Primacy of politics or securitising governance?

The document argues that the creation of the African Union's Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security (DPAPS) was primarily a financial cost-cutting exercise rather than a strategic move toward integrated crisis response. It identifies critical gaps in coordination between the African Governance Architecture (AGA) and the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), noting a risk that military and reactive approaches will continue to be prioritized over political and preventive diplomacy. The authors recommend establishing standard operating procedures, creating a strategic coordination unit (possibly a Chief of Staff), and harmonizing funding instruments to ensure sustainable support for conflict prevention. Politically, the brief emphasizes the need for a clear legal definition of subsidiarity between the AU and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and increased engagement of the AUC Chairperson in Peace and Security Council (PSC) proceedings.

• The merger that created the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security (DPAPS) was driven by financial and symbolic motives rather than a strategic need for integrated policy responses.
• DPAPS currently lacks a formal coordination mechanism between its peace and security and political directorates, risking a situation where security issues override political solutions.
• There is a significant risk that the department will maintain a historical funding imbalance where the peace and security functions are overfunded while political affairs remain low-profile.
• The African Union faces tensions with Regional Economic Communities (RECs) due to the absence of a clear legal, political, and operational definition of subsidiarity.
• Member states often apply a restrictive interpretation of AU political and legal instruments, which can lead to the bypassing of formal decision-making channels in favor of informal arrangements.
• The AUC Chairperson's participation in Peace and Security Council (PSC) meetings has declined in recent years, reducing the Commission's substantive policy engagement.

APA

Handy, P.-S., & Djilo, F. (2021). Primacy of politics or securitising governance? Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policy-brief160.pdf

Chicago

Handy, Paul-Simon, and Félicité Djilo. Primacy of politics or securitising governance? Institute for Security Studies, 2021. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policy-brief160.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Handy |first1=Paul-Simon |last2=Djilo |first2=Félicité |title=Primacy of politics or securitising governance? |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=2021 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policy-brief160.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{handy2021primacy, author = {Handy, Paul-Simon and Djilo, Félicité}, title = {{Primacy of politics or securitising governance?}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2021}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policy-brief160.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }