Ever since the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) was initiated in the early 2000s, political and research interest has tended to focus on its military components, rather than the more quantitatively important non-military interventions.

This book scrutinizes the enactment and effects of African non-military conflict interventions from a range of different perspectives and contexts. Research suggests that non-military interventions through the African Union and Regional Economic Communities are highly impactful, despite being typically under-resourced and less institutionally embedded within APSA. This book provides a comprehensive empirical mapping of the many mostly informal practices of non-military interventions, and the complex interfaces between the African Union and Regional Economic Communities, their external ‘partners’, as well as national and local actors. Covering various cross-cutting themes such as the involvement of civil society and the role of African special envoys in non-military interventions, the book considers the variation and dynamics of such practices across time and space, as well as their intended or unintended effects.

This timely new assessment of African non-military conflict interventions will be an important read for peacebuilding practitioners and think tanks, as well as researchers working across African international relations, peace, and conflict studies.