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Paper short abstract:

The paper takes stock of the last 10 years of regional security cooperation and troop deployment in the Central African Republic.

Paper long abstract:

Since 2003, regional Central African troops have been deployed in the Central African Republic (CAR) - first with the multinational force FOMUC, and from 2008 with the peace consolidation mission MICOPAX - in response to subsequent political crises, rebellions and attempted and successful coups d'Etats. After 10 years of regional involvement that aimed at promoting peace and security in the CAR, the balance is however rather poor and disturbing. Whereas the troops prepare their withdrawal by the end of 2013, the situation in the CAR remains alarming, with very fragile and vulnerable political and security conditions, a high level of violence and criminality all over the territory, and severe humanitarian and socio-economic problems. Especially the latest rebel advances in December 2012 are highly embarrassing the internal, regional and external stakeholders and questioning their approach towards effectively stabilizing the security situation in the country. Starting with a review of the December 2012 events and their handling, the paper takes stock of the last 10 years of regional security cooperation and troop deployment in the CAR. It argues that a major failure of the current approach lies in its narrow focus on military activities, whereas social issues and civil involvement have been largely neglected. As broader human security needs and rapidly changing regional security constellations are likely to fuel conflicts, creating peace and security in a sustainable way (more than ever) requires a regional approach that addresses structural mainly non-military causes of instability.

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