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Learning on the edge: Impacts of banditry on education and strategic options for resilience in northwest Nigeria African Security Review Pub Date : 2024-03-12 Oluwole Ojewale
The aim of this study is to analyse the dynamics of violence against educational facilities and students in northwest Nigeria, specifically carried out by bandits. By employing qualitative and quan...
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Predatory rule and the rise of military coups: Insights from the 2020 Malian case African Security Review Pub Date : 2024-02-15 Deretha Bester
This research employs a theoretical framework to investigate the interplay between factors that lead from predatory governance and predatory rule to military coups, utilising the frustration-aggres...
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Critical factors to consider in the trade–security nexus of the African Continental Free Trade Area: A catalyst for establishing peace African Security Review Pub Date : 2024-02-14 Juliet Eileen Joseph
This study examines the geostrategic importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), discusses its potential trade impacts on African states, and considers whether it could support ...
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Reinserting ex-associates of Boko Haram in Cameroon African Security Review Pub Date : 2024-02-13 Melchisedek Chétima, Mbarkoutou Mahamat, Gigla Garaktcheme
In November 2018, the State of Cameroon announced the creation of the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR) to organise, supervise and manage the disarmament,...
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Conflict resolution from below: The case of local peace committees in North Wollo Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia African Security Review Pub Date : 2024-02-08 Belay Asmare Aragaw
The objective of this study is to examine the processes, methods of conflict resolution, and methods of offender-community re-integration used by the local peace committees (LPCs). To achieve these...
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Assessing the role of the United Nations in countering terrorism in Africa: A case study of the Lake Chad Basin African Security Review Pub Date : 2024-02-04 Lukong Stella Shulika, Mahtab Shafiei
This study examines the United Nations’ counterterrorism efforts in the Lake Chad Basin (LCB), with a focus on the persistent challenges posed by the Boko Haram insurgency. Using a critical analysi...
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Exploring hybrid security strategies in Ghana: State and private sector partnerships African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-12-03 Sebastian Angzoorokuu Paalo, Dominic Degraft Arthur, Aminu Dramani, Samuel Adu-Gyamfi
Mounting security challenges in the Global South provoke scholarly discussions on multi-actor and multi-dimensional interventions, especially the role of private security organisations. Yet, while ...
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Preventing the spread of violent extremism in Africa: An examination of al-Shabaab and Boko Haram and lessons for Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama in Mozambique African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-11-26 Silas Malemo Juma, Kizito Sabala
This article examines the growth, development, and spread of Boko Haram in West Africa and al-Shabaab in Eastern Africa with a view to drawing lessons to prevent the similar development of Ahlu Sun...
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Perception of police misconduct and satisfaction with police: The role of confidence in police and legitimisation African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-11-16 Adeola Samuel Adebusuyi, Odunayo Oluwasanmi Oluwafemi, Hauwa Mary Aigboje
Anchored on the social exchange theory, this study investigated citizens’ perception of police misconduct on satisfaction with police through the mediating influence of confidence in the police and...
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Experiences of community policing forum members in liaison with SAPS, private security and community members regarding community policing African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-11-16 Angelique Antoinette Wantenaar, Doraval Govender
Community policing plays a pivotal role both nationally and internationally in the reduction of crime. The purpose of this study is to highlight how community policing forum (CPF) members experienc...
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Unethical practices and the role of traditional ruler-ship institutions in modern conflict resolution in Tivland, Nigeria African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-10-31 Emmanuel Ezeani, Emmanuel Terkimbi Akov, Kingsley Ekene Okoye
In the past decade, there has been a surge in deadly internal conflicts in Nigeria. The state’s failure to decisively address violent skirmishes through its modern conflict-resolution mechanisms ha...
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Merchants of terror: Proliferation of small arms and light weapons and human security challenges in Nigeria African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-10-31 Uchenna A. Aja
In recent years, Nigeria’s security architecture has deteriorated due to conflicts and acts of violent extremism by non-state actors in possession of SALWs. Therefore, the proliferation of small ar...
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Boko Haram: Kidnapping as theatre African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-09-25 Emma Leonard Boyle
In this paper I explore one specific type of violence that has not been the focus of significant research within Political Science: the kidnapping of girls and young women as an act of retaliation ...
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Border closure and border governance dialectics in Nigeria African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-09-13 Aminu Idris, Nsemba Edward Lenshie, Buhari Shehu Miapyen
Nigeria has 86 legal access points and over 1400 illicit ones, indicating some of the world's most porous borders. Numerous transnational crimes flourish along Nigeria's borders with other neighbou...
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Rethinking community security in Uganda: Integrating community policing with intelligence-led policing African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-09-04 Anne Abaho
Contemporary changes in crime reveal the need to enhance law enforcement methods such as Community Policing with intelligence-based approaches for sustained community–police partnerships and improv...
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Shock and awe: Military response to armed banditry and the prospects of internal security operations in Northwest Nigeria African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-08-20 Folahanmi Aina, John Sunday Ojo, Samuel Oyewole
ABSTRACT Insecurity has worsened in Northwest Nigeria, due to the threat of armed banditry, necessitating the deployments and operations of the military. While there is increasing academic attention on the origins, causes, and nature of this threat, the conduct, achievements, prospects, and challenges of the military’s counter-banditism response in the region remains understudied. Accordingly, foregrounded
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Generation three and a half peacekeeping: Understanding the evolutionary character of African-led Peace Support Operations African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-08-09 Andrew E. Yaw Tchie
ABSTRACT African-led Peace Support Operations (PSOs) were established to support the African peace and security architecture by developing integrated capacities for deployment in crises. However, since the deployment of the first African-led PSOs, there has also been the emergence of new types of African-led PSOs, such as the African Union Mission in Somalia; the Lake Chad Basin Commission Multinational
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Editorial 32 (2) African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-08-01 Dries Velthuizen, Lisa Otto
Published in African Security Review (Vol. 32, No. 2, 2023)
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Towards transformative reforms: The significance of political and economic reconciliation in Zimbabwe African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-07-06 Darlington Mutanda
Based on essentially two critical challenges Zimbabwe has faced in the past and in the present - democratisation deficiency and deepening poverty, this article argues for political and economic rec...
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The case for drones in counter-insurgency operations in West African Sahel African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-06-11 Francis N. Okpaleke, Bernard Ugochukwu Nwosu, Chukwuma Rowland Okoli, Ezenwa E. Olumba
The security situation in the Sahel region has been deteriorating with a consistent increase in violence. Despite tens of thousands of international troops in the region for over a decade, little h...
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Terrorism against healthcare facilities and workers in Africa: An assessment of attack modes, targets and locations African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-06-04 János Besenyő, Ryan Shaffer
ABSTRACT This article analyses nearly 600 terrorist attacks against healthcare facilities and workers in Africa between 1974 and 2021. It demonstrates there has been a notable increase in the number of terrorist attacks on these targets and explores the different attack modes, targets, and locations. The article describes how the attacks have transformed over the last nearly fifty years, becoming increasingly
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Neither child soldier nor warlord but a survivor: Dominic Ongwen and the need for survivors’ justice in international criminal justice African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-06-04 Everisto Benyera
ABSTRACT The complications presented to international criminal justice in general and to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in particular by individuals who at one time were victims such as those abducted as ‘child soldiers’ who later became Warlords, deserve to be revisted and unpacked. One such character is Dominic Ongwen who is a typical example of both a victim and a perpetrator of gross violations
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Editorial 32/1 African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-05-16 Dries Velthuizen, Lisa Otto
Published in African Security Review (Vol. 32, No. 1, 2023)
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Civil society and peacebuilding in Zimbabwe’s 2018 elections African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-05-11 Musiwaro Ndakaripa
ABSTRACT Zimbabwe’s 30 July 2018 elections took place after ‘a military assisted transition’ that ousted Robert Mugabe and installed Emmerson Mnangagwa as president in November 2017. Initially, the new government projected a reformist image and gave civil society hope for a democratic dispensation. Using the ‘local approach’ framework of analysis, this article examines the role played by civil society
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Why West African states do not go to war with each other: ‘Pan-West Africanism’ and constructivist international relations African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-05-01 Abubakar Abubakar Usman, Hakeem Onapajo
ABSTRACT Realism and liberalism theories have had the most significant influence on the analyses for international relations. While the theories have proven useful in enriching understanding of complex situations at the regional level, both are insufficient in explaining the absence of violent inter-state conflicts in West Africa. This article argues that realism and liberalism cannot explain the absence
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Safety training deficiency, threats and adaptive measures among journalists reporting violent conflict in North East Nigeria African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-05-01 Umaru A. Pate, Abubakar Jibril
ABSTRACT This study appraises the mainstreaming and teaching of safety in journalism training institutions in Nigeria and interrogates the effectiveness of the safety measures available to safeguard the lives of journalists reporting from conflict areas in the North East geopolitical zone. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 journalists representing a range of media organisations who had been
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Analysing election-related violence in the 2011 national elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-04-26 T. D. Tumba
ABSTRACT This study seeks to explore the triggers, perpetrators and consequences of electoral violence in the 2011 national elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). From the perspective of different domestic and international electoral observers, the 2011 elections in the DRC were marred by violence. A qualitative approach based on secondary resources was employed to achieve the purpose
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Maritime piracy: Determining factors and the role of deterrence African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-04-24 Anna Triantafillou, Ioanna Bardaka, Ioannis Vrettakos, George Zombanakis
ABSTRACT Τhe global economic downturn during the pandemic and the current geopolitical tensions may be marking a resurgence in maritime piracy, rendering close examination of its determinants useful for the international shipping industry and for policymakers. We contribute to pertinent literature by focusing on legal factors that affect sea piracy in Nigeria and Somalia, two countries that feature
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The problem with the removal of the motive requirement from the offence of terrorism – A short commentary African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-04-12 Khulekani Khumalo
ABSTRACT The Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Amendment Act 23 of 2022 amends South Africa’s anti-terrorism legislation, the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Act 33 of 2004, by, among other things, removing the requirement of motive from the definitional elements of the offence of terrorism. Before the amendment
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Demography and insecurity: Youth bulge and the Lake Chad Basin security quandary African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-03-07 Tope Shola Akinyetun
ABSTRACT Insecurity is a prominent phenomenon that threatens the peace and development of Africa in general and particularly, the Lake Chad Basin [LCB]. One of the factors driving the menace is the phenomenon of youth bulge. This article argues that young people with poor economic prospects are liable to be recruited for violence. Situated within the grievance model, the article shows how youth make
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Compromised policing: An evaluation of the criteria used to appoint police commissioners in South Africa African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-03-02 David Tubatsi Masiloane
ABSTRACT The police agency is an important institution that deals with the safety and security of the inhabitants of the country and with corrupt practices that affect the fiscal and public morale. That is why the appointment of an independent police commissioner, who executes his/her mandate without any fear or favour, is critical. In this study, an analysis of documents on the appointment of police
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The nature and issues in intelligence, with reference to the South African civilian intelligence services African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-03-02 Teboho J. Lebakeng
ABSTRACT In the realm of security, intelligence remains a critical component. This is because the role of intelligence in statecraft is crucial in providing intelligence information in the advancement of state, national and human security. When the intelligence service of a nation has fault-lines, this critical role can be severely hampered and undermined. However, given the nature of intelligence
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Managing cattle rustling by enhancing police–community cooperation in the Karamoja Cluster: Lessons from Baringo, Kenya African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-02-21 Saul Kipchirchir Marigat
ABSTRACT The Karamoja Cluster is the epicentre of Africa’s decades-old problem of cattle rustling. Recent reports indicate a rise in livestock theft, despite the unilateral and multilateral interventions of the cluster’s respective governments. Paradoxically, with the deployment of elite and specialised police units – and in some cases even the military – the number of fatalities, frequency of incidences
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Crime dynamics under COVID-19 emergency measures in Nigeria: An exploration of residents’ perception African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-02-10 Adewumi I. Badiora, Olanrewaju T. Dada, Bashir O. Odufuwa, Adeyemi S. Adeniyi, Sunday S. Omoniyi
ABSTRACT This study examines how the COVID-19 emergency has impacted crime across different locations in Nigeria. Data were collected from a sample of residents from across Nigeria and analysed using mean ratings, percentages and chi-square. Based on the residents’ perceptions, certain crime types have decreased (e.g. home break-ins and assaults), some remain unchanged (e.g. stealing and pilfering)
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Trend and pattern analysis of incidents of rape during the period of Covid-19 pandemic in Adamawa state, Northeastern Nigeria African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-02-10 Saheed Babajide Owonikoko, Jude A. Momodu, Jamila B. A. Suleiman
ABSTRACT Sexual violence cases in Adamawa State have been frequently reported. Yet, the interrogation of the phenomenon has not received adequate scholarly attention. Unfortunately, unusual high incidents of rape were recorded in the state in 2020 prompting an examination of the trend and pattern of incidents of rape in the state. Data were collected from police records of incidents of rape and interviews
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Frictions and hybridity in Mozambique’s post-war peacebuilding: From civil war to precarious peace African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-01-12 Manuel Francisco Sambo
ABSTRACT It has been about three decades since Mozambique transitioned from a brutal civil war and one-party rule to peace and democracy. Although Mozambique has not relapsed into another large-scale civil war, sustainable peace and democracy in the country have become ever more elusive. In 2013, military clashes between Renamo and the Frelimo-led government resumed and prompted a new peace process
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Editorial – Volume 31 (4) 2022 African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-01-10 Lisa Otto, Dries Velthuizen
Published in African Security Review (Vol. 31, No. 4, 2022)
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Climbing the roof with the right ladder: Community policing as an antidote to the internal security crisis in Nigeria African Security Review Pub Date : 2023-01-03 Ogundiya Ilufoye Sarafa, Titus Utibe Monday
ABSTRACT The paper qualitatively examines the role of community policing as a panacea to insecurity in Nigeria through documentary sources. It is argued that the social and political environment in Nigeria is pervaded by the Boko Haram uprising in the North East zone, banditry and cattle rustling in the North West and North Central zones, ethnic militia in the South South and South East zones and armed
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Cybercrime perspectives to the ‘ENDSARS’ protest in Nigeria African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-11-17 Newman U. Richards, Felix E. Eboibi
ABSTRACT Cybercrime investigators, in an attempt to rid Nigeria of cybercrime, go about arresting and demanding for digital devices, of unsuspecting members of the public, especially Nigerian youths. Upon seizing these digital devices, they compel the owners to surrender security features to gain access to the devices to fish for cybercrime evidence. The rampant nature of this investigative process
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Temporary paramilitary volunteers at Nigeria’s Chad and Niger borders: A source of recruitment for Boko Haram African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-11-15 Adeleke Gbadebo Fatai, Lawal Musediq Olufemi, Ajayi Oluwagbemiga Oluwaseun, Ayantunji Isola Oyelekan
ABSTRACT Empirical studies have shown that the use of temporary volunteers to control crime is common in sub-Saharan countries. This study examines the contentious nature of volunteers’ crime control duties along Nigeria’s borders. Using a mixed-method approach, shortcomings in the volunteer scheme’s operation were discovered such as inadequate training, non-hierarchical leadership, poor conditions
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Ad-hoc Security Initiatives, an African response to insecurity African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-10-31 Cedric de Coning, Andrew E. Yaw Tchie, Anab Ovidie Grand
ABSTRACT This article contends that Ad-hoc Security Initiatives (ASI) have developed over the last decade in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin and represents a new form of African collective security mechanism. The G5 Sahel Force and the Multi-National Joint Task Force emerged from a context-specific need for small clusters of African states to respond collectively to a shared cross-border security threat(s)
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Digital Rights in Nigeria: Through the Cases African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-10-26 Ifeoma E. Nwafor
Published in African Security Review (Vol. 31, No. 4, 2022)
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Development and value extraction of defence land assets in South Africa: Current paradigm revisited African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-10-26 Moses B. Khanyile
ABSTRACT The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has been faced with a declining budget for many years, resulting in the deterioration of prime mission equipment, inability to upgrade critical infrastructure, and a very limited capacity to recruit, train, maintain, and deploy forces. This paper argues that the military can alleviate the impact of budgetary constraints through a systematic
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Linking the drivers of insecurity and security in Africa African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-10-24 Dries Velthuizen, Lisa Otto
Published in African Security Review (Vol. 31, No. 3, 2022)
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Conflict analysis in peacebuilding: A review African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-10-21 Kazeem Oyedele Lamidi
ABSTRACT Studies have examined the dimensions and components of conflict analysis. However, little or no review attention has been paid to understanding the conceptual perspectives, theoretical underpinnings and methodological issues. Hence, this paper aimed at filling the gaps and answered the basic questions: Is conflict analysis a potential tool for peacebuilding? In what ways does conflict analysis
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Policing COVID-19 restrictive regulations in Zimbabwe: The shifting crime trends and the human rights implications African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-10-18 Emeka Obioha, Ishmael Mugari
ABSTRACT The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a myriad of responses on the global, regional and national levels. One of the widely adopted measures of dealing with the scourge was the crafting of stringent regulatory frameworks to curtail the spreading of the virus through restriction of citizens’ movement. The role of the police services and, importantly, the military, came under spotlight
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Insurgency and subversion: An analysis of the modes of operation for understanding the attacks in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-09-27 Mauro Tiago Njelezi
ABSTRACT Resulting from several social, political, economic and above all radical Islamic factors, the armed conflict in Cabo Delgado raised a variety of questions in the national and international system, among them the modus operandi of the group, now called Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jammá. Thus, the present article analyses the way in which the modes of insurgency and subversion help to understand the modus
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State monopoly on urban transport system and human (in)security in Harare during the COVID-19 pandemic African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-09-05 Washington Mazorodze, Enock Ndawana
ABSTRACT This study discusses the human security costs and benefits generated by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic-induced state monopoly on the urban public transport system in Zimbabwe through the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) since March 2020. Using empirical evidence from Harare, it argues that the ZUPCO initiative had far-reaching safety and security implications on urban residents’
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Economic threat, new nationalism and xenophobia in South Africa: Some reflections African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-08-24 Darlington Mutanda
ABSTRACT The perceived economic threat has given rise to narrow nationalism in South Africa, which has given birth to direct, cultural and structural forms of violence, commonly referred to as xenophobia, which is actually Afrophobia. The main argument is that in as much as there is evidence of the influx of mainly African migrants in South Africa, and these have been largely accused of various crimes
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Private military and security companies: South Africa’s neglected resource African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-08-22 Matthew Kimble, Shannon Bosch
Abstract Using the current conflict in northern Mozambique as a case study, we argue that the South African government and its current legislation on private military and security companies (PMSCs) has prevented it from being a more effective agent for peace in the region. South Africa’s current legislation – the Foreign Military Assistance Act of 1998 (FMA) and the Prohibition of Mercenary Activities
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Piracy as a result of IUU fishing: Challenging the causal link African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-08-03 Sasha Jesperson, Rune Henriksen
ABSTRACT With declining global fish stocks, there is a growing literature on the negative impact of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. While undoubtedly damaging, there is increasing analysis on the wider impact of IUU fishing, without sufficient evidence to support causal claims. This is particularly evident in the links between IUU fishing and piracy. IUU fishing was blamed for the
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Human security: Countering harmful ideologies and dominant narratives African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-07-08 Lisa Otto, Dries Velthuizen
Published in African Security Review (Vol. 31, No. 2, 2022)
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Peace agreements with no peace: A critical review of peace agreements in the Central African Republic African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-06-21 Robert Kosho Ndiyun
ABSTRACT Societies faced with authoritarian rule or conflict usually adopt different paths to peace. The course adopted by each community to guarantee stability determines the extent to which the sustainability of the peace can be assured. Every attempt to pacify a society should aim to prevent a relapse to conflict or authoritarian rule while considering the damage caused and sorting out measures
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The Zimbabwe Peace and Reconciliation Commission: Towards an integrated national infrastructure for peace? African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-06-20 Gwinyayi Albert Dzinesa
ABSTRACT The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) in Zimbabwe is potentially a crucial architect of coordinated and integrated infrastructure for peace (I4P). But it is not without its critics and sceptics. The Commission is the institutional centrepiece of government’s post-conflict justice, peace, healing and reconciliation programme. It is mandated with developing national and sub-national
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Youth and the temporalities of non-violent struggles in Zimbabwe: #ThisFlag Movement African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-06-17 Simbarashe Gukurume
ABSTRACT Youth in fragile and conflict-ridden spaces are often constructed as violent and restless subjects who dismember the social fabric of society. Yet, many young people are using non-violent tactics and strategies to articulate their grievances and frustrations with the state of their economies. Young people in such decaying economies live under precarious and uncertain existential conditions
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Researching the Inner Life of the African Peace and Security Architecture African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-06-15 Aly Verjee
Published in African Security Review (Vol. 31, No. 2, 2022)
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Protest policing strategy and human rights: A study of End SARS protests in Nigeria African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-06-13 Emma Etim, Otu Duke, Jacob Fatile, Augustine Ugar Akah
ABSTRACT In this study, we adopted the negotiation management model (NMM) and the elaborated social identity model (ESIM) to assess and match with global best practices the conduct of personnel of the Nigerian Police Force during the End SARS protest. We used the descriptive mixed-method research design to answer the research questions after taking stock of some achievements recorded by SARS and critical
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The political economy of soft power: South Africa’s neo-liberal order and multinational corporations’ attraction in Africa African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-04-13 Oluwaseun Tella
ABSTRACT In recent times, the concept of soft power has emerged as one of the most important terms in international relations. It has been applied to various aspects of statecraft from democracy promotion to peace-making, cultural diplomacy, economic diplomacy, counter-terrorism and disaster management, to name but a few. However, there is a dearth of literature on the political economy of soft power
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Lies or half-truths? Boko Haram’s ideology from a social movement theory perspective African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-04-05 Akali Omeni
ABSTRACT Using Social Movement Theory (SMT) as a methodological framework and explicitly employing the core SMT concepts of political opportunism and framing, this paper seeks to examine Boko Haram's use of discourse in activism. As a rarely employed research method within the Boko Haram literature, SMT holds explanatory power around the movement's approach to transforming motivation potential into
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Maritime security and the Western Indian Ocean’s militarisation dilemma African Security Review Pub Date : 2022-04-04 Christian Bueger, Jan Stockbruegger
ABSTRACT Ten years after the last large scale piracy attacks in the Western Indian Ocean, other maritime crimes such as illicit fishing and maritime smuggling have emerged. The spill over of conflicts in Yemen and Mozambique and maritime grey-zone activities have also become major maritime security issues. Yet, perhaps the most worrying – though largely underappreciated – trend is the surge of naval