The Nordic Africa Institute – Publications

The University of Pretoria’s Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship (CAS) in South Africa; the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI) in Uppsala, Sweden; and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, convened a high-level policy dialogue on "Pax Africana and Africa’s Post-Cold War Security Architecture: Peacemaking, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding." The meeting was held on 19 and 20 May 2023 in Addis Ababa. Representatives of the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), as well as key policymakers from the United Nations (UN)and the European Union (EU); joined by leading academics, diplomats, and civil society activists, participated in the policy dialogue. The meeting addressed the role of key domestic, regional, and external actors in strengthening Africa’s post-Cold War security architecture across the continent’s five sub-regions. This report is based largely on key discussions and policy recommendations from the policy dialogue.  

Over the past decade, the Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden – have strengthened their relationship with African states and societies by supporting the African Peace and Security Architecture and promoting African involvement in conflict prevention, mediation, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding efforts. This report offers an overview of the partnership between African and Nordic countries in peace and security from 2012 to 2021. It features original case studies on Nordic country cooperation with African actors and institutions, across an array of efforts, including support to peace processes, building capacity and training for inclusive conflict management, contributing to peace operations, and advancing gender equality, climate adaptation and resilience. It also includes perspectives on cross-cutting themes such as women, peace and security, youth, countering violent extremism, and partnership with the African Union. The report aims to be a resource for the policy community, mapping African-Nordic cooperation, in pursuit of peace and security in Africa.

Au cours des dix dernières années, les pays nordiques (Danemark, Finlande, l’Islande, Norvège et Suède) ont renforcé leurs relations avec l’Afrique en soutenant l’Architecture africaine de paix et de sécurité (APSA). Ce rapport donne un aperçu de leur coopération entre 2012 et 2021 en matière de paix et de sécurité, et présente plusieurs études de cas dans ce domaine. Cette coopération peut se manifester de différentes formes : soutien aux processus de paix, renforcement des capacités et formation pour une gestion inclusive des conflits, contribution aux opérations de paix, promotion de l’égalité des sexes, adaptation au climat et amélioration de la résilience. Le document offre une réflexion sur des thèmes transversaux (femmes, paix et sécurité, jeunesse, lutte contre l’extrémisme violent et partenariat avec l’Union Africaine), et présente à la communauté politique une cartographie de la coopération entre les pays africains et nordiques afin d’aboutir à la paix et la sécurité en Afrique.

How does rapid urban growth affect risks of communal violence in cities? In rapidly growing cities, poor planning and weak institutions combined with an unregulated influx of migrants can create a potent recipe for violent mobilization. In addition, politicized identity groups often compete for resources and interact in close proximity in urban areas. Despite a growing research agenda on the relationship between rapid urban growth and urban violent unrest, findings remain inconclusive. One explanation for the disparate conclusions is that the theoretical pathways connecting urban growth and unrest largely fail to consider both the violence-generating and violence-stemming effects of urban growth. With a focus on conflict-ridden societies, we theorize processes through which urban growth influences different aspects of group relations in the city, and thereby contribute to prevent, suppress or generate communal violence. To illustrate the framework, we draw on insights from Nairobi, Kampala and Addis Ababa. By paying attention to processes, we are able to identify a range of developments associated with city growth which in turn have different implications for communal violence.

The five permanent members (P5) of the UN Security Council have a lot of power – thanks largely to their right of veto, but also on account of other advantages. To curb the imbalance in power and strengthen their position, the ten elected (E10), non-permanent members should collaborate more and share their experiences – both among themselves and with the next group of E10 states waiting to replace them. One of the best means of gaining influence is to work with civil society. There are different ways of doing this, and many have shown themselves to be constructive in advancing the agenda for women, peace and security (WPS).

This research brief presents the current state of research knowledge on the array of different types of wartime sexual violence. Drawing on the collective body of research, the brief introduces a novel categorisation of wartime sexual violence built on the distinction between ‘ordered’ and ‘enabled’ wartime sexual violence. Ordered sexual violence is carried out on the basis of explicit authorization or instruction, and generally has a strategic political and/or military purpose. Enabled sexual violence is not necessarily related to a strategic objective but is mainly facilitated by weak accountability mechanisms and norms that are supportive of sexual coercion.

The UN Security Council is the world’s most established forum for safeguarding international peace and security. It has, however, suffered from significant deficiencies in legitimacy and effectiveness. The permanent five (P5) members control the Council’s agenda and block action on conflicts because of their own national interests and geopolitical rivalries. New research (see Graham, 2022; Olsson, Muvumba Sellström, and Chang, 2021; and for example, Bode, 2018; Pay and Postolski, 2022; and Farrall, Loisell and Prantl, 2020) suggests that the elected ten (E10) members are, however, able to project their own interests and preferences, and shape decisions from inside the Council, particularly on conflict situations and themes that affect Africa. Indeed, conflict in Africa makes up two-thirds of the Council’s workload, and 85% of UN military peacekeepers are deployed to the continent. This short article explores the recent memberships of Sweden (2017-18) and South Africa (2019-20). Elected states have played an active role in terms of promoting cross-cutting themes, including strengthening Africa’s Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda, to varying degrees. Elected members can distinguish their short tenures on the Council by signalling their contribution to global affairs through thematic events and resolutions. By presenting South Africa and Sweden’s record of conduct on these themes, the article explores differences and similarities in E10 practice. The main contribution is an illustration of how elected states pursue a common agenda, using diverse methods of engagement. This variation is important for understanding the UNSC, since it demonstrates the Council’s pluralist nature, and the interplay of its least powerful members through policy practices of specialization and interdependence.

This report seeks to contribute to a growing research agenda on internal United Nations Security Council (UNSC) dynamics and the role of elected states (E10s). To study the role of elected states is important as research indicates that there has been increased interest among states to hold one of the elected Council seats, yet our understanding of E10 strategies and effects remains more limited. ​Research also indicates that the possibilities for elected states to have an impact on UNSC outcomes can differ between policy areas. For its 2017–18 Council term, Sweden decided that it should promote the integration of Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) into the mainstream of the UNSC’s processes and decisions, to contribute to making WPS "core Council business”. In fact, even though WPS is a policy area of growing importance for several elected states, there exists limited knowledge on the role of E10s in driving progress in the Council. 

Addressing gaps in our understanding of E10 roles, strategies, and effects, this report makes two contributions: First, we provide insights into preparations for, and the situation in, the UNSC for elected members. We begin by discussing the assessments and decisions involved in forming the elected state’s aims and strategy, and then outline four clusters of conditions that an elected state has to tactically maneuver during its term. Second, we structure and advance our knowledge of the potential effects a state can seek to achieve to better understand and study such efforts. We then go more in-depth into one of the effects that Sweden sought to achieve: that is, the improved integration of WPS language in UNSC resolutions, in particular peace operation and political mission mandates, to positively affect the lives of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict areas. We here outline a method for assessing progress on the integration of implementable language. To fulfill this objective, the report builds on a focused analysis of the experiences of Sweden and data on language developments in UNSC resolutions in the 2016–19 period. Importantly, this report does not constitute an authorized or official account of Sweden’s term and is not intended to be a comprehensive assessment of all of Sweden’s work during its two years on the UNSC. Rather, the interviews, written material, and data collection have been used to explore and expand our understanding of elected members and internal UNSC dynamics and to contribute to a growing research agenda on the role of states for WPS progress and setbacks. 

The report is the first publication in cooperation between the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Uppsala University, and the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI) on the role of elected members in the Security Council and is a product of projects funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Folke Bernadotte Academy, and the Shattering Glass project funded by the Swedish Research Council (ID: 2020-05104_3)