Research project in the field of security complex Europe-Africa

In recent times, climate security has become central to unprecedented attention to the European Union and the African Union. In West Africa and the Sahel region, extreme weather events including droughts, flooding, desertification and deforestation etc. are triggering livelihood insecurity, social tensions and mass migration within Africa and across Europe. These climatic hazards influence the outbreak of conflict, the recruitment of extremists armed groups as well as drive mass migration. Recognizing that climate change and security concerns are increasingly interlinked, African and European policymakers have committed to addressing climate-related security risk through regional security architectures like the Initiative on “Sustainability, Stability, and Security in Africa” and the Euro-African Dialogue on Migration and Development. The focus of this research is to present a comparative analysis between the two initiatives and show how this has impacted cooperation between Europe and Africa. It examines how the effect of climate change has impacted on issues of sustainability, stability and security in Africa and how it interplays with Africa-Europe relations. The research uses the Regional Security Complex Theory as a framework for analysis. Critical content, discourse, and comparative analyses will be used to analyze a variety of qualitative and quantitative sources.

Keywords: Climate change, Sustainability, Stability, Security, Migration, Europe, Africa.

A recent report on "Sustainability, Stability and Security in Africa: Key Findings in the Sahel" can be found here.