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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

 

Background to Study

 

On June 28, 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife while they were in Sarajevo, Bosnia, which was part of Austria-Hungary. Immediately, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary to defend Serbia. Seeing the mobilization of Russia, Germany declared war on Russia. Subsequently, Germany attacked France through Belgium pulling Britain to the war. The world was at war. By the end of the war in 1918, over nine million people were dead and many others injured or missing in action (Parker 1995). Could the world have prevented this disaster?

 

Peace and security has remained a great challenge in Africa and the world. Scholars have attributed this to many factors including politics, competition for scarce resources, border disputes, nationalism and irredentism. In the last 100 years, the world has witnessed major wars resulting in deaths, displacement, massive refugee crises and disrupted economic activities. Accordingly, the security challenges have manifested themselves into the destruction of lives and property, perpetuation of human rights abuses, and generation of refugees that transcend national boundaries with terrible costs for peace, security, and development both nationally, regionally, and internationally.

Since the emergence of the state as the main actor in international relations following the treaty of Westphalia in 1648, countries have based their concept of security on the need for the state to preserve its sovereignty, values and property of its citizens against foreign enemies. However, this notion has changed with time due to other factors namely economics, politics and diplomacy, which have complimented the role of military power as the center in international relations. The need for a stable international and regional environment as the basis for mutual economic development and social co- existence necessitated the establishment of a credible approach to maintain order and attain world stability and security.

Consequently, the realization of the need for world security drove the founding of the United Nations (UN), as a collective security organization. The UN was formed after World War II as a collective security organization to deal with violent conflicts that were being witnessed at that time and set conditions for the avoidance of conflicts of that magnitude in the international system. As articulated in Chapter 1, Article 1 of the UN Charter, the purposes and principles of the UN are:

To maintain international peace and security; and to that end; to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means; and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace. (UN 1985)

Additionally, in realization of the significant role that regional organizations can play in enhancing international peace and security, the UN Charter provided for regional organizations to address local disputes before involving the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Chapter VIII of the UN Charter specifically states: “Regional organizations shall make every effort to achieve pacific settlement of local disputes before referring such disputes to the United Nations Security Council” (UN 1985). This provision is the basis on which regional organizations like the European Union (EU), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the African Union (AU) and other regional organizations and their associated collective security mechanisms emerged. These organizations have sought to develop capacities to deal with threats to security and arbitrate disputes within their regions.

Africa accounts for more border disputes that any other continent in the world. Though often dormant, the underlying causes and grievances still exist and efforts to settle them have not been fruitful. The differences of Nigeria and Cameroon over the Bakassi peninsula, the Ethiopia/Eritrea conflict over the town of Badme, the Morocco/Mauritania, and the Sahrawi People’s Democratic Republic (SPDR) disputes over the Western Sahara cases are examples of existing conflicts (Adewumni 2005). The presence of potential areas of conflict waiting for a trigger is the reason why Africa should embrace the concept of collective security more seriously. In the last 100 years, the Eastern Africa Region (EAR) has witnessed four major wars. However, little evidence shows the effectiveness of regional or continental collective security mechanism playing a role in preventing or stopping the wars. The UN intervened in the Ethiopia/Eritrea war of 1998; however, it was a case of too little too late. Equally, the AU was not able to do much seemingly because of lack of capacity while at the same time it was still transitioning from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to AU in 1999- 2000, and remained an observer.

The AU Peace and Security Council (PSC), as established in 2002 by the Durban Protocol, outlined the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). The constituents of the architecture include the Common African Defense and Security Policy; the Military Staff Committee; the African Standby Force (ASF); the Continental Early Warning System; the Panel of the Wise; and the New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) (Alghali 2011). The protocol entered into force in December 2003 and subsequently the ASF was established (Cilliers 2008). The creation of the ASF reinforced the AU’s efforts towards the establishment of a collective security mechanism for the continent.

 

 

 

Statement of the Problem

In the last 100 years, the EAR has witnessed 4 major wars and continues to face possible interstate conflicts due to a number of underlying factors. Interstate boundary disputes, competition for natural resources, nationalism and irredentism are rife and continue to create an atmosphere of mistrust and tension with a potential of explosion once triggered. The AU has tried to diffuse the tensions caused by the problems but has not been successful. Conflicts in the region have tended to be enduring and have inhibited the economic growth and development of the region. The phenomenon has affected countries in the entire region both directly and indirectly due to the failures of the collective security mechanisms both regionally, continentally and globally. The very reasons that caused the last three wars in the region still exist and continue to get complicated as other factors like the discovery of minerals, significant refugee populations and population explosion sets in. Unless the region is able to address the underlying issues adequately, and a credible collective security mechanism put in place, then it is likely to remain embroiled in endless wars with a consequence of not being able to break the cycle of poverty.

 

 

Objectives of the Study

 

This study will examine the concept of collective security in African politics. This study also will assess the applicability of collective security Africa, with regards to the Eastern Africa Region. The study will further scrutinize the prospects of the existing collective security mechanism in the region with a view to suggesting measures to make it more capable, responsive and credible. The specific objectives of this study are to:

1. Explore the concept and theory of collective security

 

2. Evaluate the effectiveness of the UN security arrangements in addressing the African security threats
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of the AU and ASF security arrangements in addressing the EAR security threats
4. Assess the prospects for collective security in the EAR

 

5. Recommend ways of developing a credible and responsive collective security mechanism in the EAR

 

Research Question

 

The study raises the following questions: What are the prospects for effective collective security in EAR? Secondary questions that when addressed will collectively answer the primary question are:

1. What regional collective security mechanism is in place in EAR?

 

2. What factors contribute to the success of collective security?

 

3. What factors contribute to the failure of collective security?

 

4. Has the UN adequately addressed state security problems in Africa?

 

5. Is the AU security arrangement adequate to address the inherent conflicts in the EAR?
6. How can the EAR develop a credible and responsive collective security mechanism?