Support of the African Union (AU) research and education programme in the field of peace and security

projekt beendet

ContextViolent conflicts and wars continue to pose a key obstacle to human security and sustainable development in a number of countries and regions in Africa. For this reason, promoting peace and security by implementing the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) is one of the most important objectives of the African Union (AU).In this context, the AU also attaches great importance to building the capacities of employees in the relevant institutions. However, specialist staff and managers at these institutions and within civil society often lack subject-specific expertise and practical knowledge. There are also insufficient opportunities for cross-institutional exchange and policy dialogue. This makes it more difficult to develop practical, long-term political strategies for the prevention and management of crises and conflicts.Against this background, the AU initiated the African Peace and Security Programme (APSP) in January 2010 in cooperation with the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) at Addis Ababa University. The aim of this pan-African programme is to support training, applied research, policy advice and political dialogue on the APSA. Nonetheless, the services offered by the institute need to be developed further and current themes need to be added in response to the complex, dynamic developments in conflicts. Examples of these themes include regional migration policy (migration governance), mediation and gender issues. The institute’s human and institutional capacities need to be reinforced to meet these challenges.ObjectiveThe performance capacity of relevant APSA actors and the institutional sustainability of the IPSS to develop and implement policies and strategies in the area of peace and security have been strengthened.ApproachThe project supports the expansion of training provided by the IPSS and helps its research and events become more target-group oriented. It also contributes to developing the institute’s performance capacity. The project provides advice on the identification of new areas for training and on the development of curricula and digital learning services. It supports analyses of needs, the expansion of cooperation partnerships, and measures for personnel and organisational development.The project also introduces gender aspects into research and teaching and into political dialogue. With its contributions to Sustainable Development Goals 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) and 5 (Gender Equality), it is generally aligned with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda.ResultsThanks to the training of specialist staff and managers in the ‘Managing Peace and Security in Africa’ (MPSA) in-service master’s course and other training programmes, the project has contributed significantly to strengthening the political, strategic and organisational capabilities of specialists and managers in Africa. Since 2012, 287 people from over 40 African countries have successfully graduated from this master’s course. The proportion of women was around 27 per cent. The IPSS has created a platform for policy exchange in the form of the ‘Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa’. African heads of state and government and leading representatives from the areas of research, civil society and the private sector have been coming together at this well-regarded pan-African security conference in Ethiopia every year since 2012. The IPSS has also published numerous applied case studies and policy papers. One example is the annual ‘APSA Impact Report’ on African peace architecture. It analyses and evaluates the interventions of the AU and of regional organisations and mechanisms and, as a result, provides insights into the effectiveness and quality of regional crisis prevention and management measures. All in all, the project has contributed to more effective implementation of African peace architecture.

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