Publications

For more than a decade, the Sahel region has been caught up in a spiral of violence against which the security responses envisaged up to now appear less and less effective. The idea of negotiating with armed groups seems to be increasingly appealing to political actors in order to curb this phenomenon, which threatens stability and peace in the Sahel, particularly in the Liptako Gourma region: Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

For two decades already, the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) has guided African and external stakeholders engagement for peace and security in Africa. Over time, a double crisis of lacking political will and low adaptedness to new forms of conflict challenged APSA implementation. Overcoming these challenges will require a concerted effort by all APSA stakeholders. This policy brief provides a succinct, policy-relevant summary of FES’s New Approaches to Collective Security project roll-out, based on an extensive scenario-building and consultation process with stakeholders in numerous AU member states and multilateral hubs, including Addis Ababa, Brussels, and New York. This policy brief summarizes key findings and formulates actionable policy recommendations on principles, activities and priorities that African and European stakeholders could pursue.

The transition program of the coalition government led by president Adama BARROW has faced several agenda setbacks, resulting in various failed promises. However, the democratic space created by the December 2016 to January 2017 regime change resulted in the registration of more political parties, many more media houses. All indications point to this presidential election already being the most closely contested in the history of the Gambia. This Policy paper looks the various variables of the political developments that occurred in The Gambia’s, along with the issues at stake in the Presidential Elections slated for 4 December 2021.

After 22 years of autocratic rule, President Yahya JAMMEH had to give way to President Adama BARROW. The new government has undertaken a series of reforms aimed at promoting respect for human rights and the rule of law and restoring public confidence, among others. Among the initiatives launched by the government is the establishment of a truth, reconciliation and reparations commission. This commission had generated a lot of interest, especially from the many women who were affected by the atrocities of the former Yahya JAMMEH regime. However, it seems that this commission did not really give the women the result they had hoped for.

This report is based on three workshops on Violent Extremism in Mozambique and the Southern African region, hosted by the Centre for International and Strategic Studies (CEEI) and the Southern African Defence and Security Management Network (SADSEM), and supported by the Maputo Office of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES). An inclusive workshop report titled ‘Managing Violent Extremism in Africa: Lessons, Strategic Options for Mozambique and Southern Africa and Institutional Responses’ (CEEI, SADSEM, FES) is available upon request.

When we consider the problem of institutional impunity, what immediately leaps to mind after long-term observation of countries in armed conflict in the field is the paradox between the massive military and security resources invested, the presence of judicial institutions with a whole array of instruments, laws, standards, and conventions, and the apparent inadequacy of the outcomes in terms of protection of civilians’ security and human rights.

Like in many developing countries that are highly fractionalized, ethnic crisis ranks amongst many security challenges bedevilling Nigeria, making Nigeria loosely a country at war with itself. This situation magnifies Nigeria’s political instability and the efforts of security agencies to address the range of insecurity issues which beyond fractionalization crisis encircle terrorism, banditry, ritual killings, armed robbery and kidnapping.

Government has unwittingly allowed the responsibility for security to transfer vicariously to the citizens and state while rebuffing devolution of statutory security responsibilities by not acceding to the formation of state police. There is thus a perceived need for decentralization of Nigeria Police in tandem with dictates of federalism. Yet, efforts to restructure the Nigeria Police is still fraught with definitional, conceptual and systemic challenges.

Nigeria is witnessing the escalation of violence and conflicts across the board. While the incidents have led to thousands of losses to lives and then the destruction of livelihood, it has seemingly overwhelmed Nigeria's security operatives. The Southeast region, which used to be one of Nigeria's relatively peaceful zones, has witnessed rising violence. The past couple of months have been dreadful, given the region's rise of violence and security uncertainties. About 254 people were killed in 63 incidents recorded in the first five months of 2021.

Nigeria, as a democratising state, is caught in the web of balancing civil control over its military, which has over the years dominated its political space. With the growing insecurity and conflicts in the country such as insurgency, cultism, kidnapping, vandalism, terrorism and armed banditry, the presence of the military in the civilian spaces and activities continue to grow. While the military is invited to help in providing security and safeguard the public spaces, their relationship with the citizens in many cases have turned sour, as in some cases, the fundamental rights or the constitutional rights of the citizens are either breached or violated.