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531. The UN Security Council and the Darfur Crisis: A Country-by-Country Analysis

Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Africa Policy Information Center
Abstract:
On August 31, 2006, the United Nations (UN) Security Council passed Resolution 1706, authorizing the deployment of a robust UN peacekeeping force to provide protection for the people of Darfur. This proposed force would transition from the current African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), which has had neither the resources nor the numbers to ensure security in the region. Africa Action welcomed the passage of this Security Council Resolution as an important step forward. It recognized the need for an international intervention in Darfur and the responsibility of the international community to take new action on this crisis.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa and Sudan

532. Human security and peacebuilding through a gender lens. Challenges of implementation in Africa

Author:
Heidi Hudson
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
Empirical evidence shows that while both women's near absence at the formal level as peace negotiators and political decision-makers and their informal peacebuilding contributions at the grassroots level have been routinely recognised, it remains difficult to translate gender awareness into workable plans for implementation. The paper argues for a hybrid position between cultural relativism and 'one size fits all' solutions. Four areas of attention are highlighted, namely women's ambivalent roles in peace and conflict, the challenges of a truly inclusive post-conflict transformation process, the need for an organised women's movement, and connecting the international legislative framework with the national context.
Topic:
Security, Gender Issues, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Africa

533. Post-Conflict Security Sector Reform and the Challenge of Ownership - The Case of Liberia

Author:
Louise Riis Andersen
Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
Security Sector Reform has become a pivotal part of international peacebuilding efforts. Donor agencies and Western government are devoting substantial resources to strengthen the legitimacy and efficiency of war-torn societies' security systems. At the same time, it is commonly accepted that lasting solutions cannot be imposed on societies. In order to be sustained, reforms must be locally owned. Based on an outline of the concept of Security Sector Reform and a presentation of two different approaches to ownership, the brief discusses the ongoing SSR-process in Liberia in view of the recent shift from a transitional to a democratically elected government. It identifies dilemmas between the current SSR-agenda and the objective of ownership, and argues that a more inclusive and less state-centred approach is needed.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Africa

534. Sécurité et stabilité dans le Sahel africain

Author:
Medi Taje
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
«Rivage aride d'une mer abandonnée», ainsi que l'évoque Jean Gallais (1984) , le Sahel africain, terme d'origine arabe, désigne traditionnellement le rivage ou la bordure méridionale du désert. Géographiquement, le Sahel africain, s'étendant de l'Océan Atla ntique à la mer Rouge fait la transition entre le Sahara, plus grand dés ert du monde où il est impossible de cultiver, et la savane où, à la f aveur d'une pluviométrie suffisante, l'homme est en mesure de développer un e agriculture, même rudimentaire. Les risques climatiques, source s de sécheresse et d'une insécurité alimentaire chronique, caractéri sent ce champ aux limites floues et mouvantes.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Development
Political Geography:
Africa

535. Major Flaws in Conflict Prevention Policies towards Africa. The Conceptual Deficits of International Actors' Approaches and How to Overcome Them

Author:
Andreas Mehler
Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Current thinking on African conflicts suffers from misinterpretations (oversimplification, lack of focus, lack of conceptual clarity, state-centrism and lack of vision). The paper analyses a variety of the dominant explanations of major international actors and donors, showing how these frequently do not distinguish with sufficient clarity between the 'root causes' of a conflict, its aggravating factors and its triggers. Specifically, a correct assessment of conflict prolonging (or sustaining) factors is of vital importance in Africa's lingering confrontations. Broader approaches (e.g. “structural stability”) offer a better analytical framework than familiar one-dimensional explanations. Moreover, for explaining and dealing with violent conflicts a shift of attention from the nation-state towards the local and sub-regional level is needed.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, and War
Political Geography:
Africa

536. Building Effective and Accountable Security Institutions in Africa

Author:
Jeffrey O. Isima
Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
Abstract:
This report is a product of a three-day workshop on Security Sector Governance in Africa, held in Cotonou, the Republic of Benin, in April 2005. The Workshop, titled Building Effective and Accountable Security Institutions in Africa: A Dialogue on Governance, was organised by the African Security Sector Network (ASSN) in collaboration with the Group on the Democratic, Economic and Social Development of Africa (GERDDES – Africa) and the African Security Dialogue Research (ASDR), and facilitated by the Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform (GFN-SSR).
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Development
Political Geography:
Africa

537. Emergent Insecurity in Eastern Sudan

Author:
Kelly Campbell
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The Beja people, who inhabit Eastern Sudan, have consistently been politically, socially, and economically marginalized by successive governments in Khartoum. As a consequence, the Beja have recently joined forces with other disenfranchised groups from eastern and western Sudan, and violence in the region has escalated despite the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Sudan (GOS) in Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).
Topic:
Security, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
Africa and Sudan

538. The United Nations as a Security Political Actor - with a Special Focus on Africa

Author:
Bjørn Møller
Publication Date:
10-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The report analysis the UN's role in the provision of four different forms of security – national, societal, human and environmental security – both in general terms and with regard to Africa. It also contacins brief surveys of the UN's collaboration with regional and subregional organisations and of envisaged UN reforms.
Topic:
Security, Politics, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa

539. The Challenges and Opportunities of Security Sector Reform in Post-conflict Liberia

Author:
Adedeji Ebo
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Liberia presents one of the most challenging contexts for post conflict reconstruction since the end of the Cold War, featuring a protracted civil war and the concomitant destruction of the state, society and economy. This Occasional Paper examines post conflict reconstruction in Liberia, with particular focus on the security sector. The paper argues that opportunities for security sector reform (SSR) are conditioned by the mutually reinforcing relationship between the state of security on the one hand, and the security of the state on the other. The prospects for stability and peacebuilding are enhanced by the extent to which SSR is predicated on the state of security broadly defined, as opposed to the narrower focus on the security of the state.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, and Development
Political Geography:
Africa and Liberia

540. Security Sector Governance in West Africa: Turning Principles to Practice

Author:
Alan Bryden, Boubacar N'Diaye, and 'Funmi Olonisakin
Publication Date:
11-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
While other regions of Africa have had their share of crises, the challenge of meeting numerous security threats has been particularly arduous in West Africa. Nevertheless, there are unmistakable signs that the sub-region is beginning to fully awaken to the need to tackle its security crisis. This article argues that although the creation of democratic spaces in democratising states or complete rebuilding of collapsed states provides greater opportunities for security sector reform (SSR), democratisation does not necessarily lead to democratic governance of the security sector. To illustrate these points, a categorisation is proposed, classifying each West African state against a number of 'signposts' linked to security sector governance. A combination of norm-setting at the sub-regional level as well as activism in the non-governmental sector across the region is driving the move (even if slow and seemingly uncoordinated) toward improved governance, including in the security sector at the national level. However, the commitment of states to principles of good governance at the inter-governmental level does not naturally lead to corresponding change within the state. There is therefore a clear need to promote a security sector governance (SSG) agenda at both sub-regional and national levels in order to expand the space for meaningful SSR processes in West Africa.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, and Defense Policy
Political Geography:
Africa