventions which substantially increase the number of women who deploy. While it is currently being piloted in 7 other countries, the MOWIP methodology was successfully implemented in Zambia with the Zambia Police Service (ZPS) between May 2019 and March 2020, in partnership with the Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD). This resource highlights the key takeaways from the process of implementing the MOWIP methodology in Zambia along with good practices and lessons learned at each stage, including the preparation phase, the data collection phase, the data analysis phase and the validation phase. It aims to provide guidance to TPCCs or security institutions interested in implementing the MOWIP methodology themselves regarding the resources and time commitment required, and outlines the outcomes and benefits of undergoing the Barrier Assessment for the ZPS.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Police, and Models
Political Geography:
Africa and Zambia

194. Applying Human Rights Principles to the Liberian Security Sector

Author:
Jean Conte and Aloysius Toe
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Comprehensive and practical, these guidelines are designed to support Liberian lawmakers in applying human rights principles to their work in security sector reform and governance. In their capacity as the peoples’ representatives, parliamentarians have a critical role to play in promoting respect for human rights. This is even more relevant in Liberia, where security institutions are often reported as the most prominent violators of human rights, notably among vulnerable groups, such as women and LGBTI persons. Therefore, it is essential to reassert that respect for human rights is an obligation deriving from both international instruments and the Liberian Constitution, and to strengthen the security sector’s compliance with these legally binding instruments. Through their core functions of oversight, law-making and representation, Liberian legislators possess an array of tools to help them achieve this objective. However, their lack of basic human rights knowledge and key reform and governance concepts hampers their effective use of these tools. These guidelines aim to bridge this knowledge gap and suggest concrete steps to help Liberian Legislators succeed in this endeavour. Following a brief discussion on why Liberian lawmakers must actively promote respect for human rights in the security sector (Chapter 1), these guidelines lay out what the main international human rights standards and instruments are (Chapters 2 and 3), and make suggestions on how legislators can integrate them in their daily practice (Chapter 4).
Topic:
Security, Human Rights, Governance, Legislation, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa and Liberia

195. Exploring Armed Groups in Libya:

Author:
Emadeddin Badi
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Libya’s security sector has become virtually unrecognizable from what it was a decade ago owing to the transformations brought about since the 2011 revolution. This evolution has implications on any attempts to usher in short-term and interim security arrangements as well as longer-term security sector reform (SSR) efforts. The paper explores the impact of different dimensions of these transformations on security provision in the Libyan landscape. In doing so, it aims to highlight the implications this has on attempts to reform the country’s hybrid security sector, and more broadly, how SSR doctrine can be informed by its findings.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Military Strategy, Governance, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Africa and Libya

196. Global Health Security and Pandemics: Africa and COVID-19

Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
In this episode, Dr Simukai Chigudu (University of Oxford) and Professor Sophie Harman (Queen Mary University of London) discuss COVID-19 and Africa. They highlight that Africa is not a blank canvas in which the pandemic will play out in a uniform fashion and also question why the word ‘catastrophe’ is often used when discussing COVID-19 in relation to the African continent.
Topic:
Security, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Africa

197. Global Health Security and Pandemics: When Will This End? Lessons from the Ebola Response

Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
In this episode, Professor Sophie Harman (QMUL) discusses lessons that can be learned from the Ebola response in relation to COVID-19 with Daniel Kettor (Rainbo Initiative). He highlights, from his experiences of Ebola in Sierra Leone, that social behaviours towards the end of the COVID-19 pandemic will be crucial in ending transmission.
Topic:
Security, Ebola, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Africa and Sierra Leone

198. Of Marauders and Brigands: Scoping the Threat of Rural Banditry in Nigeria’s North West

Author:
Al-Chukwuma Okoli and Anthony Chinedu Ugwu
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
Nigeria is, arguably, a country under distress. The country’s woes are most evident in the torrential spate of armed violence and criminality in various parts of the country. Nothing explains this awry situation better than the apocalyptically volatile security ambience in the wider northern Nigeria. The northeastern Nigeria is still patently under the Boko Haram scourge, amidst the precarious counter-insurgency endeavors of the government (Okoli 2017a; Zenn 2018). The north-central area has been afflicted by herdsmen militancy, which has plunged the region into dire humanitarian crisis (Okoli and Ogayi 2018). The northwestern region has recently been enmeshed in the rapid upsurge of rural banditry along its international frontiers as well as the forested interior.
Topic:
Security, Violence, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

199. Vigilante Groups and Policing in a Democratizing NigeriA: Navigating the Context and Issues

Author:
Adeniyi S. Basiru and Olusesan A. Osunkoya
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
Before the advent of colonialism in Nigeria, the various indigenous communities, like elsewhere in Africa, had evolved various self-help institutions (vigilante groups in modern sense) for maintaining public order. But, with the emergence of the colonial state and all its coercive paraphernalia, these traditional institutions of public order management, that had for centuries served the people, were relegated to the background, as the modern police force, the precursor of the present day Nigerian Police, under the direction of the colonial authorities, became the primus inter pares, in the internal security architecture of the colony (Ahire, 1991, 18). With this development, the communal/collectivist-oriented frameworks of policing that had for centuries been part of people’s social existence now constituted the informal models of policing rendering subsidiary roles.
Topic:
Security, Democratization, Governance, Police, and Vigilantism
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

200. Political Breakdown in South Sudan: United Nations and a New Challenge to Human Security (2014 - 2018)

Author:
Daniel Mendes Aguiar Santos
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
This article aims to examine the context of the political breakdown in South Sudan, highlighting its effects on human security in the country, and to analyze the response of the United Nations, with a focus on civilian protection, in the period 2014-2018. In this light, the theoretical hypothesis was that “within the framework of a United Nations peace mission, the implementation of a strategy for the protection of civilians corroborates human security in the region of crisis and/or conflict.” In this effort, after this introduction, the methodological considerations about the investigation are presented, followed by a theoretical and conceptual frame that fits the analysis. Subsequently, is the political breakdown in South Sudan, highlighting its effects on human security and, following the central question, the United Nations response focused on the protection of civilians. Finally, we present the conclusive aspects, illuminated by the theoretical hypothesis.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, International Cooperation, Politics, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan