As violent conflicts emerge across the continent, African institutions are increasingly called on to respond. While some interventions have been led by the African Union or regional organizations, in other cases nations themselves have forged coalitions of the willing to confront and contain the perpetrators of violence. Minding the Gap: African Conflict Management in a Time of Change, edited by Pamela Aall and Chester Crocker, offers detailed analyses of African-led efforts at conflict management, identifies challenges facing African countries and their external partners, and highlights approaches that are both effective and sustainable.
This roundtable featured three of the book’s contributing authors, who offered insights and recommendations on questions such as: What lessons can be learned from recent African-led operations? How can African countries and regional institutions sustainably address resource and capacity gaps? Do peace support interventions militarize human security challenges? What role should Africa’s external partners and international organizations play in this context? How should African-led operations overcome challenges arising from overlapping mandates?
May 4, 2016
National Defense University
Fort McNair, Washington, DC
Speakers
Raymond Gilpin
Academic Dean, Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Paul D. Williams
Associate Professor of International Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University
I. William Zartman
Jacob Blaustein Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Organization and Conflict Resolution, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
Katherine Almquist Knopf (Discussant)
Director, Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Pamela Aall (Moderator)
Senior Fellow, Center for International Governance Innovation, and Senior Advisor, United States Institute of Peace