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City University of New York - City College

Peacekeeping Operations in West Africa: Mechanisms of Cooperation between the United Nations and ECOWAS with the case studies concerning the crises in Liberia and The Gambia

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>The African continent has significantly suffered from a great number of civil wars and armed conflicts since the beginning of the independence era in late 1960s. On May 28, 1975, the creation of a regional The African continent has significantly suffered from a great number of civil wars and armed conflicts since organization in West Africa called the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) took place. The intent was to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for its member states by building a full economic and trading union. In the late 1990s, the maintenance of peace and security in the region was added to the ECOWAS mission statement. This thesis focuses on the important collaboration between the United Nations (UN) and the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) in resolving conflicts on the African continent. This subject is quite relevant today and this thesis examines the history and political achievements of the cooperation between the UN and ECOWAS in two cases, Liberia and The Gambia where both organizations were involved.</p> <p>I argue here that while the relationship between the United Nations and ECOWAS has developed over time, the UN has been slow in responding to crises in West Africa. I use Liberia as a case in point. However, I also argue that the UN has begun to realize the need to collaborate with this regional organization as demonstrated in my second case of The Gambia. I believe that preventive action combined with military deployment, if necessary, under the auspices of the UN, the African Union (AU) and ECOWAS can ensure peace, security, civilian human rights, rule of law and democracy in West Africa. The joint actions of these international organizations should be formalized in the form of a joint framework, based in West Africa.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of International Affairs (M.I.A.)
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
International Relations
Year dc:date.available
2019

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • CISSE, Serigne Cheikh Modou Kara
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Jean Krasno
  • Kimberly Gamble-Payne

Subjects

dc:subject × 13

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/805
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:academicworks.cuny.edu:cc_etds_theses-1811

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
City University of New York - City College
Base URL
academicworks.cuny.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

CISSE, Serigne Cheikh Modou Kara. Peacekeeping Operations in West Africa: Mechanisms of Cooperation between the United Nations and ECOWAS with the case studies concerning the crises in Liberia and The Gambia. Thesis thesis, 2019. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/805