UN-EU-AU Coordination in Peace Operations in Africa

The number and scope of Peace Support Operations in Africa have dramatically increased during the last decade. Regional Organisations such as the EU and AU are emerging as actors to complement the efforts of the UN in the field of Peace and Security in Africa. Inter-organisational coordination has emerged as a vital and necessary pattern in contemporary peace operations.

During 2008, the FOI Studies in African Security team is conducting a study on inter-organisational coordination in peace operations in Africa where the UN, EU and AU participate. These organisations, though being three unequal entitites with different roles and comparative advantages, are all active in the field of peace and security in Africa.

A number of important perspectives are explored in the study:

• Incentives and motives for coordination, and pros and cons of different coordination arrangements.
• Facilitating and Impeding factors in inter-organisational coordination.
• Mapping existing arrangements and mechanisms for collaborative action, and ideas for coordination enhancers, on the political, regional and field levels.