ABSTRACT Under the umbrella of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), the African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have intervened in violent conflicts using a number of non-military tools. In the first section, after unpacking the institutional pillars of the APSA, this article will take a closer look at the non-military tools for conflict management and prevention (including ‘(preventive) diplomacy’ and ‘mediation’), to be distinguished from military tools, such as peace support operations. The article will also explore the linkages between the APSA and the African Governance Architecture (AGA), especially concerning political and election related violence. In a third section, the article will further discuss selected findings of research conducted by the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) on the nature and effectiveness of interventions by the AU and RECs under the APSA for the years 2013–2016 and discuss these within a broader political context defined by two key parameters, i.e. the lack of a shared understanding of subsidiarity and the principle of sovereignty as opposed to non-indifference. In conclusion, the article will assess some of the challenges from conflict management and prevention under the APSA in the context of new developments and the recently launched AU institutional reforms process. Despite these challenges, our research findings confirm a general observation by APSA stakeholders and observers that the APSA has been a useful framework to promote peace and security across the African continent.

中文翻译：

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非洲联盟非洲和平与安全架构（APSA）下的冲突管理与预防

摘要在非洲和平与安全架构（APSA）的保护下，非洲联盟（AU）和区域经济共同体（REC）使用多种非军事工具干预了暴力冲突。在第一部分中，在剖析了APSA的体制基础之后，本文将仔细研究用于冲突管理和预防的非军事工具（包括“（预防）外交”和“调解”），以区别于军事工具，例如和平支援行动。本文还将探讨APSA与非洲治理架构（AGA）之间的联系，尤其是在与政治和选举有关的暴力方面。在第三部分中 本文将进一步讨论由欧洲发展政策管理中心（ECDPM）进行的关于非盟和REC在APSA下2013-2016年干预措施的性质和有效性的研究的部分研究结果，并在更广泛的政治背景下进行讨论由两个关键参数定义，即缺乏对辅助性的共同理解以及与非漠视相反的主权原则。总而言之，本文将评估在新动态和最近启动的非盟机构改革过程中，APSA下冲突管理和预防所带来的一些挑战。尽管有这些挑战，