Category: AfSol Publication

Beyond Replication: Recentring Community and African Leadership in PeaceTech

Beyond Replication: Recentring Community and African Leadership in PeaceTech

Posted by | Jul 29, 2026 |

For facilitators who work in armed-conflict and post-conflict contexts, PeaceTech is a term that is regularly cropping up in professional and academic discourse. It is increasingly shaping how peacebuilding organisations work, from analysing conflict to aiding the course of mediation, potentially pre-empting conflict, and supporting early warning systems. However, the majority of the data, infrastructure, and governance that underpins these tools are focused outside the regions where these technologies are supposed to support, in fragile areas where many conflicts occur. This paper examines the structural economy of the data that builds PeaceTech, with a lens on African contexts where actors operate in sometimes highly complex conflict environments but often have limited influence over how these technologies are created to interpret those lived realities. This paper argues that current development metrics are reproducing the extrinsic data metrics that reinforced existing global asymmetries in the past and have failed. The research highlights how the imbalances in data that trains artificial intelligence, infrastructure, capacity, and governance authorities have undermined the technical reliability, trust and, most importantly, the legitimacy of these digital tools used in these settings. There is a response to this: a shift towards African-led data governance and community-centred PeaceTech ecosystems, rooted in African needs, skills and lived experience. It also outlines how the African Union could support ecosystem mapping by building coalitions which are anchored in data infrastructures that mobilise and enable local civil society organisations and peacebuilders to retain control over the data and technologies that shape conflict analysis and peace interventions.

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Human Security in Retreat: The Resurgence of Realpolitik and the Crisis of People-Centred Security

Human Security in Retreat: The Resurgence of Realpolitik and the Crisis of People-Centred Security

Posted by | Jul 29, 2026 |

Since its formal introduction in the 1994 Human Development Report, the concept of human security has represented the global imperative to promoting the wellbeing and dignity of people worldwide. With both states and non-state actors recognising and endorsing its utility, there has been little doubt about the relevance of human security in driving population-centred security until now. Recent events with geopolitical implications, such as the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts and the fallouts from nationalist turns in the global North, appear to have challenged the relevance of the concept vis-à-vis Realpolitik and the dominance of state-centricity in global politics. With the contemporary geopolitical space set to witness many more of these trends, the future of human security may be in jeopardy as the concept stands to be relegated to the realm of political convenience. This paper assesses the sustained viability of human security in an evolving geopolitical landscape largely shaped by Realpolitik.

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Navigating the Complexities of Democratisation in South Sudan

Navigating the Complexities of Democratisation in South Sudan

Posted by | Jul 29, 2026 |

South Sudan’s pursuit of democracy has proven challenging, with the country descending into civil war just two years after gaining independence. Despite mediation efforts by various regional and international actors, the situation remains highly unstable. This article critically examines the trajectory and prospects for democratisation in South Sudan. Specifically, it analyses the role of the primary mediator, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), in promoting democratic transition. The article develops a conceptual and theoretical framework centred on the notion of the democraticness of international organisations and applies it to assess IGAD’s role in post-conflict South Sudan. The empirical analysis highlights IGAD’s limited democratic credentials and shows how these constraints have contributed to the weak implementation of democracy promoting provisions within South Sudan’s peace agreements. As democracy promotion remains a central concern for international actors such as IGAD, their commitment to democratic principles can play a crucial signalling role to domestic political elites and complement the efforts of pro-democracy civil society groups.

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Managing Mali’s Transitional Agreement through the Politics of Insecurity

Managing Mali’s Transitional Agreement through the Politics of Insecurity

Posted by | Jul 29, 2026 |

This paper examines how insecurity affects transitional governance in Mali following the military coups of 2020 and 2021, asking whether it merely constrains democratisation or actively shapes the transition’s political outcomes. Drawing on securitisation theory and frameworks for negotiating in fragile states, it develops the concept of the politics of insecurity to explain how security narratives are strategically deployed by Malian transitional leaders, armed groups, and international actors. The paper engages qualitative political analysis of transitional arrangements, institutional reforms, and security discourses within Mali’s post-coup context. The findings demonstrate that persistent jihadist violence, territorial fragmentation, and intercommunal conflict have been instrumentalised to justify delayed elections, expand executive and military authority, and restructure civil-military relations, which affect the success of the transitional agreement. Armed groups such as jihadists and separatists have similarly leveraged instability to strengthen their negotiating positions, while international actors’ prioritisation of counterterrorism has often reinforced securitised governance. The paper contributes to scholarship and policy frameworks on post-coup governance and fragile-state transitions by demonstrating that insecurity is not only a backdrop to political transition but also a central political resource that shapes institutional design and power consolidation in Mali and beyond.

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

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

Posted by | Jun 10, 2026 |

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.

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