Even though there have been some scholarly articles on the intervention of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the December 2016 post-electoral dispute in The Gambia, no study has been conducted linking the intervention with the overall Peace and Security Architecture of the Community. This book offers a first attempt at establishing that vital linkage. In doing so, the manuscript firstly highlights the legal response of ECOWAS and the African Union to conflict situations on the African continent, which appear to be hindering the continent’s development. It provides an overview of the institutional transformation of the ECOWAS as an economic organisation into one of the promotion of a rules-based system anchored on the entrenchment of democratic norms and the rule of law towards regional stability for effective regional integration to the benefit of the Community’s citizens. The book also offers a synopsis of general interventions and institutional development of ECOWAS-seen as one of the most dynamic Regional Economic Communities in Africa and an effective component of the African Peace and Security Architecture-linking all Regional Economic Communities (RECs) of the continent.

Furthermore, the book offers valuable insights into the interaction between pro-democracy interventions and the prohibition of the use of force under the UN Charter. It reconciles legal principles with the evolving norm of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in the wake of the rising primacy of respect for human rights and the changing scope of the traditional principles of state sovereignty and territorial integrity. The work also attempts to draw parallels with the experiences of other regional and continental organisations, such as the European Union, in the area of compliance with the Community’s law and jurisprudence. The manuscript identified the weaknesses in ECOWAS’ governance architecture, lessons learnt from the peaceful resolution of the Gambian post-electoral dispute and offered some recommendations on the way forward. This work will thus contribute to filling the existing gaps in knowledge and the literature on the subject while at the same time serving as a helpful reference material for policymakers, academia and students on contemporary issues in public international law as applicable to the ECOWAS sub-region.

About the Author: Senalor K. Yawlui, LLM (London), MA (Accra), PhD (Paris), Barrister, was formerly Adjunct Lecturer in public international law and international trade and investment law at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Faculty of Law, Accra. As a career diplomat, he is currently serving as Deputy Head of Mission/Permanent Representative of Ghana to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), The Hague, and Ghana’s legal expert to the International Criminal Court (ICC), The Hague, The Netherlands, for the period: October 2022-October 2026.

• Paperback: 476 pages
• Publisher: White Falcon Publishing; 1 edition (2023)
• Author: Senalor K. Yawlui
• ISBN-13: 9798892220804
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 Inches

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