Is ECOWAS a Security Community?

The concept of security community has enjoyed enormous currency in the post-Cold War era, whereby regional organisations seek to establish a framework for the prevention and management of violent conflicts in their domains. ECOWAS is one of the regional organisations that has evolved from an economic integration instrument to a functional security architecture through numerous protocols and its Revised Treaty of 1993. This study evaluated the ECOWAS system vis-à-vis the indices of a security community. It adopted a case study research design. Data were generated from secondary sources which involved the review of extant literature. Data were presented qualitatively and analysed with the content analysis technique. The study identified the ECOWAS integrating institutional framework; shared values, norms and practices; the existence of mutual defence and non-aggression pacts; the collective security mechanism; and the coordinating international organisation in the sub-region. It concluded that ECOWAS is a pluralistic security community (PSC) working towards maturity. The study, therefore, recommended the harmonisation of sub-regional socio-political, foreign and defence policies to answer the prevailing national questions-cum-resource governance, as well as the accordance of supranational authority to the ECOWAS Commission as done by the European Union (EU).