Re-assessment of African Union security architecture and emerging security challenges in Africa

Council (PSC) is not just a clone of the Security Council of the United Nations; it is designed to provide security, forestall conflicts and maintain peace in Africa. Moreover, its Constitutive Acts provide for more engagement and greater scope in instances of both inter- and intra-state conflicts. However, the interventions of the PSC in some of Africa's theatres of conflict have raised fundamental questions on how the organ performs its roles. This paper is therefore structured into four sections. The first section provides historic background of APSA and specifically focuses on AU's PSC, African Standby Forces (ASF), Panel of the Wise (PoW) and Continental Early Warning System (CEWS). The second section briefly highlights the emerging security challenges in Africa, using Libya and Cote d'Ivoire as case studies. The third section examines AU's response and why APSA failed in responding to the emerging security challenges in these troubled spots, and finally the fourth section concludes and recommends alternative strategies to how APSA can adequately respond to the emerging security challenges facing the continent.