Publications

This volume combines the contributions of participants of the “Get to Know the ECOWAS” Training programme form the classes of 2011 and 2012. It is the second publication in a series, which began in 2010 following a joint initiative of ECOWAS and the Friedrich-Ebert- Stiftung(FES) in 2010.

Nigeria, once well respected for its role in restoring stability in some conflict-torn states in West Africa, is now in need of the international community’s assistance to guarantee peace and security in her own territory. The growing campaign of violence led by the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah Lidda’awatiwal Jihad (People committed to the propagation of the prophet’s teachings and jihad), otherwise known as Boko haram, not only poses a serious threat to internal security in Nigeria, but may threaten regional stability in West Africa as a whole.

This publication seeks to examine the concrete security challenges resulting from the cross-border exchanges between Benin and Nigeria. This border has received increased attention due to fears of a spread of Boko Haram activities towards the neighbouring countries as well as regionally operating transnational organized crime networks that are often associated with terrorist activities.

Forms of Organized Crime in West Africa span from ALW proliferation to drug- trafficking, terrorism, and piracy This publication aims to stimulate the debate on the root causes and on actions to be taken to prevent such crimes.

This study argues that efforts to improve maritime security in the Horn of Africa region have assumed a certain pattern whereby the concerns and perspective of the developed world have tended to overshadow the agenda of the states in the region.

The content of African maritime security as an emerging policy field is contested. It can be located anywhere between traditional security politics (i.e. related to piracy, maritime terrorism and unregulated fishing), developmental and environmentalist concerns as well as efforts to regain economic sovereignty over African territorial and offshore waters.

Reports by the UN Office for Drug Control (UNODC) suggest that, over the past decade, transnational criminal networks have infiltrated West African polities up to the highest circles. By means of coercion and corruption, criminal elements are realising enormous profits while gaining influence over bodies politic on both the local and national levels.

Data compiled by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) suggests that West Africa has become a major hub of Organised Crime, both in terms of volume and quality. Transnational Crime has spread into all spheres of public life through trafficking, money laundering, and tax evasion. It is undermining state structures in virtually all West African countries.

Political ideologies are normally not easy to understand and to define. Too many descriptions of theories and interpretations have been published. Due to the fact that many people ask about the values and principles of Social Democracy, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung as a social democratic foundation tries to bring light into the darkness.

The national elections in Nigeria 2011 were labelled the freest and fairest in the history of the Nigerian democracy. Every election so far had been accompanied by violence but the outbreaks in Northern Nigeria 2011 reached a new level and are a testimony to the grievances in the region and the rising tension. Especially young adults were part of the crisis.