Author : Daniel W. Henk
Release : 1997-12-05
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Book Rating : 111/5 ( reviews)

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The United States and the Transformation of African Security - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The United States and the Transformation of African Security write by Daniel W. Henk. This book was released on 1997-12-05. The United States and the Transformation of African Security available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Traditionally, the U.S. military has not been heavily involved in Sub-Saharan Africa. Since the end of the Cold War, though, this has begun to change. U.S. forces have supported several humanitarian relief and evacuation operations associated with African conflicts. They have also conducted numerous "engagement" activities aimed at assisting African states and their militaries during the transition to democracy. But Africa remains a region where U.S. national security interests must be promoted with limited resources. This makes a sophisticated and coherent strategy vitally important. Helping Africans develop a capability to avoid or solve their region's security problems has reemerged recently as an important goal of American strategy, and the African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI) is its centerpiece. Based on their testimony presented to the Africa Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations, this study by Dr. Steven Metz and Colonel Dan Henk of the U.S. Army War College examines the ACRI. Significantly, it does so by placing the ACRI in a wider, long-term strategic context.In general, the African security environment is one in which traditional methods of analysis that stress nationstates and national interests must be modified. Nonstate factors, actors, and considerations are as important as national interests. Foreign policy and national security strategy in African states tend to be associated with a regime, group, or individual leader more than a nation as a whole. They are often designed to augment or preserve the power of an individual and his clients rather than promote what western scholars would see as true national interests. And a change of leadership sometimes brings a fundamental change in foreign policy and national security strategy. Personal ties and friendships as well as regional, ethnic, and religious considerations help define strategic interests, objectives, and partners. Because African foreign policy and national security strategy, like African politics in general, are imbued with flexibility and personalization, they tend to be dominated by informal methods and procedures. Shifting coalitions dominate rather than formal alliances. Consensus-building among the powerful-a traditional political technique in much of Africa-is an important part of the regional security system. This emphasis on individuals and consensusbuilding rather than the application of power resources through formal structures means that consultations are a vital element in the African regional security environment. Such consultations can occur in a variety of traditional and nontraditional fora. Any actor seeking to shape the environment must be adept at recognizing the available fora, organizing consultation, and building consensus.