Driving the African Peace and Security Architecture through ECOWAS

The document examines how ECOWAS implements the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), focusing on 'sustaining peace' through conflict prevention, mediation, and peacebuilding. It highlights ECOWAS's sophisticated early warning system (ECOWARN) and its recent institutionalization of mediation through a new directorate, while noting significant gaps in post-conflict reconstruction and development (PCRD). The paper argues for clearer definitions of comparative advantage and subsidiarity between ECOWAS and the African Union (AU) to avoid duplication and improve regional stability.

• ECOWAS has developed a highly institutionalized peace and security architecture that is described as the most sophisticated on the African continent, often preceding the frameworks of the AU and other regional economic communities.
• The ECOWAS Early Warning and Response Network (ECOWARN) is a well-developed system that utilizes an Observation and Monitoring Centre in Abuja and four zonal bureaus to produce situation reports, incident reports, and country profiles.
• To improve the link between early warning and early response, ECOWAS is decentralizing its system by establishing national response centres in five pilot countries, eventually expanding to all 15 member states to increase national ownership.
• ECOWAS has transitioned from ad hoc preventive diplomacy to a structured approach with the creation of the Mediation and Facilitation Directorate (MFD) in 2015, which operates across operational support, mediation resources, and capacity building.
• Peacebuilding and Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD) are identified as the weakest links in the ECOWAS architecture, with a lack of a comprehensive regional strategy and insufficient resources dedicated to these efforts.
• ECOWAS utilizes the 2001 Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance to monitor adherence to constitutional principles and has conducted election observation missions in most member states since 2004, contributing to peaceful transitions in countries like Ghana, Guinea, Benin, and Liberia.
• There is a persistent lack of clarity regarding the specific roles, responsibilities, and principles of comparative advantage and subsidiarity between ECOWAS and the AU, despite a memorandum of understanding on collaboration.
• ECOWAS faces ongoing financial challenges, including difficulties in collecting community levies from member states and inefficient utilization of donor funds, though it has implemented a 0.5% levy on imported goods to increase self-reliance.

APA

Lucey, A., & Arewa, M. (2016). Driving the African Peace and Security Architecture through ECOWAS. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper301.pdf

Chicago

Lucey, Amanda, and Moyosore Arewa. Driving the African Peace and Security Architecture through ECOWAS. Institute for Security Studies, 2016. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper301.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lucey |first1=Amanda |last2=Arewa |first2=Moyosore |title=Driving the African Peace and Security Architecture through ECOWAS |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=November 2016 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper301.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lucey2016driving, author = {Lucey, Amanda and Arewa, Moyosore}, title = {{Driving the African Peace and Security Architecture through ECOWAS}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2016}, month = nov, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper301.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }