Abstract
Cooperation between states in multilateral institutions is acknowledged as one of the key ways to address common maritime security challenges. The transnational nature of crimes and threats at sea constrains the ability of states and agencies to cope and respond. A number of multilateral treaties and conventions play an important role in addressing these maritime security challenges by encouraging cooperation and the enforcement of common norms and rules. Research on multilateral cooperation regarding maritime security at the regional level is well advanced in both South East Asia and Europe, yet insufficient attention has been paid to similar multilateral cooperation initiatives in the African maritime security context. African multilateral cooperation involves some of the most complicated ongoing efforts in both establishing and consolidating maritime security cooperation between states. A detailed case study of African Union’s efforts to bring together its member states to address the maritime security challenges facing them helps illustrates some of background and theory, as well as successes and struggles, and contributes to a richer understanding of how multilateral cooperation influences and improves maritime security.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
African Union (2009) Decision on the report of the Peace and Security Council on its activities and the state of peace and security in Africa Decision [Assembly/AU/Dec.252(XIII)] www.peaceau.org/uploads/assembly-au-dec-252-xiii-e.pdf
African Union (2012) Addis Ababa declaration on the 2050 Africa’s integrated maritime strategy (2050 Aim Strategy) AU (DECL/M/II/CAMRMRA/2012). https://au.int/sites/default/files/newsevents/workingdocuments/27462-wd-declaration_eng.pdf
African Union (2013a) Peace and security council 387th meeting at ministerial level, 29 July 2013 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, PSC/MIN/COMM2(CCCLXXXVII). http://www.peaceau.org/uploads/psc-387-com-yaounde-summit29-07-2013.pdf
African Union (2018a) Celebration of African day of seas and oceans held at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, May 30, 2018. https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20180530/2018-celebration-african-day-seas-and-oceans-held-african-union-headquarters. Accessed 19 Dec 2018
African Union (2018b) 2050 Africa’s integrated maritime strategy (2050 AIMS). https://au.int/en/documents-38. Accessed 19 Dec 2018
African Union (2018c) African charter on maritime security and safety and development in Africa (Lomé Charter). https://au.int/en/treaties/african-charter-maritime-security-and-safety-and-development-africa-lom%C3%A9-charter. Accessed 19 Dec 2018
African Union (2019) Revised African maritime transport charter. https://au.int/en/treaties/revised-african-maritime-transport-charter. Accessed 7 May 2019
Bateman S (2011) Solving the “wicked problems” of maritime security: are regional forums up to the task? Contemp Southeast Asia 33(1):1–28
Bischoff P (2008) Pan-African multilateralism: transformative or disconnected? Politikon S Afr J Polit Stud 35(2):177–195
Blede B (2014) No shortcuts in ship and port security, ISS Today, 7 November 2014. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/no-shortcuts-in-ship-and-port-security. Accessed 19 Dec 2018
Blaine M, Sinovich J (2015) Ensuring the SADC maritime interest through good order at sea. In: Vreÿ F, Mandrup T (eds) Towards good order at sea. Sun Media, Stellenbosch
Bueger C (2015) What is maritime security? Mar Policy 53:159–164
Caporaso JA (1992) International relations theory and multilateralism: the search for foundations. Int Organ 46(3):599–632
Cox RW (1992) Multilateralism and world order. Rev Int Stud 18(2):161–180
Egede E (2017) Africa’s Lomé Charter on maritime security: what are the next steps? http://piracy-studies.org/africas-lome-charter-on-maritime-security-what-are-the-next-steps/. Accessed 19 Dec 2018
Engel U (2014) The African union, the African peace and security architecture, and maritime security. Afr Secur 7(3):207–227
Fabricius P (2018) AU summit 30: should Africa worry about a growing foreign military presence? ISS Today, 25 January 2018. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/au-summit-30-should-africa-worry-about-a-growing-foreign-military-presence. Accessed 7 May 2019
Hansen SJ (2009) Piracy in the greater Gulf of Aden: myths, misconception and remedies. Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research, Oslo
Klein N (2011) Maritime security and the law of the sea. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Martin LL (1992) Interests, power, and multilateralism. Int Organ 46(4):765–792
Møller B (2005) The Pros and Cons of subsidiarity: the role of African regional and subregional organisations in ensuring peace and security in Africa. DIIS Working Paper No 2005/4
Murphy MN (2010) Small boats, weak states. In: Dirty money: piracy and maritime terrorism in the modern world. Hurst, London
Nathan L (2012) Community of insecurity: SADC’s struggle for peace and security in southern Africa. Ashgate, Farnham
Ncube N, Baker ML (2011) Beyond pirates and drugs. Unlocking Africa’s maritime potential and economic development. Afr Secur Rev 20(1):60–69
Nmehielle V, Pasipanodya T (2017) African Union. In: PHG V, Tsamenyi M (eds) The law of the sea. The African Union and its member states. Juta, Claremont
Percy S (2016) Counter-piracy in the Indian Ocean: a new form of military cooperation. J Glob Secur Stud 1(4):270–284
Potgieter J, Walker T (2015) The 2050 African integrated maritime strategy (AIMS): content and progress. In: Vreÿ F, Mandrup T (eds) Towards good order at sea. Sun Media, Stellenbosch
Rothwell DR, Klein N (2010) Maritime security and the law of the sea. In: Maritime security: international law and policy perspectives from Australia and New Zealand. Routledge, London
Ruggie JG (1992) Multilateralism: the anatomy of an institution. Int Organ 46(3):561–598
Singh C, Bedi AS (2016) War on piracy: the conflation of Somali piracy with terrorism in discourse, tactic and law. Secur Dialogue 47(5):440–458
South African Navy (2017) 2017 standing maritime committee documentation. http://www.navy.mil.za/SMC/2017_documentation.htm. Accessed 19 Dec 2018
Struett MJ, Nance MT, Carlson JD (eds) (2013) Maritime piracy and the construction of global governance. Routledge, London
Tardy T (ed) (2014) Fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia: lessons learned from the Contact Group. European Union Institute for Security Studies Report 20
Till G (2013) Seapower: a guide for the twenty-first century, 3rd edn. Routledge, London
Tsamenyi M, Ali K, Kaye S (2017) Conclusion. In: Vrancken PHG, Tsamenyi M (eds) The law of the sea. The African Union and its member states. Juta, Claremont
United Nations (2014) Report of the twenty-fourth meeting of states parties of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, (SPLOS/277). https://undocs.org/SPLOS/277. Accessed 31 May 2019
United Nations (2018a) Multilateralism: the only path to address the world’s troubles, signals Guterres, UN News. https://newsunorg/en/story/2018/08/1017012. Accessed 19 Dec 2018
United Nations (2018b) Delegates say new marine biodiversity treaty must respect jurisdiction of coastal states over their continental shelf, as intergovernmental conference continues, UN Press Release 5 September 2018. https://wwwunorg/press/en/2018/sea2077doc.htm. Accessed 19 Dec 2018
UN Security Council (2008a) Security council resolution 1838 [on acts of piracy and armed robbery against vessels in territorial waters and the high seas off the coast of Somalia], 7 October 2008, S/RES/1838 (2008). https://www.refworld.org/docid/48ef651f2.html. Accessed 19 Dec 2018
UN Security Council (2008b) Security council resolution 1851 [on fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia], 16 December 2008, S/RES/1851 (2008). https://www.refworld.org/docid/4952044e2.html. Accessed 14 Feb 2020
UN Security Council (2012) Security council resolution 2039 [on acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of the States of the Gulf of Guinea], 24 May 2012, S/RES/2039 (2012). https://www.refworld.org/docid/4fbe210f2.html. Accessed 14 Feb 2020
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2014) Maritime piracy (Part II): an overview of the international legal framework and of multilateral cooperation to combat piracy – studies in transport law and policy – 2014 (No.2) (UNCTAD/DTL/TLB/2013/3) 19 Aug 2014
Vogel A (2009) Navies versus Coast Guards: defining the roles of African maritime security forces. Africa Security Brief 2. Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, Fort McNair
Vreÿ F (2009) Bad order at sea: from the Gulf of Aden to the Gulf of Guinea. Afr Secur Rev 18(3):17–30
Walker T (2015) Why Africa must resolve its maritime boundary disputes. Institute for Security Studies Policy Brief 80
Walker T (2017) Reviving the AU’s maritime strategy. Institute for Security Studies Policy Brief 96
Walker T, Reva, D (2019) Promising signs of Africa’s global leadership on maritime security, ISS today, 19 February 2019. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/promising-signs-of-africas-global-leadership-on-maritime-security. Accessed 14 Feb 2020
Wambua PM (2009) Enhancing regional maritime cooperation in Africa: the planned end state. Afr Secur Rev 18(3):45–59
Wambua PM (2015) UNCLOS and good order at sea: a normative framework. In: Vreÿ F, Mandrup T (eds) Towards good order at sea. Sun Media, Stellenbosch
Willett L (2011) Pirates and power politics. RUSI J 156(6):20–25
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Walker, T. (2020). The Successes and Struggles of Multilateralism: African Maritime Security and Strategy. In: Otto, L. (eds) Global Challenges in Maritime Security. Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34630-0_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34630-0_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-34629-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-34630-0
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)