WP29: The EU and (Regional?) Insecurity in the Horn of Africa

The aim of this paper is to look at how the EU deals with a region that is conflict prone and marked by a high level of insecurity. The Horn of Africa is characterised by the existence of both open conflicts and latent conflicts. Moreover, these conflicts tend to have transnational and regional nature whether it is because of external interventions by neighbouring states or unresolved inter-state disputes.

The Horn of Africa is also a region of international strategic concern that touches on several security issues including violent conflicts, human rights violation, terrorism and migration. However, from the EU’s side, the most visible element of its involvement in the region is the deployment of EUNAVFOR Atalanta mission, but it is interesting to see whether this mission forms part of a more general approach toward the region. The paper thus focuses on the way the EU constructs the security problems of the Horn of Africa and the approach it adopts to address these problems.

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