Tag: IGAD

The success of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) seems to vindicate emerging scholarly and policy optimism regarding Africa’s potential to solve its peace and security problems through Africa-centred responses. To explain this African-led intervention’s success–despite Africa’s apparent institutional and resource limitations and in the context of the 1992-93 US-led Operation Restore Hope’s failures–this desk-based inquiry underlines the commitment, shared values, and ownership that typify AMISOM. I advance an “African-Centred Solutions” (AfSol) perspective that is rooted in Afro-optimist analyses which, basing on Africa’s past dealings with foreign actors, argues that “borrowed fists” cannot solve [most of] Africa’s security problems. Evidently, unlike non-Africa-centred interventions, AMISOM relied on the AfSol approach whose pillars–genuine commitment, shared Pan-African values, and a sense of ownership–engendered its success by incentivising states to withstand the Mission’s costs and to tirelessly mobilise foreign support. Throughout, Africans incorporated and reflected AfSol principles, by: initiating the Mission-building upon IGAD’s efforts; persisting amidst the Mission’s human, resource, and politico-security costs; involving both local and foreign Somalis; and integrating disparate intervention programmes into a single, AU-sanctioned Mission. AMISOM’s success underscores the need to harness Africa’s potential to address its peace and security challenges.