Paper short abstract:

Based on a case study of AU and ECOWAS interventions in The Gambia, this paper discusses the coercive nature of these interventions, how people affected experience coercion at times of intervention and suggests a rethinking of coercion in conflict management and for regional order-making.

Paper long abstract:

Intervention research has for many years focused on UN peacekeeping missions or interventions run by ‘Western’ actors. However, for the past twenty years, it is African interventions that have gained ground in offering peace and security solutions on the continent. In contrast to ‘Western’ interventions, literature often describes them as less or even non-coercive and enjoying more legitimacy among those at the ‘receiving’ end. But what is coercion in the context of African conflict management? How coercive are African interventions? And, what constitutes coercion for whom and under what conditions? Drawing on ethnographic elements and interview and focus group research in The Gambia conducted in 2021/2022, this explorative case study sheds light on the lived-through experiences of Gambians at the time of AU and ECOWAS interventions between 2016 and 2022. In doing so, this paper (1) illustrates everyday perceptions of the coerciveness of AU and ECOWAS interventions in The Gambia and how those are complex and fall apart. It (2) demonstrates that coercion is much more ambiguous than its usual negative connotation and that the perceptions of it are shaped along parameters of time, space and positionality. From there, the paper (3) shows how perceptions of coercion reflect the attempt of regional order-making and impact its legitimacy. In conclusion, this paper suggests a re-thinking of coercion as a conflict management strategy for, in the long run, increasing the legitimacy of AU and ECOWAS ‘on the ground’.