The Political Economy of External Intervention in Africa’s Security

Abstract

This chapter interrogates the motives and interests of external intervention in Africa’s security against the backdrop of new global security challenges and geopolitical and economic shifts, which have seen emerging powers like China returning to the continent as significant politico-security and economic partners. Using a political economy perspective, we argue that the entry of new actors into the African security scene has done little to change the peace and security dynamics on the continent. This is because, akin to the role of traditional Western powers, emerging powers have been guided primarily by their geopolitical and economic interests in assuming a security role on the continent. Our point of departure is that a reluctance on the part of African governments to cede some degree of national sovereignty to regional institutions, coupled with endemic rivalry between major regional and sub-regional powers such as South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Angola have constrained home-grown efforts to deal with the continent’s peace and security challenges.