Military instrument for conflict resolution: A study of AU peace keeping missions

Abstract

In the past years, international attention has concentrated on expanding capacity to conduct peace operations in Africa. To this end, African leaders have set upon improving the African Union (AU)‘s ability to handle security and humanitarian problems on the continent. The AU has operationalized its Peace and Security Council and has elaborated its plans to develop regional standby forces in cooperation with the sub-regional organizations on the continent. The increasing nature of conflicts in Africa necessitated the need for military instruments for peace-building operations, to broker peace among warring camps and secure human life and property. During the transformation of the OAU to the AU, efforts were made to redefine the principle of non-interference to non-indifference; this gave the AU the impetus for peacekeeping in line with the United Nations Responsibility to Protect. This paper examined the use of military instruments for diplomacy and investigated the AU peacekeeping mission through the African Standby Force (ASF). The study is based on secondary sources of data. The study found that the ASF is a multidimensional force. Since most conflicts on the continent are complex and of long duration, they call for a multifaceted approach and require capabilities to address not only security and military aspects, but also the political, humanitarian, developmental, and legal/institutional dimensions of the conflicts. There is therefore a need for not only military but also police and especially civilian components. This study contends that the ASF is not the solution to African conflicts but it is a fundamental element towards finding a solution. Its success is challenged by, among others, the fact that the capability of the regional economic communities is very uneven and there is no clarity about mandating authority.