How much weight for military capabilities? Africa's new peace and security architecture and the role of external actors

Abstract: "Peace and security have become a priority issue for the African continent itself, but also for the international community. The dynamics that Africa has developed on its own as well as the dynamics currently involved in outside support for Africa are concerned not exclusively but in large measure with military capabilities. In fact, there have in the past been only too many examples that clearly indicate that mechanisms put in place by African nations themselves (e.g. the Organisation for African Unity) or by the international community have been unwilling or unable to intervene militarily in extreme emergency situations to protect civilian populations. Against this background, the present paper will outline the conflict situation given in Africa at present; in doing so, it will seek to determine (i) what the constitutive elements of the new African peace and security architecture are, (ii) how and in what form external actors are supporting African efforts in this regard, and (ii