Challenges to Regional Security Cooperation: A Comparative Analysis of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)

Abstract

The study sought to find out the challenges to regional security cooperation in Africa with ECOWAS and SADC as case studies. The data used for this study was qualitative method of collecting and analyzing data. It found that there are both structural differences and ideological similarities between ECOWAS and SADC. Both ECOWAS and SADC were originally economic integration Organization; however, the contemporary nexus between security and development compelled them to adopt security roles. The two Organizations however differ in their approaches in managing threats to their sub-regions. ECOWAS was more predisposed to deploy its economic and political sanctions and military intervention mechanisms; while SADC is more given to using preventive diplomacy and conciliatory mechanisms to contain threats to the sub- region than deploying the threat of using military intervention. The difference is due to the type of colonialism member states of the two Organizations experienced. ECOWAS member states experienced a milder form of colonialism as compared to SADC, which had experienced more severe form of colonialism. The two regions experienced financial difficulties, lack of necessary political will, poor good governance, and corruption to varying degrees. SADC suffered lack of institutional capacity, lack of unity and nationalist rivalry while ECOWAS suffered from Anglophone and Francophone divide and volatility of conflicts. The study suggested greater collaboration between sub-regional Organizations to learn from each other’s experiences and set up funds for managing security threats to ensure their independence.