Publications

The geostrategic importance of Africa’s Gulf of Guinea region is growing. Oil and gas exports are rising, new oil-exporting countries such as Ghana are emerging, and China and other Asian economies are joining Europe and the USA as energy-hungry customers.

The security landscape in Mali has been for a long time marked by growing urban and suburban crimes, many community conflicts sometimes longstanding, recurrent rebellion in the North, educational crisis and demands for better working conditions which worsen the insecurity situation, etc. These scourges intensified in the 1990s due to the 2nd rebellion which engulfed Northern Mali (1990 – 1996), armed conflicts in the sub region and rising organized crime.

Fostering peace, security and democracy in West Africa is one of the main objectives of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). In 12 essays, young West African experts examine challenges and suggest some perspectives on the ECOWAS security architecture.

Elections are a backbone of democracy. In West Africa, however, elections are often contentious and triggers of violence. The comparative study at hand identifies similarities and differences in the set-up, roles and functioning of national electoral commissions in the 15 member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).