Since 2012, concerns over maritime security in West Africa have increased significantly, with piracy cases almost doubling by 2018 and making the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) one of the most insecure maritime spacesin the world (Otto, 2014; IMB, 2018; One Earth Future, 2020). Although the underwater wealth and the relevant geographic position have transformed the GoG into a geo-strategic political, economic, trade and energy space (Kornegay and Landsberg, 2009; Cheru and Obi, 2011), it has also favoured the emergence of violent threats and social tensions for access, control and management over the area and its resources (Bassou, 2017; WEF, 2019). The increasing cases of piracy, armed robbery, crude oil theft, illegal oil bunkering, illegal unregulated fishing, marine pollution, illicit drug and human trafficking and smuggling, targeting mainly oil vessels and kidnapping ships and crew, have become a major security concern not just in the region, but worldwide (ICG, 2012). Because of globalization dynamics, local security threats have assumed a transnational aspect, spreading not only to geographic proximities, but overcoming borders and assuming global dimensions, requiring multilateral joint interventions to maintain stability and security (Rasheed, 1996, Gilpin, 2004).

The African continent is characterized by a long history of external presence and engagement over its territory, with different international actors (both states and international organizations) directly managing its economic, political, social and security sectors, among others. Soon after the 9/11 and within the framework of the War on Terror, concerns about the trans-nationalization of security threats emerged and resulted in the promotion of a process of securitization (Buzan and Waever, 2003) of Africa and its development (Abrahamsen, 2005; Aimé, 2013). Africa’s weak structures and capabilities to deal with growing insecurity and the difficulties experienced in terms of economic, political and social development and stability, could represent opportunities for illegal and violent actors to set down their bases in the continent and take advantages of the huge resources and fragile structures to augment their power and advance with their threats worldwide. Hence, the process of securitization of Africa and its development was structured upon the recognition of a security-development nexus and came to implement preventive and intervenient measures of international actors in the continent (Chandler, 2007), to tackle new common security threats (Kaldor, 2002) and reduce transnational criminal activities in the region. That also included embracing the benefits of a regional security maritime governance and coordination between external powers (i.e. US, EU, 3 traditional and emerging powers, international organizations and agencies) (Siradag, 2012) and African national, regional and continental actors (i.e. NEPAD- New Partnership for Africa’s Development, ECOWAS- Economic Community of West Africa States, AU- African Union).

Those actors seem to have implemented a comprehensive strategy of joint maritime security cooperation to achieve regional stability (Adogamhe, 2019). Furthermore, West Africa’s states have advanced a broadening of regional integration to address security issues and promote further security regionalization (Buzan and Waever, 2003, Maiangwa, 2015). The increasing African agency in the security field originates from the changing (self)perception of the continent in contemporary international relations (Taylor and Williams, 2004) and it also represents a reaction to historical accomplishments of interests from external powers (Schmidt, 2013, Ghimire, 2016), resulting in an African architecture aimed at dealing with regional and continental maritime security, and preventively eliminating domestic roots of insecurities, concerning development (Maiangwa, 2015). 

This research proposal aims to analyse African contributions to international relations in terms of the growing relevance of maritime security issues for the continent,and its impacts on state and societal development, thus covering an issue that has been long neglected in the discipline of African Studies (Coelho, 2013). This project explores the extent of recent African agency in autonomously responding to growing security threats in West Africa through the coordination of regional and international initiatives and the creation of a peace and security architecture in the Gulf of Guinea. Through the analytical lenses of the security-development nexus and securitization dynamics imposed by external powers, this research aims to address African efforts towards a security regionalization that can be conducive to further mechanisms of regional and global security.

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