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This paper introduces the Special Issue that grew out of a research project at the African Leadership Centre, which was supported by the Canadian International Centre for Development Research (IDRC...

This paper does not directly engage the state-formation, political settlement and state-building debates in Africa but it foregrounds the notion of conversation as the lens through which to examine...

This paper systematically maps the field of scholarly works on the theme of youth and violent conflict in Africa. It reviews the evidentiary base of the nexus between youth and violent conflicts in...

This article offers reflections on the meaning of peace and peace-building in Africa and proposes a reframing of the state-building problematic. It argues for a shift in analytical lens by providin...

This article sets the theme for this issue. Weberian understanding of statehood has been valid and dominant for 100 years. However, it no longer reflects the complex dynamics of the superstructure resting on the social contract. One must acknowledge the widening frame of social and political influence and take it into account to make true sense of decades of failure in attempted state-building. Africa provides the scene for this argument as original focus of an ALC research project on the State in, and of, the Global South. Resulting from empirical evidence and analysis, this article not only offers the post-Weberian model of Extended Statehood, but also suggests its applicability within the realities of multilevel governance. Formal political order, even if remaining essential, has become a co-dependent element subject to fluctuating spheres of power. This research makes such dynamics visible.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the need for states to strike a delicate balance between implementing measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, and respecting the rights and dignity of the popu...

Seen through the eyes of its ‘beholders’, Peace has many meanings and it is multidimensional in its manifestations. From multilevel sites—local, national, regional and global—beholders construct vi...

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This article is motivated in part by the need to respond to the classical peacebuilding dilemma of ‘conflict relapse’. It finds that international peacebuilding efforts rely overwhelmingly on person and position-based leadership perspectives, which provide mixed results at best. It argues that a process-based approach to leadership, rather than one that narrowly focuses only on particular personalities or individuals in formal positions of authority, offers a potential for peaceful solutions that are the product of interaction between those offering peace ideas and the whole of the affected society in response to their common situation. The paper thus proposes a framework for analysis and action in pursuit of sustainable peace. Questions that go to the heart of efforts to study and navigate a path to stable peace in a given situation should be systematically framed to take the following five things into account: the predominant situation; the degree of mutuality; the domains and societal levels in which emergent leadership is occurring to build a shared response to the situation; the quality of the leadership process – how influence is being exchanged between leaders and followers across domains and levels; and the degree of leadership effectiveness and movement toward peace or a return to conflict. This provides opportunities for peacemakers to pursue an inclusive, all-encompassing peace that can be sustained, not least because it concentrates attention on mutually held goals by people of the target society and their leaders.

This article explores the convergence between three pillars of influence – feminist security studies, civil society activism and policy decision-making – and its role in the adoption and implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325. It argues that these three pillars, individually and collectively, have made important contributions to the debate and action on the gender and security agenda, but that they remain organically disconnected. Their convergence has the potential to achieve path-breaking results in the sphere of gender and security, whilst their divergence makes transformation unattainable. We show the disconnect in the application of UNSCR 1325 in Africa and argue that this is partly the reason why, despite enormous efforts, the gains realised in terms of gender equality in the peace and security arena have been negligible.

By 2000, ‘radicalisation’ had become a major global issue. Although ‘9/11’ was still a year away, the American Embassies in East Africa had been bombed in 1998 and violent conflicts simmered in many parts of the world. At just about the same time, bitter civil wars, resource-centred conflicts and intra-ethnic strife raged in West Africa. Against the background of research being undertaken at King's College London,1 the mutually reinforcing links between ‘radicalisation’ and ‘violence’ (potentially sensitive terms, discussed below) in West Africa became clearly obvious and a successful application to investigate this was submitted to the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).2 This Special Issue contains articles emerging from that work, with a set of country studies complemented by overarching synthetic analysis.

I am proud to say that I taught Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem at Bayero University Kano. Indeed, whenever I was in his company I always expected the familiar introduction: ‘”AB Zack”’ (as he liked to call ...

This article argues that the West African subregion has radically shifted its approach to security from a state‐centred framework to one that now encompasses human security concerns. Civil society is now an active part of the regional security decision‐making processes. While it has been difficult to transform local‐level civil society engagement into a large‐scale regional involvement, civil society engagement with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has nonetheless become more focused and effective. This article explains this transformation in the regional security agenda and ECOWAS‐civil society collaboration, contending that the institutionalisation of the latter has had a mutually beneficial impact. It concludes with a discussion of the challenges that lie ahead for this relationship and the process of movement building.

The UK's work in reforming security institutions in Sierra Leone is widely held as representing an example of successful SSR. Basic capacity and public trust has been restored in politicized and debilitated police and military institutions. It provided much needed confidence to people who no longer had faith in their own security institutions, and it created the stable, secure environment in which SSR could take place. This article offers the personal impressions and reflections of individuals actively involved in police and military reform. Three themes and policy dilemmas emerge from Sierra Leone's experience: the disconnection between policy and practice in the process; the difficulty of managing a process of comprehensive reform; and the question of sustainablity.

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, through its collective regional integration instrument, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the sub-region is beginning to awaken fully to the need to tackle its security crisis. This article makes two interrelated arguments. First, although the creation of democratic spaces in democratizing states, or complete rebuilding of collapsed states, provides greater opportunities for security sector reform (SSR), the relationship between democratization and democratic governance of the security sector is less clear. Second, 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 leve...

This article charts the course of regional crisis in West Africa since 1999 and assesses the extent to which the United Nations (UN) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) succeeded in preventing an escalation of crisis in that sub‐region. It argues that although windows of opportunity existed for preventing the escalation of conflict and attention was sometimes paid to warning signs, the UN and ECOWAS had limited success largely because the regional dimensions of the conflicts were not recognized earlier. Additionally, while there has been increased collaboration between the UN and ECOWAS in response to regional crisis, these efforts are hampered by the absence of a systematized base of operations. This paper discusses the experience of the last five years and concludes that ECOWAS has not only become more responsive but has developed an evolving political framework for early action which could be greatly improved with coordinated and targeted support from the UN.

(2000). Economic fragility and political fluidity: Explaining natural resources and conflicts. International Peacekeeping: Vol. 7, Managing Armed Conflicts in the 21st Century, pp. 23-36.

To the residents of the target community, humanitarian intervention connotes an act of benevolence, which will ease their suffering and ensure the protection of human rights. However, such interventions and the eventual conduct of troops, no matter how well meaning, rarely produce this outcome. Liberia and Somalia are just two examples. This article, through an analysis of the ECOMOG intervention in Liberia, examines the human rights issues brought about in ‘humanitarian missions’, particularly in instances of peacekeeping and peace enforcement. It argues that there are inherent contradictions in peace enforcement operations and efforts to protect human rights and that the institutional set‐up of the organisation authorising these operations will determine the extent to which human rights violations can be curbed. The article discusses the impact of the ECOMOG operations on human rights in Liberia and how the institutional values of the parent organisation, ECOWAS, affected the conduct of the troops. It c...

The end of the Cold War altered the perspective of conflict resolution globally. One such alteration is the transformed nature of the tasks performed by the military in operations designed to control violent conflicts. Some of the most significant changes have occurred in Africa, where peacekeeping has escalated beyond traditionally accepted principle to include enforcement in a bid to control destructive internal conflicts (e.g., Liberia and Somalia). This article argues that the decline in Africa's strategic importance has compelled Africans to take greater responsibility for the resolution of conflicts in their region, and to employ more severe strategies in dealing with these conflicts. It also analyzes Africa's major peacekeeping operations, and contrasts the traditional peacekeeping strategy employed by the OAU force in Chad with the more severe strategy employed by ECOWAS in Liberia.

1. Introduction: Militancy and Violence in West Africa, James Gow and 'Funmi Olonisakin 2. Religion, Radicalization and Violence, Abdullah al-Saud and James Gow 3. Islamic Radicalization and Violence in Nigeria, Abiodun Alao 4. Islamic Radicalization and Violence in Ghana, Kwesi Aning and Mustapha Abdallah 5. Islamic Radicalisation and Violence in Liberia, Thomas Jaye and Abiodun Alao 6. Religious Militancy and Violence in West Africa: A Study of Islam in Sierra Leone, Kevin A. O'Brien and Ismail Rashid 7. Beyond Anglophone West Africa: Endemic Conflicts and Now Islamic Radicalism, Ernst Dijxhoorn and Boubacar N'Diaye 8. The Regional and International Implications of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism in West Africa, Olawale Ismail

The burden placed on the UN in the aftermath of the Cold War by the numerous intrastate conflicts around the globe has increased the demand for co‐operation with regional organizations. The Liberian civil war presented an opportunity for the UN to work together with a regional peacekeeping force in a joint operation, under the provisions of one agreement. The Security Council described this as ‘the first peacekeeping mission undertaken by the United Nations in co‐operation with a peacekeeping mission already set up by another organization.’ This article discusses the challenges of this experience. It argues that if such an effort is to be successful, the concept of collaboration must be developed to include an effective strategy whereby the UN retains overall political control of the operation.

As Ball's paper underscores, democratic governance of the security sector plays a crucial role in attaining a secure and peaceful environment in which states and peoples can seek prosperity. As par...

This chapter begins from the premise that people and states must be secure from the fear of violence at the local, national, regional, and international levels if an enabling environment for sustainable political and economic development is to be created. This means both that states must be adequately protected against external aggression and internal subversion, and that the lives of ordinary citizens must not be crippled by state repression, violent conflict, or rampant criminality.

Part 1: Introduction 1. Introduction Karen Barnes and 'Funmi Olonisakin 2. The Evolution and Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325: An Overview Karen Barnes Part 2: Country Case Studies 3. Kosovo Gendered Violence and UNSCR 1325: Shifting paradigms on Women, Peace and Security Catherina H. Hall-Martin 4. Security Council Resolution 1325 Implementation in Liberia: Dilemmas and Challenges E. Njoki Wamai 5. Nepal and the Implementation of United Nations Security Council 1325 Lesley Abdela 6. Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in Nigeria Eka Ikpe 7. Rwanda and the Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 Kiri-Ann E. Richardson Olney 8. Lost in Translation? UNAMSIL, Security Council Resolution 1325 and Women Building Peace in Sierra Leone Karen Barnes 9. The Impact of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and Peacekeeping Operations in Sudan Gihan Eltahir 10. Women and Gender Issues in Peacebuilding: Lessons Learned from Timor-Leste Sumie Nakaya Part 3: Regional Case Studies 11. The African Union and Implementation of UNSCR 1325 Bineta Diop 12. The Gender Dimensions of the ECOWAS Peace and Security Architecture: a Regional Perspective on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 Awa Ceesay- Ebo 13. A look at Security Council Resolution 1325 in SADC Nyaradzo Machingambi-Pariola 14. Turning policies into action? The European Union and the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 Karen Barnes Part 4: Conclusion 15. Conclusion 'Funmi Olonisakin and Eka Ikpe