African regional organizations such as the African Union (AU) or the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) must increasingly intervene in their member states in order to fulfil their mandate as peace and security actors. How such interventions and the organizations behind them are perceived and evaluated in African societies is being researched by the DFG-funded project “Local perceptions of regional interventions: AU and ECOWAS in Burkina Faso and The Gambia”.
Under the leadership of Antonia Witt, a team of PRIF researchers travelled to Abuja, Nigeria, from 3 to 7 June, 2024, to present the results of the project, which was carried out in close cooperation with researchers from Burkina Faso and The Gambia. Antonia Witt, Amado Kaboré, Sait Matty Jaw and Sophia Birchinger met with representatives of the ECOWAS Commission for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, the GIZ regional component supporting ECOWAS, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) and Nigerian and regional civil society, among others. In addition to the presentation of the research findings, the main focus was on exchanging views on their practical implications for the work of ECOWAS.
In addition to the joint data collection, analysis and publication of the research results, the communication and discussion of the results was and is an important part of the process. Back in February 2023, Antonia Witt and her team already presented the PRIF report “The “Clubs of Heads of State” from Below – Local Perceptions of the African Union, ECOWAS and their 2014/15 interventions in Burkina Faso" in Burkina Faso. This was followed by a visit to The Gambia in May 2023 to discuss the PRIF Report “Siding with the People' or 'Occupying Force'? Local Perceptions of African Union and ECOWAS Interventions in The Gambia”.
The trip to Abuja was organized in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung's Nigeria country office and its Centre of Competence for Peace and Security in Dakar, Senegal.