WEST AFRICA AS AN AREA OF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CHALLENGES

Abstract

The transformations that have taken place since the end of the Cold War on the security
field have triggered new risks and threatswhich mustbe understood from a
multidimensional perspective. Thus, in a globalized and interconnected world, the
interest for security threats and crisis management has increased considerably.
In that sense, this paper aims to present the West African region as a key strategic actor
in today’s international community. On the one hand, it has gained importance in the
last years due to its economic, commercial, and demographic potential. On the other
hand, it encompasses a series of threats to security, which have a destabilization power
throughout the region, but also an international range, such as terrorist and rebel group
acts, illicit trafficking routes to Europe or internal convulsions in those weak African
states, which affect not only African countries but also international security. The
increasing tensions in this area stress the fact that preventive measures tackling the root
causes of violence are not effective enough.