What are African countries focusing on to combat national security threats?

Since achieving independence, the West African region has suffered through five large-scale civil wars.

However, since the turn of the new millennium, the presence of major intrastate conflict has dropped dramatically as West African countries enjoyed a significant watershed of political and societal stabilisation. Unfortunately, other forms of violence still stalk the region, inspired by political and economic motives that have spawned a wave of new threats that converge with perennial ones, forming a vastly dangerous and difficult threat landscape, featuring drug and arms trafficking, human smuggling, violent extremism and even cybercrime.

In order to assess, counter and overcome the threats facing them, the respective nations that make up West Africa are enacting bold and dynamic new security solutions, both individually and collaboratively. This is creating a highly fluid and dynamic security market in the region; from investing heavily in technological means of advancing their security infrastructure, to integrating and optimising joint task forces and border patrols, West African governments are gearing up for a fundamental overhaul of their national and regional approach to security.

Download the full report...