Routledge Handbook of African Security

This new Handbook examines the issues, challenges and debates surrounding the problem of security in Africa.

Africa is home to most of the world's current conflicts and security is a key issue there. However, African security can only be understood by employing different levels of analysis: the individual (human security), the state (national/state security), and the region (regional/international security). Each of these levels provides analytical tools for understanding what could be called the 'African security predicament'. These debates are animated by what are sometimes called the 'new security‘ issues: immigration, small arms transfers, gangs and domestic crime, HIV/AIDS, transnational crime, poverty, and environmental degradation. African security therefore not only presents concrete challenges for international security but provides a real-word context for challenging conventional conceptions of security.

This Handbook engages with these debates, and is organized into four parts:

Part 1 sets the stage by discussing the African Security Predicament in the 21st century. It addresses the central issues in African security; the nature of conflict and war in Africa; the broad debate over how to define security in Africa (human security versus national security); where there are regions of war in Africa, and where there are regions of peace in Africa.

Part 2 is on understanding conflict in Africa. It delineates and discuss different types of conflict in Africa and what it tells us about African security – e.g. warlord wars, coup d’etats, civil wars, separatism, insurgencies, and wars across states. It discusses the debate on the causes of wars; both direct ('greed versus grievance‘), and indirect, humanitarian aid and conflict, environmental degradation, and identity politics.

Part 3 is on regionalism and security in Africa. It addresses conceptual issues in African security that are best captured by a regional approach, including economic wars zones, conflict zones, and wars across states. It looks at the evolving role of the African Union in Africa security, including its new Peace and Security Architecture; the role of specific regional organizations, and the role of Africa’s Standby Brigades.

Part 4 looks at external influences on African Security. It includes individual chapters on the major powers and Africa including: China, the EU, The US, France, and Arab-African relations.

This Handbook will be of great interest to students of African politics, human security, global security, war and conflict studies, peacebuilding and IR in general.