PEACE AND SECURITY IN AFRICA

The document examines the motivations and activities of US government agencies and private organisations in promoting stability in Africa. It argues that while the US has a profound humanitarian impulse and a stated interest in regional stability, its policy is primarily reactive and lacks a coherent, long-term strategy. The report details the roles of the Department of State, Department of Defense, and USAID, alongside the influence of the US Congress and various NGOs. Key initiatives of the Clinton era are analysed, including the African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI) and the African Growth and Opportunity Act, while providing strategic advice to African leaders on how to effectively engage with the fragmented US policy apparatus.

• US policy toward Africa is characterized as reactive rather than proactive, lacking a mature, long-term strategy or a coherent plan to integrate the instruments of national power.
• The US government identifies regional stability as a key interest in Africa, though it generally agrees that aside from the safety of US citizens and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, no interests in the region are vital.
• The US Department of Defense implements security-related initiatives and provides extensive military training to African personnel, emphasizing ethical standards and the subordination of security forces to civil authority.
• The African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI), launched in 1996, evolved from a proposed multinational force into a bilateral training programme for ground force battalions in eight African countries, though it is criticized for lacking an overarching command structure.
• USAID manages the bulk of the approximately US $700 million in annual US aid to sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on sustainable economic development, emergency relief, and the promotion of human rights.
• The US private sector, including religious and humanitarian organisations, provides a more consistent long-term contribution to African security than the public sector, with at least 24,000 American citizens involved in such work, 11,000 of whom are based in Africa.
• The US has provided significant financial and material support to the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) for peace operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone, including US $28 million in contracted transportation between 1996 and 1999.
• The US military's involvement in Africa is split between two regional commands: the US European Command (responsible for most of the continent) and the US Central Command (responsible for seven countries in the northeast), leading to divergent perspectives in military relations.

APA

Henk, D. (1999). PEACE AND SECURITY IN AFRICA. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono35.pdf

Chicago

Henk, Dan. PEACE AND SECURITY IN AFRICA. Institute for Security Studies, 1999. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono35.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Henk |first1=Dan |title=PEACE AND SECURITY IN AFRICA |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=March 1999 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono35.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{henk1999peace, author = {Henk, Dan}, title = {{PEACE AND SECURITY IN AFRICA}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {1999}, month = mar, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono35.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }