ECAS 2013

The West Africa Sub-Region has witnessed series of political disputes and civil wars, with ominous consequences for peace, security and development in the sub-region. With the turn of events in some countries within the sub-region, such as insurgences in Liberia (1989, 1992, 2003), Sierra Leone (1997) Guinea Bisau (2002), Cote d Ivoire (2002) and the deteriorating security situation in the Northern parts of Mali and Niger and its adverse consequences on the security of the neighbouring countries, prompted ECOWAS to re-address the issue of conflict management, peacemaking, peacebuilding, post-conflict reconstruction, conflict prevention and early-warning. In 2008, as part of ECOWAS commitment towards restoring peace after conflicts, good governance and sustainable development, they came up with the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework (ECPF). This study therefore attempts to shed light on the controversial issues and challenges before the ECOWAS vis-à-vis the mechanism for conflict prevention, management and resolution in the sub-region. If by design or omission ECOWAS and other stakeholders are increasingly expected by the international community to take more responsibility for peace and security in West African sub-region, what must the organisation put in place in order to be able to successfully manage and prevent conflict in the sub-region? Again, has the ECOWAS acted as an effective regulator of conflict management, taking into consideration its peace building efforts in West Africa?

Keywords: Security, Peace, Development, Sub-Region, Insurgency, Conflict Management, Peace Building, Conflict

This paper examines the widely acknowledged contended priority focus of ECOWAS between economic development and peace and security from the organization's inception to date. It reflects on the context within which this contention has occurred with a focus on the evolving discourses on economic development and security in intellectual and policy terms. The paper addresses the central question of whether ECOWAS can be adjudged as successful within the economic sphere, vis-à-vis politics and security on the basis of its founding principles. In doing so it considers how ECOWAS has/has not influenced traditional economic transformation processes and outcomes for the regional economic market. To do this, the paper draws on classical development economics by considering how ECOWAS policies have interacted with the traditional constraints on structural transformation and industrialization. The paper does so bearing in the mind ECOWAS-peculiar factors including: intra-regional country relations, socio-political history and contemporary trends, the supranationality principle and global economic relationships with West Africa. The paper's findings are significant for comprehending the relevance of the organization to enhancing the region's prospects in a rapidly changing global political economy. In addition, this case study presents a framework that will be of value to reflections on the experiences of other regional organizations within a similar milieu in Africa and beyond.

Since 2003, regional Central African troops have been deployed in the Central African Republic (CAR) - first with the multinational force FOMUC, and from 2008 with the peace consolidation mission MICOPAX - in response to subsequent political crises, rebellions and attempted and successful coups d'Etats. After 10 years of regional involvement that aimed at promoting peace and security in the CAR, the balance is however rather poor and disturbing. Whereas the troops prepare their withdrawal by the end of 2013, the situation in the CAR remains alarming, with very fragile and vulnerable political and security conditions, a high level of violence and criminality all over the territory, and severe humanitarian and socio-economic problems. Especially the latest rebel advances in December 2012 are highly embarrassing the internal, regional and external stakeholders and questioning their approach towards effectively stabilizing the security situation in the country. Starting with a review of the December 2012 events and their handling, the paper takes stock of the last 10 years of regional security cooperation and troop deployment in the CAR. It argues that a major failure of the current approach lies in its narrow focus on military activities, whereas social issues and civil involvement have been largely neglected. As broader human security needs and rapidly changing regional security constellations are likely to fuel conflicts, creating peace and security in a sustainable way (more than ever) requires a regional approach that addresses structural mainly non-military causes of instability.