Conflict Prevention in West Africa: Collaboration between Regional Organizations and Civil Society Organizations

Abstract

Since the 1990s, numerous armed conflicts have erupted across Africa. In response, regional organizations on the continent, such as the African Union (AU), have actively participated in peace operations despite their limited capacity. How have African regional organizations conducted peace operations despite capacity constraints? Previous studies have primarily focused on the relationship between African regional organizations and external institutions such as the United Nations. These studies emphasized that African regional organizations could have limited initiatives for their peace operations due to their dependence on external support. However, in reality, to conduct peace operations and information gathering on the fields, African regional organizations actively collaborate with civil society organizations (CSOs). Notably, since the 2010s, there has been a growing trend among regional organizations to expand the involvement of CSOs in policymaking processes, meaning the expansion of the significance of CSOs in peace operations in African regional organizations. Therefore, this paper examines the relationships between African regional organizations and African CSOs in peace operations.

To address this objective, this article focuses specifically on conflict prevention by AU and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Although conflict prevention has historically received less attention, it is increasingly regarded as crucial since its cost-effectiveness compared to other types of operations. In Africa, ECOWAS has been a pioneer, establishing the mechanism of conflict prevention as early as the 1990s. Then, AU has been developing that mechanism in collaboration with sub-regional organizations since the 2000s. Therefore, this paper examines conflict prevention practiced by AU and ECOWAS in corporation with African CSOs.

Under the analytical perspectives outlined above, this paper has clarified two points. Firstly, the AU and ECOWAS have integrated the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), a CSO, into their conflict prevention mechanisms. Consequently, AU and ECOWAS have relied on WANEP for the monitoring and early warning. Besides, to ensure swift early responses, ECOWAS and the AU have undertaken organizational reforms to streamline internal information transmission since the 2010. These reforms have enhanced early response systems in West Africa led not only by regional organizations but also by individual countries and CSOs.

Secondly, the AU, ECOWAS, and CSOs such as WANEP have developed this collaborative framework for conflict prevention to address limitations each other. In other words, African regional organizations, which face constraints such as limited funding and human resources, are not solely dependent on external support. Instead, they actively engage in peacebuilding efforts through partnerships with actors within the continent. This represents one pathway toward realizing the principle of “African solutions to African problems.”