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At a time in which the relationship between Africa and the European unit is being redefined, how do EU policies on conflict prevention, stabilization, and peacebuilding on the continent look from Africa? Where can the EU make a positive contribution to conflict resolution – and where should it rather scale back its efforts? For this episode of PeacebyPeace, Sarah Brockmeier spoke to Professor Gilbert M. Khadiagala, a professor of International Relations at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Professor Khadiagala has researched and taught international relations, African politics, mediation, and conflict resolution for over 30 years. He holds degrees from the University of Nairobi, McMaster University in Canada and a PhD in International Studies from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC.  

Professor Khadiagala argued that the EU’s comparative advantage in Africa in comparison to other actors like China or Russia is the long history of relationships with different African countries and a deeper knowledge of their history. He advocated for more EU engagement in conflict resolution in Libya and Somalia, among others, but less engagement in other countries such as Burundi or South Sudan. His recommendations to EU policymakers include to focus less on a militarized response to migration, invest more in economic development and youth employment as a form of conflict prevention, and strengthen the EU’s relationship with regional organizations in Africa rather than the African Union.  

This episode was produced in cooperation with the Petra-Kelly-Stiftung, which is organizing a conference on EU peace and security policy in Africa on 23 January 2021, where excerpts of this conversation will be shown as a video.  

Links

• Professor Gilbert M. Khadiagala's research and Twitter profiles
  
• Register for the conference on EU peace and security policy in Africa on 23 January 2021