AD-HOC SECURITY INITIATIVES IN AFRICA: AN EXAMINATION OF AFRICAN REGIONAL RESPONSES TO TRANSNATIONAL SECURITY THREATS

Abstract

This study examines the emergence, evolution, and operational dynamics of Ad-hoc Security Initiatives (ASIs) as innovative, regionally driven mechanisms for addressing Africa’s evolving security threats. Adopting a qualitative research methodology, the study relies primarily on secondary sources, including scholarly literature, policy documents, and official reports from the African Union (AU), Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and Regional Mechanisms (RMs). It applies the Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) to explore how ASIs such as the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in the Lake Chad Basin, the G5 Sahel Joint Force, and the Regional Cooperation Initiative for the Elimination of the Lord’s Resistance Army (RCI-LRA) reflect the realities of transnational threats, regional interdependence, and sovereignty concerns. The analysis highlights the operational flexibility and rapid deployment capacity that distinguish ASIs from traditional peacekeeping and peace support operations, while also interrogating their structural limitations, including unstable funding, limited civilian integration, and human rights concerns. Furthermore, the study evaluates the implications of ASIs for the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), particularly the risks of institutional fragmentation and the challenges of integrating parallel security mechanisms into a coherent continental framework. It concludes that while ASIs have demonstrated their utility as agile, context-specific responses to violent extremism, insurgency, and organized crime, their long-term contribution to sustainable peace will depend on deliberate integration strategies, enhanced accountability mechanisms, and the incorporation of multidimensional stabilization components. By situating ASIs within both the theoretical lens of RSCT and the practical realities of Africa’s security governance, the study contributes to the discourse on adaptive African-led responses to complex and borderless security challenges.