Conflicts and Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa: Is there still a role for the EU-AU Partnership?

Our latest ETTG collective report entitled” Conflicts and Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa: Is there still a role for the EU-AU Partnership? “ is now available.

Building upon a background paper and discussions held at multi-city events in Brussels and Dakar, the report gathers a comprehensive approach on the ongoing crisis in the Sahel region and offers a set of key recommendations.

The events gathered over 120 participants in a span of two days and counted on interventions by African experts, European officials, renowned researchers, ambassadors, ministers and international  organisations. 

The political and security context in the Sahel is extremely complex, characterized by military coups, weak regional institutions, and multipolar competition. This has strained the EU-AU relationship and reduced the capacity to prevent and reduce conflicts.

The region can benefit from a coordinated approach that carefully navigates the situation by developing tailored packages of integrated actions that combine peace and security measures with economic and social initiatives.

Amongst our key recommendations are the following:

  1. As political instability persists in the Sahel, tailored and combined peace-security-economic initiatives from the EU and AU are required.
  2. Open communication with military governments is crucial, testing Europe’s global power in a multipolar context. Strategic patience is vital to avoid regional collapse.
  3. Rebooting EU-AU relations needs a clear African strategy for internal cohesion and equal partnerships with external powers.
  4. Lifting sanctions on Niger and addressing root causes like poverty and weak development are more effective than sanctions hindering civilians. Cooperation is key to tackling systemic issues.

More on the Brussels event here 

More on the Dakar event here 

Read the full report here

French version of the report here 

More publications

Staying engaged as Team Europe in fragile settings

Picture of Bamako, MalI by Thomas Brissiaud, available on iStock The forthcoming ETTG collective report, authored by Sophie Desmidt (ECDPM), Julian Bergmann (IDOS), Benedikt Erforth (IDOS), Sara Gianesello (ECDPM), explores the complex challenges and opportunities of European engagement in fragile settings. It is produced in the framework of our partnership

Read more >

ETTG-GIZ-Enabel Project on Navigating Engagement in Fragile Contexts

Timeline: October 2024 – 2025 The ETTG-GIZ-Enabel partnership will explore strategic engagement in fragile global contexts, focusing on development agencies’ approaches to challenging political environments. Through comprehensive research, policy paper development, and high-level policy events, the project aims to critically examine how European implementing agencies can effectively support populations in

Read more >
Scroll to Top
This website uses its own cookies for its correct functioning. By clicking on the Accept button, you accept the use of these technologies and the processing of your data for these purposes.   
Privacidad