Regional Economic Communities and Peacebuilding in Africa: Lessons from ECOWAS and IGAD

This book explores challenges to the effective operation of regional economic communities (RECs) with regards to peacebuilding in Africa, focusing on inadequate technical capabilities, complicity of state and non-state actors in conflicts, domestic politics, and the peacebuilding nexus. It also examines provisioning, regionalism, and regional peacekeeping interventions, the legal and institutional framework of RECs, and civil society and peacebuilding. It asks how effective alliances and partnerships are in promoting regional peace and security and how much they are compromised by external powers and actors.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 226 pages
Publication date: 01 August 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive book delves into the complexities of regional economic communities (RECs) and their role in fostering peacebuilding in Africa. Through a rigorous interdisciplinary approach, it critically examines various challenges that hinder the effective functioning of these regional alliances. By comparing the status, roles, and performances of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the book sheds light on specific constraints that impede their active participation in regional initiatives.

Inadequate technical capabilities, the involvement of state and non-state actors in conflicts within a region, the domestic politics of member states, and related theories and practices of peacekeeping, security, development, and the peacebuilding nexus are all explored in depth. The book also engages with issues such as provisioning, regionalism, and regional peacekeeping interventions, the legal and institutional framework of RECs, and the role of civil society in peacebuilding.

At its core, the book seeks to answer the critical question of how effective alliances and partnerships are in promoting regional peace and security, and to what extent they are compromised by the intervention of external powers and actors. It presents innovative ideas and practical actions that can strengthen the capacities of RECs to address the complex peacebuilding challenges on the African continent effectively.

This book is of paramount interest to scholars and students of African politics and studies, peace and security studies, regionalism studies, policy practitioners in the field of African peacebuilding, and international relations scholars in general. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781003093695, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license, allowing for wide dissemination and reuse of the valuable insights it contains.

Weight: 460g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367556341