Securitisation in Africa in the 21st century

This work analyses the process of securitisation on the African continent in the 21st century. After experiencing a process of international marginalisation during the 1980s and 1990s Africa has become increasingly important in the international arena since the early 2000s. Following the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US, the continent has been incorporated into international efforts to combat terrorism, first embodied in the US ‘Global War on Terror’, thereby undergoing a process of securitisation. Following a brief historical overview of the continent's position on the international scene, analysis is divided into three parts. First, the Copenhagen School’s theory on securitisation is briefly discussed. Securitisation thus defined and conceptualised is then analysed in the context of the situations in the Gulf of Guinea and in the Horn of Africa during the first decades of the 21st century. Finally, the article synthesises these points, considering the interests involved in the securitisation of Africa and positing that these developments are an attempt to entrench the position of securitising actors, as well as counterbalance the presence of external emerging powers on the continent

Development economics · Economics · Ethnology · French horn · Geography · International relations · New guinea · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Terrorism · Global Security and Public Health · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research

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