State Reconstruction Initiatives of the African Union Mission in Somalia (2007-2022)

Abstract

State reconstruction by international actors, individually or collectively, has been a diagnostic framework for Peace Support Operations outcomes and states' vulnerabilities to conflicts or failed states. This study interrogated the state reconstruction initiatives of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). This study employed a case study research design using a sample size of 62 informants determined purposively. The researchers presented the analysed data qualitatively. Using the state-building, securitisation and intervention theories to underpin the discourse of AMISOM's intervention, the study observed numerous initiatives employed by AMISOM. They included stabilisation initiatives, civilian protection, civil-military cooperation, counter-terrorism, and gender-based initiatives. Further initiatives were on security, humanitarian action and institutional capacity building. Generally, these initiatives positively impacted Somalia's statehood strides. The study recommends that military interventions, such as AMISOM, should prioritise state reconstruction initiatives in their mandate. Further, African Union-United Nations (AU-UN) partnerships on state reconstruction initiatives should develop sustainable strategies enabling stakeholders to achieve the stipulated mission mandates.