African Security Review, Vol 17 No 3
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Institute for Security Studies African Security Review African Security Review vol 17 no 3 September 2008 2008 Editor Deane-Peter Baker Editorial Board Festus Aboagye Hiruy Amanuel Annie Chikwanha Jakkie Cilliers Anton du Plessis Peter Edupo Peter Gastrow Charles Goredema Paul-Simon Handy Guy Lamb Len le Roux Prince Mashele Kenneth Mpyisi Augusta Muchai Naison Ngoma Hennie van Vuuren Abstracts vEssays Developing national security strategies in the African context 82 Features Colonel (Rtd) James D Noteboom The climate security divide: Oil pipeline sabotage in Nigeria: Bridging human and national security in Africa 2 Dimensions, actors and implications for national security 99 Denise Garcia Freedom C Onuoha From the West to the rest: Climate change as a challenge to human security in Africa 18 Dan Kuwali Commentaries Climate change: Understanding Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood 118 A new threat to stability in West Africa? Laurence Caromba and Hussein Solomon Evidence from Ghana and Burkina Faso 39 Oli Brown and Alec Crawford The impacts of environmental degradation on refugee–host relationships 125 Environmental change and human security in Lesotho: Leah Berry The role of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in environmental degradation 58 Oscar Gakuo Mwangi Book Review The ethics of climate change: Africa Watch Right and wrong in a warming world 134 James Garvey Personnel fatalities in United Nations missions, by year, up to 30 June 2008 72 Henri Boshoff Senegal’s democracy: Has Wade lost his edge? 75 David Zounmenou CONTENTS Abstracts ABSTRACTS Features The climate security divide: Bridging human and national security in Africa Denise Garcia National security is traditionally considered to have two dimensions: national defence against external aggressors and internal security against domestic enemies. States therefore pursue weapons and alliances to attain security with military procurement being an integral part of the pursuit of national security. Climate change has modifi ed this state of affairs because it poses unique challenges to the regional security of Africa, and to general security on a global scale: it is a non-temporal threat, with no clearly defi ned parameters, and cannot be tackled by military means. In addition, it threatens not only the security of a state but the security of communities or entire portions of a state’s population. It is therefore a risk to both national and human security. The advent of nuclear weapons has dramatically changed international relations in the 20th century and modifi ed security relations amongst nations. Now climate change processes are vi African Security Review 17.3 Institute for Security Studies Abstracts vii redefi ning security in the 21st century. The security implications for Africa are the most The security implications of climate change have become the subject of unprecedented dramatic and urgent. international attention, and in 2007 climate change was the focus of both a Security Council debate and the Nobel Peace Prize. There have been some attempts to construct This paper explores the climate divide produced by climate change processes, scenarios of the ways in which warming temperatures might undermine security on a particularly with regard to consequences of and effects on national and human security. global scale. But the security impacts of climate change at the level of countries have To complement this analysis, two areas of security are examined, the fi rst being the been lost in the political rhetoric. relationship between climate change and confl ict and the second the security stressors in Africa that compound climate change and imperil security. In conclusion, the climate This paper is an effort to address this research gap. Drawing on fi eld visits and consultations change scenario in Africa is linked to the pursuit of energy, conservation of forests and with local experts, the authors explore the extent to which climate change could undermine resolution of confl icts. The author also situates the African challenges in the multilateral stability in two different West African countries, namely Ghana and Burkina Faso. processes of climate change. Environmental change and human security in Lesotho: The role of From the West to the rest: Climate change as a the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in environmental degradation challenge to human security in Africa Oscar Gakuo Mwangi Dan Kuwali This paper examines the impact of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project on environmental To date, most of the work on climate change has focused on mitigation and adaptation change and on environmental and human security in Lesotho. The central argument is strategies to address its causes and consequences to the environment. Some commentators that the construction of the project has contributed to environmental degradation, and have expanded the debate by arguing for the promotion of sustainable development and particularly the depletion of renewable resources in terms of both quantity and quality. poverty reduction. However, there is need to also focus on the human dimension in the The environmental scarcity brought about by the project’s construction is, fi rst, human- climate change discourse. Therefore, this discussion seeks to contribute a more nuanced induced and second, supply-induced in that it is caused by resource degradation and understanding of the problem through a victim (human security) oriented approach to depletion. This has had an adverse impact on environmental and human security in the combat climate change. country. Part of the problem is that environmental issues associated with the project have not been politicised by the elite and have accordingly not yet become a concern at a The central argument is that there must be a deliberate reframing of the climate change high political level. However, the project itself is indeed the subject of politics at a high debate in terms of human security, which is anchored in human rights doctrine. level, because of its hydro-political implications. In the conclusion potential solutions to The shared human rights framework entitles and empowers developing countries to the challenges of environmental problems associated with the project and the country as safeguard their rights when they are endangered. Investment in emission reduction is a a whole are put forward. bargain compared to the long-term costs of inaction. It is essential to act now to prevent catastrophic impacts, rather than adopt a business as usual approach and face terrible consequences later. Africa should take the lead, as populations in developing countries Africa Watch on the African continent will bear the brunt of climate change impact. Senegal’s democracy: Has Wade lost his edge? Climate change: A new threat to stability in West David Zounmenou Africa? Evidence from Ghana and Burkina Faso Oli Brown and Alec Crawford The recent ‘national dialogue’ initiated by opposition parties and civil society organisations in Senegal in an attempt to frame solutions to the country’s latent political crisis highlights Traditionally seen as an environmental and an energy issue, climate change is now being the fragility of the democratic experiments in Africa. Since gaining its independence from recast as a threat to international peace and security. Africa, though the least responsible France in 1960, Senegal has been a model for political stability in West Africa. For almost for greenhouse gas emissions, is seen as the continent most likely to suffer its worst two decades Léopold Senghor, Senegal’s fi rst president, governed a relatively democratic consequences – a function of the continent’s reliance on climate-dependent sectors (such system before stepping down willingly in 1981. His party, the Socialist Party, remained as rain-fed agriculture) and its history of resource, ethnic and political confl ict. in power until the election of Abdoulaye Wade in 2000. While the 2000 elections viii African Security Review 17.3 Institute for Security Studies ushered in a new political dispensation in Senegal, recent growing political dissension and socio-economic problems cast serious concerns over Wade’s political legacy and the state of democracy in Senegal. Low-intensity but protracted armed confl ict in the Casamance and recurrent social protests tend to cloud the ambitions of Wade’s Coalition for Change, mainly because his international actions often receive a mixed welcome, if not outright contempt. Essays Developing national security strategies in the African context Colonel (Rtd) James D Noteboom It is important that African nations, free of colonial and cold war infl uences, now develop their own national security strategies to deal with threats to or opportunities to advance their national interests. This is particularly important because of the many and evolving challenges they face from globalisation, climate change, internal strife, disease and non- state actors, including drug cartels and terrorists. National security strategies can be developed using an analytical model that considers national values, national interests, the strategic vision of its leaders, and the use of national powers to achieve these objectives. The climate security divide: The model deviates from traditional national security analysis in that it does not focus Bridging human and national security in Africa primarily on the use of military power to achieve strategic objectives, but rather on a Denise Garcia balanced and coordinated use of all elements of national power, including its diplomatic,