A Critical Analysis of the Requirements for Full Operationalization of the African Standby Force: Lessons Learned from the Eastern Africa Standby Force

Abstract

It is evident from attempted coups d’état, contested elections, violent protests
and riots, constitutional amendments to extend of terms of presidents, religious
fundamentalism, terrorism, foreign interventions and other structural problems
in Africa, which threaten the political equilibrium, that there are a various types
of conflicts that need to be dealt with (See Institute for Security Studies, October
2017:10-21). This calls for a strengthened, enhanced and effective regional
collective security arrangement. The African Union (AU) established the African
Standby Force (ASF) for peacekeeping purposes as well as possible interventions
when conflicts degenerate, and implement its motto of “African solutions to
African problems”. This continental Force is being developed in five multidimensional
regional brigades with military, police and civilian components but
its operationalization took much longer than planned. The question is why? What
are the hurdles? What needs to be done to fully operationalize it? This paper
critically analyzes these issues and develops a ten-step procedure on what needs
to be done to fully operationalize the ASF based on experience gained from the
Eastern Africa Standby Force, one of the regional components, which declared
full operational capability ahead of schedule in 2014.