APSA@20: Lessons Learnt and Way Forward for the African Peace and Security Architecture

Date:  8 February 2024, 9:30 – 18:30
Venue: UNU-CRIS, Bruges and online

Organising partners

UNU-CRIS (Amandine Gnanguênon, Frank Mattheis and Jamie Pring)
Leipzig University (Ulf Engel and Jens Herpolsheimer)
Swedish Defense University (Linnea Gelot)
Södertörn University (Katharina Döring)

Background

Since the establishment of the African Union (AU) and its numerous institutions in the early 2000s, the global influence of African continental and regional organizations has grown significantly. Geopolitical shifts are profoundly impacting on the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), which has been tasked with promoting peace and security. Next to violent conflicts, extremism, climate change and other transnational dynamics, challenges also include contestation of AU institutions and APSA, their legitimacy and relevance. On the other hand, opportunities include the continuous quest of pan-Africanist cooperation through regional institutions, and also ad-hoc conflict management initiatives. Observing the APSA@20 anniversary and launching the French translation of the edited volume “Researching the Inner Life of the African Peace and Security Architecture: APSA Inside-Out”, this event seeks to inquire further and update debates about the Global South agency and shifting power relations in global ordering. Therefore, reflecting on current contributions to studies aiming to delve into the inner workings of APSA as well as its international context, using new and innovative conceptual, methodological, and empirical approaches, this day will be an opportunity to highlight some conclusions of this book.

Purpose

To commemorate the release of the French version of the edited volume and celebrate the 20th anniversary of APSA's creation, this workshop endeavours to unite researchers, experts, civil society, as well as European and African organizations representatives., The workshop will include the following panels:

• APSA in a changing geopolitical context
• The future of APSA: Opportunities and challenges ahead
• Book launch: “Researching the Inner Life of the African Peace and Security Architecture - APSA Inside-Out”