African Early Warning Systems: Challenges and Prospects for African Security Integration

Abstract

In the course of past decades, the African Union has sought to strengthen continental security integration and joint governance, wherefore many early warning and security institutions emerged. However, little research has been done to explore the institutional landscape. This thesis aims to bridge the literacy gaps and investigate the ways African early warning institutions constitute challenges or prospects to security integration efforts. The continental level evaluates how integration is affected through various African early warning institutions. The regional level analyses how early warning institutions' methodologies influence sub-regional integration efforts. Lastly, the national level elaborates why African national intelligence and security sectors are determined by authoritarian governance. Similar to the three (continental, regional, national) research questions, this thesis is divided into three levels of analysis. First, the continental level evaluates the Continental Early Warning Systems' institutional struggle with its Regional Early Warning Systems and other organisations within and beyond the African Peace and Security Architecture. Second, the regional level examines the concepts and methodologies behind the six Regional Early Warning Systems for common features and differences....