ECOWAS and the dynamics of constructing a security regime in West Africa (Liberia, Sierra Leone)

Following the end of the Cold War, the Mano River basin experienced unprecedented violent domestic conflicts that threatened the entire West African sub-region. The civil conflicts which broke out in Liberia and Sierra Leone sent ripples across the sub-region. In spite of the dire humanitarian crises, the conflicts were not reflected on the radar screen of the international community. This prompted the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to send a military intervention force, ECOWAS Ceasefire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), to Liberia in August 1990. This study investigates how the ECOWAS peacekeeping experience in Liberia and Sierra Leone has contributed to the development of a security regime in West Africa. The study focuses on three aspects of the emerging security architecture: the ECOWAS Moratorium on Small Arms and Light Weapons; the Protocol on Conflict Prevention, Resolution, Management, Peacekeeping and Security; and the supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. The emerging architecture is a multi-pronged strategy aimed at addressing the causes, the means and the tools used in these conflicts. It encompasses a wide range of issues ranging from weapons control programs, respect for the rule of law, institutional mechanisms for peacekeeping, to democracy and good governance. The analysis is carried out against the backdrop of the political, legal and diplomatic controversy which dogged ECOWAS' first attempt at peacekeeping. It starts by analyzing the security discourse in West Africa, the changing global order, and the socio-economic, and political factors that precipitated the conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The emerging security regime is explored by assessing the level of compliance by member states. Finally, the study contends that the emerging security regime presents a unique opportunity for the enhancement of human security in the sub-region.; It concludes that ECOWAS' peacekeeping experience in the Mano River basin has led to a re-conceptualization of security to include non-military issues--- i.e., human security. The adoption of the Moratorium has led to an increased awareness about the danger posed to human security by illicit small arms. The emerging security regime has led to a fall in the number of new conflicts and a resolution of old ones. In spite of the adoption of these Protocols, the level of political commitment differs as some member states have failed to fully comply with their commitments.