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The establishment of the African Union and its African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) in 2002 marked a fundamental transformation in how African states collectively address security challenges. This book examines the origins, institutional design, and early performance of APSA, revealing the political dynamics that shaped this landmark initiative in regional security governance.

Drawing on extensive elite interviews with key decision-makers, such as former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, and access to foreign policy documents, this study reconstructs how a coalition of states known as the Like-Minded Five (South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Ethiopia, and Mali) exercised disproportionate influence over the creation of APSA. The analysis traces the formation of state preferences, the negotiation process through which diverse visions were reconciled, and the relationship between institutional design choices and subsequent performance. The book challenges the tendency to underestimate the agency of African states in shaping continental institutions and instead demonstrates how domestic political considerations shaped South African and Nigerian preferences, whilst strategic coalition-building and normative entrepreneurship enabled these middle powers to translate their vision into institutional outcomes.

Understanding the political bargains struck during APSA's formative period remains essential to understanding security cooperation in Africa and beyond. This book will therefore be an important read for policymakers and for researchers across the fields of African studies, international relations, and security studies.