The APSA and (Complex) International Security Regime Theory: A Critique

Regional and subregional organizations have assumed a larger role in maintaining peace and security, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The African Peace and Security Architecture of the African Union (APSA) increasingly participates militarily in various peacekeeping operations. Policy-focused analyses of the APSA not only characterize it as an international regime but also assume the benefits of this regime. However, this depiction of the APSA as a regime obscures the military dimension of its approach to peace and security throughout the continent. This article argues that a regime analysis romanticizes the APSA, and the type of security that it practices requires more attention. Using a field-inspired approach, this article suggests that the security practiced by the APSA is a result of various internal struggles within different institutions of the APSA and its external relations over the meaning-making of peace and security.