Whose security is it? Elitism and the global approach to maritime security in Africa

Africa’s marine environment and resources that lie beneath it are central to the continent’s sustainable development and actualising the ambitions set out by the African Union in its Agenda 2063, where the oceans are described as the frontier of Africa’s development. The continent’s maritime domain and resources are also attractive to foreign partners relying on its oceans to enhance their economic development and geostrategic interests. Serving the interests of all parties, especially the 38 coastal states and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and land-linked countries on the continent that benefit from the maritime sector, comes with challenges, some of which manifest as threats to the sustainable resource extraction and safety of those that use the maritime domain. We explored the literature, policy documents and maritime security reports database, together with our experiences as African maritime governance and security experts, to critically examine maritime security in Africa and unravel how extra-regional actors have securitised maritime threats. We show how the selective framing of what constitutes threats and associated resourcing of responses to counter them, often dictated by foreign interests, is an elite project that undermines a holistic notion of maritime security that would benefit the African people.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Whose security is it? Elitism and the global approach to maritime security in Africa

Africa’s marine environment and resources that lie beneath it are central to the continent’s sustainable development and actualising the ambitions set out by the African Union in its Agenda 2063, where the oceans are described as the frontier of Africa’s development. The continent’s maritime domain and resources are also attractive to foreign partners relying on its oceans to enhance their economic development and geostrategic interests. Serving the interests of all parties, especially the 38 coastal states and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and land-linked countries on the continent that benefit from the maritime sector, comes with challenges, some of which manifest as threats to the sustainable resource extraction and safety of those that use the maritime domain. We explored the literature, policy documents and maritime security reports database, together with our experiences as African maritime governance and security experts, to critically examine maritime security in Africa and unravel how extra-regional actors have securitised maritime threats. We show how the selective framing of what constitutes threats and associated resourcing of responses to counter them, often dictated by foreign interests, is an elite project that undermines a holistic notion of maritime security that would benefit the African people

Climatic Change and National Security: Exploring the Conceptual and Empirical Connections in Nigeria

ABSTRACT Climate change does not fit into the mode of traditional threats to national security, such as war, terrorism, insurgency, espionage, or sabotage. Yet its non-violent and gradual dynamics of manifestation serve only to disguise its impact on livelihoods, social order, peace, and stability. Despite being the most profound of the environmental change problems confronting the world at large, with disproportionate impact on Asia and Africa, there is relatively little research that explores the ramifications of climate change for national security in Nigeria. This paper maps the possible connections between climate change and national security with particular reference to Nigeria. It further examines the key environmental trends that serve as 'stressors' for the transmission dynamics of security threats posed by climate change to the country. It concludes with a range of recommendations on how Nigeria could mitigate the security threats posed by climate change

Banditry and "captive population syndrome" in northern Nigeria

The banditry crisis in northern Nigeria has been associated with dire implications for human population and settlement. Scholarship on the subject area has largely failed to foreground the nexus between banditry and population dynamics in the context of threat-induced migration, displacement, and bond-settlement patterns. Although there are diverse media and policy-based insights pertaining to the impact of the banditry crisis on the settled population, the conditions of persons, households and communities displaced or subjected to various forms of captivity by the crisis have been almost entirely unexplored by way of organized research. Using a combination of primary and secondary data, this paper examines the population-in-captivity dimension of the banditry crisis in northern Nigeria. It posits that the banditry crisis has, among others, created a captive population(s) who are exposed to complex, mortal existential threats, and vulnerabilities in the context of Nigeria’s burgeoning un(der)governed spaces and state fragility syndrome