Don't Hold the African Crisis Response Force Hostage to Unrealistic Demands

The paper argues that US support for an African-led peacekeeping force, specifically the African Crisis Reaction Force (ACRF), was driven by a desire to reduce the political and financial costs of direct US military involvement in African crises. This shift in strategy followed the 1992 events in Somalia and was further motivated by conflicts in the Great Lakes region and domestic US political considerations during the 1996 election cycle.

• The 1992 death of 18 US Army Rangers in Somalia led the United States to conclude that direct involvement in African crises was too costly in political and financial terms, shifting US proposals toward financial assistance for African initiatives or the creation of an African-staffed peacekeeping force.
• The proposal for an African Crisis Reaction Force (ACRF), promoted by Warren Christopher in 1996, was driven by three factors: the ethnic conflict and displacement in Central Africa's Great Lakes region, the Clinton Administration's preference for African-led resolutions due to domestic sensibilities, and the upcoming November 1996 US presidential elections.

APA

Williams, R. (n.d.). Don't Hold the African Crisis Response Force Hostage to Unrealistic Demands. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/papers/dont-hold-the-african-crisis-response-force-hostage-to-unrealistic-demands

Chicago

Williams, Rocky. Don't Hold the African Crisis Response Force Hostage to Unrealistic Demands. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/papers/dont-hold-the-african-crisis-response-force-hostage-to-unrealistic-demands.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Williams |first1=Rocky |title=Don't Hold the African Crisis Response Force Hostage to Unrealistic Demands |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/papers/dont-hold-the-african-crisis-response-force-hostage-to-unrealistic-demands |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{williamsnddont, author = {Williams, Rocky}, title = {{Don't Hold the African Crisis Response Force Hostage to Unrealistic Demands}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/papers/dont-hold-the-african-crisis-response-force-hostage-to-unrealistic-demands}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }