Sustainable peace: Driving the African Peace and Security Architecture through ECOWAS

This research paper examines the peace and security efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), focusing on best practices, lessons learned, and the implementation of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA).

• The African Union (AU) prioritises relationships with regional economic communities (RECs) to implement the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), though there is still a lack of clarity regarding specific roles and responsibilities.
• ECOWAS has been a primary actor in West African peace and security, striving to increase its effectiveness in addressing regional challenges and focusing specifically on sustaining peace through conflict prevention and peacebuilding rather than just peacekeeping.
• The paper's recommendations are based on academic and policy literature, ECOWAS reports and frameworks, and field research conducted in August 2016 involving 18 stakeholders.

APA

Lucey, A., & Arewa, M. (n.d.). Sustainable peace: Driving the African Peace and Security Architecture through ECOWAS. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/papers/sustainable-peace-driving-the-african-peace-and-security-architecture-through-ecowas

Chicago

Lucey, Amanda, and Moyosore Arewa. Sustainable peace: Driving the African Peace and Security Architecture through ECOWAS. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/papers/sustainable-peace-driving-the-african-peace-and-security-architecture-through-ecowas.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lucey |first1=Amanda |last2=Arewa |first2=Moyosore |title=Sustainable peace: Driving the African Peace and Security Architecture through ECOWAS |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/papers/sustainable-peace-driving-the-african-peace-and-security-architecture-through-ecowas |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{luceyndsustainable, author = {Lucey, Amanda and Arewa, Moyosore}, title = {{Sustainable peace: Driving the African Peace and Security Architecture through ECOWAS}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/papers/sustainable-peace-driving-the-african-peace-and-security-architecture-through-ecowas}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }