The African Union and security sector reform partnerships

This report by the Institute for Security Studies examines the African Union's (AU) role in supporting security sector reform (SSR) across its member states. It identifies critical gaps in coordination between the AU and other international partners, as well as internal resource constraints, and proposes strategies to enhance political buy-in, civil society engagement, and institutional alignment to ensure SSR processes are sustainable and reflect national priorities.

• The African Union possesses institutional credibility as a security sector reform partner, but its overall effectiveness is hampered by constraints in capacity and resources.
• Ineffective coordination between the AU and other SSR support bodies can lead to gaps in implementation and the duplication of efforts in member states.
• Divergent political and institutional agendas among the AU and other peace and security stakeholders create difficulties in aligning SSR with state-building and peacebuilding goals.
• The progress of SSR is often stalled by a lack of political will and buy-in from host governments, as seen in the cases of South Sudan and The Gambia.
• The AU's ability to support SSR is limited by its inability to consistently participate in national coordination mechanisms, often due to a lack of human resources and the absence of Liaison Offices in several member states.
• The AU can improve the sustainability and legitimacy of SSR processes by deepening partnerships with civil society, specifically through community sensitisation and sustained monitoring and evaluation.
• Internal AU restructuring, such as the creation of the Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) Department, provides an opportunity to better align SSR expertise with governance and conflict prevention mandates.

APA

Mutangadura, C. (2022). The African Union and security sector reform partnerships. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/AR-41-v1.pdf

Chicago

Mutangadura, Chido. The African Union and security sector reform partnerships. Institute for Security Studies, 2022. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/AR-41-v1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mutangadura |first1=Chido |title=The African Union and security sector reform partnerships |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=November 2022 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/AR-41-v1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mutangadura2022african, author = {Mutangadura, Chido}, title = {{The African Union and security sector reform partnerships}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/AR-41-v1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }