Benedikt Franke assesses the peace and security architecture that is taking shape under the nominal leadership of the African Union, analysing the emerging structures and trends and also rethinking prevailing notions and theoretical assumptions about interstate security relations.

As Africa’s strategic importance has increased over the past decade and a half, United States security cooperation with the continent has expanded. The most visible dimension of this increased engagement was the establishment of the U.S. Military Command for Africa (AFRICOM). Some critics are skeptical of AFRICOM’s purpose and see the militarization of U.S. Africa policy while others question its effectiveness. Recognizing the link between development and security, AFRICOM represents a departure from the traditional organization of military commands because of its holistic approach and the involvement of the Department of State as well as other U.S. government stakeholders. Nevertheless, AFRICOM’s effort to combine security and development faces formidable conceptual and operational challenges in trying to ensure both American and African security interests. The human security perspective’s emphasis on issues that go beyond traditional state-centered security to include protecting individuals from threats of hunger, disease, crime, environmental degradation, and political repression as well as focusing on social and economic justice is an important component of security policy. At the same time, the threat of violent extremism heavily influences U.S. security cooperation with Africa. In this examination of the context of U.S.-African security relations, Robert J. Griffiths outlines the nature of the African state, traces the contours of African conflict, surveys the post-independence history of U.S. involvement on the continent, and discusses policy organization and implementation and the impact of U.S. experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan on the U.S.-Africa security relationship. Africa’s continuing geostrategic significance, the influence of China and other emerging markets in the region, and America’s other global engagements, especially in light of U.S. fiscal realities, demonstrate the complexity of U.S.-African security cooperation.

This book investigates the expanding involvement of China in security cooperation in Africa. Drawing on leading and emerging scholars in the field, the volume uses a combination of analytical insights and case studies to unpack the complexity of security challenges confronting China and the continent. It interrogates how security considerations impact upon the growing economic and social links China has developed with African states.

This thesis argues that when West African states united to form the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), they did so for reasons very different from those that are advanced by most scholars and West African policy makers. The conventional wisdom holds that the ECOMOG intervention in Liberia was motivated by the desire of West African leaders to relieve the humanitarian disaster caused by the Liberian civil war. In contrast, I will argue that humanitarian considerations were far less important to the participating states than their desire to protect the political stability of their own regimes, which they believed would be threatened by a rebel victory over President Samuel Doe's Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL). In particular, they worried that a rebel victory in Liberia would constitute a dangerous precedent for other dissidents within the sub-region. Moreover, they were concerned that a Charles Taylor-controlled Liberia could become a "breeding ground" for similar insurgencies by dissidents fleeing their regimes.

On Feb. 6, 2007, the Bush Admin. announced the creation of a new unified combatant command, U.S. Africa Command or AFRICOM, to promote U.S. national security objectives in Africa and its surrounding waters. Prior to AFRICOM¿s establishment, U.S. military involvement on the continent was divided among 3 commands: European Command, Central Command, and Pacific Command. The new command¿s area of responsibility includes all African countries except Egypt. Contents of this report: (1) Issues for Congress; (2) The DoD Proposal for a New Africa Command; (3) U.S. Strategic Interests in Africa; (4) U.S. Mil. Assistance and Security Cooperation in Africa: An Expanding Role; (5) Regional Perspectives; (6) Congressional Interest and Oversight Issues.

This Discussion Paper provides the most up-to-date insights into Central Africa's peace and security architecture. Its breath and depth attest to a deep knowledge of the history and politics of regional cooperation in a region that has attracted less attention in the literature than West, East and Southern Africa. It provides readers with first-hand knowledge of regional cooperation and integration, and the expansion of this agenda in Central Africa to include peace and security issues. Dispassionate and clear insights are offered into the intra-regional dynamics of the regional peace and security institutions FOMAC and MICOPAX, the challenges and constraints confronting regional peace in Central Africa and the potential for change. It is essential reading for all those seeking a good grasp of the complex dimensions of peace and security in Central Africa and the prospects for the future.

Using ongoing missions in Africa as a case study, this research seeks to answer the question: is the United States Government pursuing an effective strategy for building security cooperation capacity within its partners and allies on the African Continent? It will pursue an answer to this question by first considering the current security cooperation missions being conducted on the African Continent, and compare these with security cooperation missions that have been, or are currently being conducted, in other geographical combatant commands area of responsibility around the world. It will then evaluate if there are security cooperation missions that are being conducted in other geographical combatant commands that can be applied to the Africa geographic combatant command area of responsibility. The U.S. has a long history of assisting underdeveloped countries through government agencies and the Department of Defense (DoD). The United States strategic plan is to conduct Phase Zero security cooperation operations with African partner nations. These security cooperation missions begin with stability assistance in the form of security, civil and medical support programs. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION * Overview * United States Africa Command * Definitions * Primary Research Question * Secondary Research Questions * Assumptions * Limitations and Delimitations * Conclusion * CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW * Introduction * Definition and Response to Security Cooperation Missions * Conclusion * CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY * Introduction * Historical and Comparative Study Methods * Models for Identification and Change * Evaluating Security Cooperation Missions * Methodological Approach * Threats to Validity * Conclusion * CHAPTER 4 PRESENTATION OF FACTS AND ANALYSIS * Introduction * Present Environment * Desired Environment * Problems Currently Facing Security Cooperation Missions * Depiction of the Operational Approach * Conclusions * CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS * Introduction * Conclusions * Recommendations * Closing Thoughts