IGAD’s Mediation and Peacekeeping in Africa: Challenges and Perspectives

Abstract

Since the early 1990s, mediation, peacemaking and peacekeeping have come to occupy an increasingly important place in international relations due to the general trend towards the abandonment of the principle of non-interference in domestic conflicts amid the post-Cold War détente. Another major trend has been the growing role of regional organizations in the sphere of conflict prevention and resolution. Africa remains the leading continent in terms of the number of countries affected by armed conflicts and post-conflict situations. In particular, the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) has experienced three civil wars in the past few decades—in Sudan, Somalia and South Sudan. IGAD has become one of the most prominent regional communities of the African Union in terms of conflict resolution due to its vital role as a mediator and peacekeeper in the three aforementioned countries. The present study seeks to analyze IGAD’s strengths and weaknesses and make conclusions regarding the potential of its peace and security dimension. Methodologically, the study draws on primary and secondary (scholarly and media) sources to identify and analyze fundamental processes and forces of change within the overarching paradigms of international relations and conflict resolution. The author comes to the conclusion that IGAD has significantly enhanced its potential in the area of conflict resolution since the 1990s and established itself as the leading actor in this field in East Africa, yet internal contradictions erode its effectiveness and may preclude the formation of a robust standby mechanism for peace enforcement in the region.