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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Beyond the notion of security community: What role for the African regional organizations in peace and security?

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African regional organizations' increasing activity in security policy is usually approached through the concept of ‘security community’, which can only partially clarify their difficult situation. A multi-level governance model is suggested as a more useful approach in a situation where economic cooperation is weak, member states' principles of governance diverge, and they themselves might be part of security problems. A security community is not a necessary condition for a regional organization to play a role in the field of security. Through new intra-regional and cross-level relationships with the international community and civil society, regional organizations can become important security actors in Africa.