Spatializing Practices of Regional Organizations during Conflict Intervention: The Politics of ECOWAS and the African Union

This book explores the role of African regional organizations in conflict intervention and their intimate connection to space-making. It argues that intervention practices are essentially spatializing practices, contributing to the construction and formatting of regional spaces and ordering relations between them. It provides a new theory-oriented analytical approach to study African regional organizations and their complex dynamics of African peace and security, based on insights from Critical Geography.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 226 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive book delves into the pertinent actors and practices of conflict intervention by African regional organizations, shedding light on their intimate connection to space-making. By undertaking extensive empirical research, it compellingly argues that these intervention practices are, in essence, spatializing practices, rooted in specific spatial imaginations, which play a crucial role in the ongoing construction and formatting of regional spaces as well as in establishing the dynamics between different regional spaces. Through an analytical approach informed by Critical Geography, the book offers a novel theory-oriented perspective to study African regional organizations (ROs) and the intricate dynamics of African peace and security. By addressing a significant gap regarding the internal workings and theorization of African ROs, it demonstrates that intervention practices within these organizations have been diverse and intricately interconnected, involving a range of actors both within and around these organizations. Moreover, it underscores the fundamental link between intervention practices and space-making, highlighting the ways in which these practices contribute to the shaping and reconfiguration of regional landscapes. This book holds immense value for students and scholars engaged in the fields of African Politics, Governance, Peace and Security Studies, International or Regional Organizations, and Comparative Regionalism, International Relations, and International Studies. Its insights and findings will deepen our understanding of the complex dynamics shaping African regional affairs and provide valuable contributions to the broader discourse on international relations and regional cooperation.

Weight: 444g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367618070