Open AccessUnderstanding African Agency in Peace and Security: Tanzania’s Implementation of “Non-Indifference” in Somalia
Author(s) -
Stephanie Jaensch
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
afrikaspectrum/africa spectrum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 20
eISSN - 1868-6869
pISSN - 0002-0397
DOI - 10.1177/0002039721993482
Subject(s) - interpretation (philosophy) , agency (philosophy) , tanzania , normative , politics , political science , sociology , political economy , peacebuilding , peacekeeping , law , public administration , development economics , social science , socioeconomics , economics , computer science , programming language
Against the backdrop of the plurality of agents and contexts, Africa’s peace and security norms have remained contested and open to interpretation in political practice. This article argues that African agents manifest their agencies precisely through their distinct interpretation and implementation of security norms. Based on Tanzania’s rejection to join the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in 2007, this article zooms into the underlying domestic complexities by focusing in particular on the crucial influence of national identities for the ongoing construction of normative meaning in Africa’s peace and security landscape.