Podcast/ The EU and Fragmented Territories: How to Deal with Complexities in the EU Neighbourhood and Beyond
This episode of the JOINT podcast explores the obstacles faced by the European Union in achieving a cohesive foreign and security policy. Focusing on case studies from Syria, Libya, and the Horn of Africa (with a focus on Ethiopia and the Tigray War), Jesutimilehin O. Akamo (Research Coordinator at the Africa Peace and Security Programme […]
Resolving Libya’s Legitimacy Crisis: 2023 Elections as a Pathway for Peace and Democratisation?
Beyond having an internationally recognised government, Libya is in dire need of a legitimate administration to take it a step away from political stagnation and division. A legal framework and a roadmap associated with a timetable for Libya’s elections in 2023 is therefore paramount, although caution is required – as to not be too hasty. […]
The Vicious Circle of Fragmentation: The EU and the Limits of Its Approach to Libya
Due to the weak state structures inherited by Qadhafi’s regime, Libya has entered a vicious cycle of fragmentation since 2011, as sub-national and regional players have engaged in a competition for resources and power. The involvement of several international actors has exacerbated these dynamics, turning Libya into a proxy conflict. EU action in Libya has […]
The EU as an (In)Significant Player in Libya
Factors that limit the EU’s effectiveness in promoting the Libyan peace process can be categorised into three streams: damage control approach, soft power approach and EU internal divisions.[1] To a convincing extent, these factors explain why the EU cannot be considered a significant player in the Libyan peace process. However, there are alternative means through […]
Framing Public Perception of the Challenges to the EU Foreign Security and Defence Policy. Focus Groups as a Method of Investigation
This report presents the results of twelve focus groups carried out in six European countries (France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain) and addressing topics of concern for the study of EU foreign security and defence policy. In particular, participants were engaged in discussions on three main topics: (1) the most pressing international challenges and […]
Laying the Groundwork for Peace in a Fragmented Libya
Libya is fragmented, and this fragmentation raises questions about legitimacy for whoever emerges as the winner of the presidential elections, now scheduled for early 2022. Legitimacy is one of the underlying challenges that engenders post-election conflict in many African societies. To avoid post-election conflict in Libya, stakeholders like the European Union, by way of anticipation, […]
Roundtable/ “Post-election Libya and the European Union” organized by IPSS
On Wednesday, 23 February, the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS- Addis Ababa University) will host a JOINT Roundtable to discuss extent to which the EU’s agenda for Libya is fit-for-purpose, considering the fragmented nature of Libya’s geopolitical context further highlighted by the postponement of the Libyan elections to an undefined date. Panel: Youssef […]
Brief/Laying the Groundwork for Peace in a Fragmented Libya by Jesutimilehin O. Akamo
In this JOINT Brief, Jesutimilehin O. Akamo (IPSS – Institute for Peace and Security Studies) analyses the concerns that the level of fragmentation in Libya raises about post-election conflicts and proposes an approach that stakeholders like the EU may adopt to help prevent these conflicts.
Identity and Transitional Justice in the Horn of Africa and Libya
Identity and conflict shape each other. This is evident in the historical trajectory of the Horn of Africa (HoA) – notably in the conflicts in the Gambella region, between Ethiopia and Eritrea, in Somalia and Tigray – as well as of Libya during and after the long autocratic rule of Muammar Gaddafi.[1] The nexus between […]