Previous Issues | AfSol Journal

What is the Treatment? Why Africa’s CSVRA Diagnosis Needs the APRM Prescription with illustrations from Zambia and Ghana

Africa’s preventive governance architecture has developed sophisticated mechanisms for diagnosing structural vulnerabilities, yet it remains considerably weaker at translating assessment findings into implemented governance reforms. This paper examines this diagnosis–treatment gap by examining the relationship between the Country Structural Vulnerability and Resilience Assessment (CSVRA) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). It argues that the problem is not simply weak coordination between the two mechanisms, but the absence of an institutional pathway linking vulnerability diagnosis to reform commitments, national planning, budget allocation, implementation, monitoring and political accountability. While the CSVRA identifies structural vulnerabilities and resilience deficits, the APRM provides participatory, programmatic and peer-review mechanisms through which identified governance challenges can potentially be converted into corrective action. Using a qualitative descriptive-analytical approach based on a desk review of APRM, CSVRA, country reports and other relevant academic literature, the paper draws on Zambia and Ghana as illustrative cases to examine how assessment outcomes are translated into governance reforms and institutional constraints that affect implementation and follow-up. The paper finds that Africa’s preventive governance challenge lies less in identifying structural risks than in converting diagnosis into funded, implemented and monitored reforms. It therefore proposes an AU Preventive Governance Integration Model linking CSVRA diagnosis and mitigation priorities to APRM reviews, National Programmes of Action (NPoAs), National Development Plans, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, and continental peer review. The model provides a sequenced diagnosis–treatment–follow-up pathway to strengthen preventive governance, institutional accountability and conflict prevention in Africa.

Maritime Security in Ghana’s Blue Economy: Exploring Socio-Economic Realities and Governance

Ghana’s maritime security is considered within a broader context of coastal livelihoods, economic vulnerabilities, and environmental factors. The article examines how socio-economic structures and local realities interact to shape both the risks and opportunities in Ghana’s maritime security landscape. Drawing on an extensive review of academic literature, policy reports, industry analyses, as well as relevant statistical data and primary field data, the article interrogates the interplay among economic activities in the various sectors of Ghana’s blue economy with a focus on the fisheries sector. It examines how factors like youth unemployment and gender inequalities influence security outcomes, particularly with challenges such as illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and resource-based conflicts. The study highlights how regulatory frameworks and foreign investment strategies intersect with local priorities, oftentimes generating tension over environmental sustainability and social justice. By mapping these socio-economic dynamics across local, national, and regional levels, the paper advances a nuanced and holistic understanding of Ghana’s maritime security environment, advocating for a Blue Justice approach.

Securing through the Failure to Secure? Civilian Joint Task Force and Counter-Insurgency Operations in North-East Nigeria

The advent of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in 2012 had a great influence in the evolution of national security in the north-eastern region of Nigeria. This is because many scholars have, at various times, described the region as an ‘unfinished’ region, and of inevitable instability. This article interrogates the role of CJTF in counter-insurgency operations (CIOs) and its influence on the establishment and alliance with the military forces in the north-eastern region. The article succinctly investigates the efforts of CJTF and its CIOs. It also explicates, in clear terms and with relevant cases, CJTF’s role in preventing and fighting insurgency in the region. In particular, it focuses on answering the following questions: Can the current security architecture of CJTF cope with the level of sophistication of the Boko Haram insurgency groups across the region? Under what arrangement will CJTF be able to adequately confront Boko Haram insurgency? What are the challenges affecting the CJTF’s efficiency and effectiveness in this region? The article will also examine how existing CJTF can be strengthened to achieve effective CIOs against insurgency in the north-eastern region of Nigeria.

How Relevant Is the International Criminal Court to the 21st Century Africa and Beyond?

Although the International Criminal Court (ICC) was examining some non-African situations by 2013, most of the Court’s indictees happened to come from African conflict situations. As will be discussed later, this state of affairs was worsened by the arrest warrant on President Omar Al-Bashir while he was then a sitting president. This made the African Union (AU) feel unfairly targeted and, therefore, contemplate withdrawal from the ICC. Some African leaders have also maintained slanderous charges against the ICC describing it in uncharitable identities and questioning its modus operandi. However, given that the Court was established to dispense international justice for the commission of core crimes, the AU’s contemplation of withdrawal evokes some pertinent questions regarding the future of justice on the continent should the AU eventually withdraw from membership of the Court. How justifiable is the AU withdrawal contemplation? Is this the best of options? What are the possible alternatives for the AU? How does the AU contemplation of withdrawal represent a conflict of interest? In which ways could the Court be strengthened to dispense the international justice for which it was established? In the wake of the aforementioned questions, this paper seeks to address the issue of how relevant the ICC is to the 21st century Africa and beyond. Dwelling on critical discourse analysis as a methodology, the paper employs interdisciplinary perspectives featuring reflections on research in human rights, international law, political science and other relevant areas of interest and speaks to such probing concerns. This paper concludes that though the challenges the AU raises against the ICC are reasonably admissible, they are not compelling enough to justify an AU withdrawal since they are not of the magnitude that deprives the Court of its capacity to dispense justice. This means that the Court remains relevant to the 21st century Africa and beyond. The paper ends by proposing a framework within which the AU could contribute towards making the Court more functional.

Are women a missing link in Africa’s peace process? Interrogating women’s involvement in peacebuilding and conflict resolution in precolonial, colonial and postcolonial Africa

This paper locates peacebuilding within the context of selected African countries with a focus on Zimbabwe; highlighting the intersection between gender and peacebuilding. The central argument in this paper is that gender relations and its relationship to peacebuilding in Africa must be understood within the context of the disruptions brought by European colonialism, struggles for self-determination and independence and post-independence struggles to construct new nation-states. The paper provides a sociohistorical analysis of gender relations in pre-colonial and colonial Africa and attempts to draw parallels with the postcolonial African state. It argues that a complex combination of these processes gave rise to exclusive, androcentric and elite driven peace processes in the postcolonial state. In examining women’s struggles for equality and social justice in the postcolonial state, the paper highlights how civic society and the civic space has come to be synonymous with women and women’s struggles to influence the peace process. Building on indigenous models of conflict resolution, the paper critically engages the concept of Ubuntu and appraises how it can be appropriated to re-insert women’s peace agency in postcolonial Africa. The paper concludes by examining options for increasing women’s involvement in conflict resolution and peacebuilding in postcolonial Africa.

Multidimensionalism or Militarism? A Decade of Experimentation in African Peace Support Operations

The relationship between the military, police, and civilians within the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) has, at times, been characterised by considerable tension and mistrust. This bears direct implications on the effectiveness of the African Union in promoting peace and stability on the continent. This article explores the evolution of the African Standby Force (ASF) based on case studies of the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) and ECOWAS Standby Force (ESF) to understand why and how the 2015 bench mark for achieving ASF’s full operation capability did not happen. The article argues that, with regard to the uncertainty surrounding the evolution of the ASF; it is not enough to focus solely on the macro-level factors affecting the evolution of ASF. Instead, internal processes and structures such as the attitude of peacekeepers to each other is, without doubt, an inseparable part of the ‘sluggishness’ in the realization of a rapid deployment capability (RDC). It is, therefore, more appropriate to consider the role of internal processes and civil-military power relations in the evolution of the ASF post-2015.

Gendered Dimensions of Reparations: Addressing the Harm of Wartime Sexual Violence Through African Feminist Policy Lenses

Given various peace agreements and transitional justice programmes, the gendered aspects of reparations are frequently overlooked, resulting in inadequate retribution for survivors, the majority of whom are women and girls. The paper investigates how African feminist policy ideas might influence reparations frameworks that are both inclusive and transformational. The paper assesses the feasibility of gender-sensitive reparations programmes using empirical evidence from post-conflict settings such as Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda, highlighting key actions such as establishing survivor-centered reparations funds, incorporating psychosocial care into national health services, and ensuring women's participation in reparations design and monitoring.The paper argues that by focusing on survivors' perspectives and feminist ideals of justice, reparations can serve as both a healing tool and a catalyst for gender-equitable peacebuilding and development on the continent. Finally, the paper contends that reparations must go beyond symbolic gestures and offer survivors with material, psychological, and socioeconomic assistance that truly restores their dignity, agency, and opportunity.

Perception of Sea Level Rise on Human Security: A Qualitative Case Study of the Keta Municipality in the Volta Region of Ghana

The local perspective on a phenomenon is critical for assessing its consequences for human security and for policy initiatives. Using a qualitative case-study approach, this study explores local perspectives on sea-level rise and human security in the Keta Municipality of Ghana. Grounded in the Human Security Theory framework, and purposively collecting data through observation, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions, we found that sea-level rise is perceived as described by its effects and, locally, known as “Tsafu dzagbo”. It is perceived to be caused by sand mining along the coast, with economic, social, and psychological effects on human security. These effects include job and livelihood losses, frequent outbreaks of water-related diseases, and displacement, among others, resulting in significant disruption to the municipality's well-being. In response, both local and modern approaches have been adopted to address the effects. The local approaches include planting mangroves along the coast and using local knowledge to forecast and prepare in advance. In contrast, modern approaches include constructing groynes and promoting modern agricultural practices, thereby improving resilience in the Municipality. We conclude that sea-level rise directly affects the well-being of the inhabitants of the Keta Municipality, thereby negatively impacting human security. We recommend synergising local and modern approaches to achieve more sustained resilience in the Municipality.

Addressing the Political Impasse in Togo: Response from ECOWAS in Preventing Violent Armed Conflict

Africa faces a range of complex issues related to maintaining and advancing democratic stability. In this paper, we examine Togo, with a specific focus on the political impasses that could hinder the democratic development of the small West African coastal state in the face of threats such as violent extremism and terrorism. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) tried to address the situation in Togo, primarily by intensifying its diplomatic efforts to prevent the region from becoming a hub for military juntas. As a result, the paper examines the measures involved in implementing prevention measures against the political impasse in Togo. It does so by analysing the sources of Togo’s political impasse and takes into consideration ECOWAS’s attempt to resolve and prevent conflict. The study concludes that diplomatic strategies ought to be employed by ECOWAS to address the identified political challenges effectively. In addition, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) should not only be vibrant but also work to identify gaps in the political situation and encourage people to understand that this does not call for violence. Furthermore, ECOWAS should review its Protocol on Good Governance to effectively address the issue of the third-term syndrome. ECOWAS should condemn coups, implement sanctions to encourage the leader to accept multi-party democracy, be vocal in denouncing poor governance, and engage the current leader to step down. In addition, the CSOs should be given the freedom to speak freely and demonstrate against bad governance in Togo. This means that all actors and stakeholders will be able to reach a peaceful agreement, promote good democratic values and human rights, enable multi-party participation in the country, promote participation in decision making, create an enabling environment for CSOs to operate without fear of intimidation, and build resilient and independent state institutions.

Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland and Violent Extremism in Burkina Faso

In response to the security vacuum and the limited effectiveness of military intervention in the fight against violent extremism, Burkina Faso has opted for a strategy based on citizen participation through the creation of Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP). Since 2022, this initiative has become the cornerstone of the national security strategy. This article aims to analyse the need for strategic anticipation in managing the evolving role of the VDP. To this end, a structural constructivist approach was employed to understand the role of VDPs in combating violent extremism. The study is based on qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and documentary research. A total of 59 stakeholders, including representatives from public institutions, media professionals, research institutions, community and religious leaders, teacher-researchers, and a select group of the public, were interviewed. The information gathered was presented in verbatim form and subjected to content analysis. It has become clear that, while VDPs have played a crucial role in strengthening community security and supporting conventional forces, their long-term trajectory remains uncertain. Their growing presence raises essential political and social questions, including the risks of inter-community violence and the erosion of state legitimacy. The article argues that Burkina Faso needs to rethink the future of VDPs as part of a broader strategy of post-violent extremism governance. Drawing on community security models and post-crisis reintegration frameworks, the article emphasises the importance of disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR), as well as socio-economic support mechanisms, in the context of reintegration, to prevent long-term instability.