West Africa Perspectives

Wednesday 16 June 2021, 15.00-16.30
DIIS ∙ Danish Institute for International Studies 
Online via Zoom

West Africa has faced numerous challenges since the end of the Cold War. The early 1990s were characterized by considerable optimism, but from the west coast to the Sahel the region has experienced and continues to experience instability.

This webinar emphasizes the importance of how regional dynamics are discussed. On one level, there is good reason to be deeply critical of the external, often normative, gaze on practices and institutions in West Africa that are labelled as ‘illegal’, ‘criminal’ and ‘fragile’. Indeed, what is in fact being discussed are people’s strategies to survive and create new response mechanisms in what are often difficult circumstances. At the same time, there is also good reason to be critical of — and to critically engage — governments and elites across the region.

Appropriate responses to the challenges that West Africa faces must be found within the region by the region’s leaders and populations. They can neither be externally produced nor applied — even if assistance from outside West Africa in certain cases might be needed.

The webinar will discuss these challenges and dilemmas with input from some of West Africa’s key experts. It marks the launch of the DIIS report ‘West Africa Security Perspectives’. Each speaker will talk to one of the eight topics in the report.

Speakers
Prof. Kwesi Aning, Director, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC)
Dr. Andrews Atta-Asamoah, Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria, South Africa
Prof. Dzodzi Tsikata, Director, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana
Prof. Gani Yoroms, National Defence College
Peter Albrecht, Senior Researcher, DIIS

Programme
15.00-15.05   Introduction, Peter Albrecht   
15.05-15.15   The state, Kwesi Aning
15.15-15.25   Demographics, Dzodzi Tsikata
15.25-15.35   Organized crime, Andrews Atta-Asamoah
15.35-15.45   Interventions, Gani Yoroms
15.45-16.10   Panel discussion
16.10-16.30   Q&A from audience

Practical information
The webinar will be held in English.
Participation is free of charge, but registration is required.