Interrogating the Civilian Dimension of Peace Support Operations in Africa: AFISMA and AMISOM in Perspective
Interrogating the Civilian Dimension of Peace Support Operations in Africa: AFISMA and AMISOM in Perspective
Peacekeeping is usually regarded as a military activity around the world, this is due to the misinterpretation of the core aim of peace support operations (PSO), which is essentially conflict management within a political process. With the growing complexities of mission mandates in peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations, the number of civilians deployed to these operations has expanded dramatically as a result of the evolvement of multidimensional peacekeeping, as against when compared to traditional peacekeeping. Therefore, the goal of this study is to fill this gap by providing a clear understanding of the civilian dimension in PSO, with a view to address the misconception that exist on the subject matter. The objective of the study, consequently, is to assess civilian capacities in African-led peace missions, using African-led International Support to Mali (AFISMA) and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) as case studies. The paper situates its argument in the organisation theory which is its theoretical framework. It combines both the quantitative and qualitative methodology to gather sources of data, in order to show that factors such as a lack of awareness of the role of civilian expertise, a lack of political buy-in and a lack of adherence to the training-rostering linkage, to name a few, have all contributed to the reduction of civilian capacities in African-led peace operations. The research recommends partnership at the strategic, operational and tactical levels to encourage policy coherence that is favourable to engaging the civilian capacities, among others.
CITATION: Adedokun, Blessing. Interrogating the Civilian Dimension of Peace Support Operations in Africa: AFISMA and AMISOM in Perspective . London : Adonis & Abbey Publishers , 2021. Journal of African Union Studies, Vol. 10, No. 3, 2021, pp. 19–38 - Available at: https://library.au.int/interrogating-civilian-dimension-peace-support-operations-africa-afisma-and-amisom-perspective