SADC and ECOWAS’S peace and security architecture preparedness and the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic remains a global security threat, as the result of the emerging and exacerbated security challenges that have impacted on the national security policies of various regional economic communities (RECs). This study analyses SADC and ECOWAS’ responses to the Covid-19 pandemic under their respective existing peace and security structures and explores if both RECs, SADC and ECOWAS have been efficient. This article discusses the Southern African and West African security setting, how its security architecture emerged and whether it has been successful in overcoming the security ramification in the region under the Covid-19 pandemic.
 Coincidentally, both SADC and ECOWAS have been confronted with existing and emerging human security threats, such as increased poverty, inequality, and the spread of diseases, such as Covid-19. The Covid-19 pandemic, a non-traditional security threat, has exposed how RECs, such as SADC and ECOWAS, respond to non-traditional and emerging security threats, suggesting for the transcendence of their security architecture that caters equally for non-military and emerging human security threats, alike military threats. This article explores the regional security experiences, challenges, and responses of both the SADC and ECOWAS under the Covid-19 pandemic.

The geostrategy of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) and third parties: a focus on China

“…Through the AfCFTA, Africa can engage third parties in formal trading arrangements. The immediate priority regarding the AfCFTA remains its implementation [51] and its application to create continental value chains [52], but policymakers on the continent must also develop a longer-term view towards how it may be optimally used when entering into trade negotiations with third parties (e. g. by offering greater negotiating power, formalizing tariff liberalisation in strategic sectors, or offering incentives to investors) [53][54][55].…”