Journal of African-centred solutions in peace and security

Managing Mali's Transitional Agreement through the Politics of Insecurity

2026-07-24T14:55:50+00:00

This paper examines how insecurity affects transitional governance in Mali following the military
coups of 2020 and 2021, asking whether it merely constrains democratisation or actively shapes the
transition's political outcomes. Drawing on securitisation theory and frameworks for negotiating in
fragile states, it develops the concept of the politics of insecurity to explain how security narratives
are strategically deployed by Malian transitional leaders, armed groups, and international actors. The
paper engages qualitative political analysis of transitional arrangements, institutional reforms, and
security discourses within Mali’s post-coup context. The findings demonstrate that persistent jihadist
violence, territorial fragmentation, and intercommunal conflict have been instrumentalised to justify
delayed elections, expand executive and military authority, and restructure civil-military relations,
which affect the success of the transitional agreement. Armed groups such as jihadists and separatists
have similarly leveraged instability to strengthen their negotiating positions, while international
actors’ prioritisation of counterterrorism has often reinforced securitised governance. The paper
contributes to scholarship and policy frameworks on post-coup governance and fragile-state
transitions by demonstrating that insecurity is not only a backdrop to political transition but also a
central political resource that shapes institutional design and power consolidation in Mali and beyond.

Navigating the Complexities of Democratisation in South Sudan

2026-07-24T14:56:54+00:00

South Sudan’s pursuit of democracy has proven challenging, with the country descending into civil
war just two years after gaining independence. Despite mediation efforts by various regional and
international actors, the situation remains highly unstable. This article critically examines the
trajectory and prospects for democratisation in South Sudan. Specifically, it analyses the role of the
primary mediator, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), in promoting
democratic transition. The article develops a conceptual and theoretical framework centred on the
notion of the democraticness of international organisations and applies it to assess IGAD’s role in
post-conflict South Sudan. The empirical analysis highlights IGAD’s limited democratic credentials
and shows how these constraints have contributed to the weak implementation of democracy
promoting provisions within South Sudan’s peace agreements. As democracy promotion remains a
central concern for international actors such as IGAD, their commitment to democratic principles can
play a crucial signalling role to domestic political elites and complement the efforts of pro-democracy
civil society groups.

Human Security in Retreat: The Resurgence of Realpolitik and the Crisis of People-Centred Security

2026-07-24T14:58:05+00:00

Since its formal introduction in the 1994 Human Development Report, the concept of human security
has represented the global imperative to promoting the wellbeing and dignity of people worldwide.
With both states and non-state actors recognising and endorsing its utility, there has been little doubt
about the relevance of human security in driving population-centred security until now. Recent events
with geopolitical implications, such as the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts and the
fallouts from nationalist turns in the global North, appear to have challenged the relevance of the
concept vis-à-vis Realpolitik and the dominance of state-centricity in global politics. With the
contemporary geopolitical space set to witness many more of these trends, the future of human
security may be in jeopardy as the concept stands to be relegated to the realm of political convenience.
This paper assesses the sustained viability of human security in an evolving geopolitical landscape
largely shaped by Realpolitik.

Beyond Replication: Recentring Community and African Leadership in PeaceTech

2026-07-24T14:59:21+00:00

For facilitators who work in armed-conflict and post-conflict contexts, PeaceTech is a term that is
regularly cropping up in professional and academic discourse. It is increasingly shaping how
peacebuilding organisations work, from analysing conflict to aiding the course of mediation,
potentially pre-empting conflict, and supporting early warning systems. However, the majority of the
data, infrastructure, and governance that underpins these tools are focused outside the regions where
these technologies are supposed to support, in fragile areas where many conflicts occur. This paper
examines the structural economy of the data that builds PeaceTech, with a lens on African contexts
where actors operate in sometimes highly complex conflict environments but often have limited
influence over how these technologies are created to interpret those lived realities. This paper argues
that current development metrics are reproducing the extrinsic data metrics that reinforced existing
global asymmetries in the past and have failed. The research highlights how the imbalances in data
that trains artificial intelligence, infrastructure, capacity, and governance authorities have undermined
the technical reliability, trust and, most importantly, the legitimacy of these digital tools used in these
settings. There is a response to this: a shift towards African-led data governance and community
centred PeaceTech ecosystems, rooted in African needs, skills and lived experience. It also outlines
how the African Union could support ecosystem mapping by building coalitions which are anchored
in data infrastructures that mobilise and enable local civil society organisations and peacebuilders to
retain control over the data and technologies that shape conflict analysis and peace interventions.