Regional Security Governance in West Africa and the contribution of German foreign policy
In recent years, West Africa has gained increasing significance for Europe, while it is no direct neighbouring region. Among the reasons for this shifting attention are (1) the destabilization of statehood by both state and non-state actors of violence, mainly rooted in unintended consequences of Western military intervention in Libya in 2011; (2) in particular the rise of Islamist terrorism; (3) the expansion of drug trafficking networks; (4) the progressive desertification of the Sahel region as well as miserable economic prospects, linked to the other mentioned developments (5) the rise in migration to Europe.
In the European Union and Germany there is a broad consensus that current challenges require a coordinated response in development cooperation as well as economic and security-related support (cf. Afrika-Konzept der Bundesregierung 2014) – but it lacks a consistent policy and practice. Germany is engaged in West Africa on a bilateral level and within the framework of the European Union; moreover, since 2013 it makes military contributions in Mali and for a short-term in the Central African Republic. The reinforcement of the regional organization Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in terms of its security capability is an explicit goal of German foreign policy.
Professor Staack has long been working on Regional Security Governance, in particular regarding processes of regional cooperation and integration in Europe (cf. OSCE, NATO and EU/CFSP), and East Asia. Departing from this theoretical and conceptional basis, West Africa is the third regional focus. Two major issues stand in the foreground:
- The analysis of cooperation patterns in security policy and opportunities of community building within ECOWAS with a particular focus on the role of external actors.
- The conceptional orientation and practical implementation of the German development-, foreign- and security policy in West Africa in consideration of its involvement in the EU and potential conflicts in the context of German-French partnership.
Letzte Änderung: 1. Juli 2019