President Yahya Jammeh’s volte face, following his earlier acceptance of the verdicts of the Gambians during the 1 December 2016 presidential poll, did not only jolt the international community but, if not for the intervention of external actors, would have set the Gambia on the path of implosion. This article, based on desk analysis, examines the mediatory role of ECOWAS in the resolution of the 2016 post-election crisis in the Gambia. It notes that unlike the previous similar case in Cote d’Ivoire, ECOWAS took the lead in resolving the political crisis and thus demonstrated that Pax Africana is at work in the sub-region. It argues and concludes that ECOWAS with or without the support from outsiders has the capacity to take charge of threats to democracy and peace in member states, by deploying mediatory diplomacy backed with threat of coercion.

This article, drawing data from library and online sources, examines and engages issues in Africa’s quest for pax-Africana in the age ofinterventionism. It notes that Africa’s quest for pax-Africana in the age of interventionism is undercut by many factors, chief amongwhich is the dependency and weaknesses of African states which always predispose extra-African powers to intervene in matters thatshould exclusively be handled by Africans. It concludes that as long as Africa remains trapped in dependent relations and the climate of disunity persists among African statesmen, its quest for pax-Africana would remain daunting.

This paper examines the forces that have animated insecurity in Africa/Nigeria via the instrumentality of religious fundamentalism. Drawing data mainly from secondary sources, and leaning on social contract theoretical framework, it argues that contrary to the conventional wisdom that Boko-Harm-styled insecurity in Nigeria is fuelled by religious fundamentalism, the real force lies in neo-imperialism masquerading as globalization.To be sure, this global phenomenon though the mechanism of market reforms has further delegitimized and deconstructed the state in Africa. Put differently, it has alienated the state not only from itself but has also succeeded in alienating it from the citizens. With the alienation of the Leviathan from the society, sub-state actors step in to fill the vacuum. This is where ethnic and religious militias come into the picture.The paper submits that remediation lies in the decolonization and the restructuring of the state via the instrumentality of process-led constitution-making.

While the Cold War lasted, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) never considered democracy promotion in member states as a priority. What mattered to the body was the safeguard of the sovereignties of member states. The globalization of the third democratic wave however, changed that as democracy promotion, courtesy of Donor’s aid agenda became a core objective of the OAU/AU. Deploying descriptive, historical, and analytical methods of inquiry with a focus on the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance (ACDEG), this article assesses the extent of AU’s commitments to promoting democracy in Africa. Following an extensive review of conceptual literature on democracy, as well as relevant studies on OAU/AU’s democracy promotion initiatives in Africa, it notes that OAU/AU, no doubt, has robust normative frameworks for dealing with an unconstitutional change of government and other actions that could constitute a threat to the growth of democracy in Africa but in enforcing these frameworks, it is often stuck between a rock and a hard place. It suggests, among others, the strengthening of the enforcement mechanisms of the organization.

Nos últimos anos, grupos de vigilantes e outras estruturas informais de policiamento assumiram um papel maior na arquitetura de segurança de muitos países, especialmente aqueles que saíram da ordem autoritária. Apesar deste desenvolvimento, no entanto, questões e preocupações são constantemente levantadas sobre se eles realmente poderiam ser agentes do policiamento democrático contra o pano de fundo de sua propensão para violações de direitos humanos e assassinatos extrajudiciais. É contra esse cenário que este artigo examina o balanço de grupos de vigilantes em uma Nigéria em democratização. Após uma extensa revisão da literatura existente sobre grupos policiais, de policiamento, de vigilantismo e grupos de vigilantes, bem como estudos relevantes sobre grupos vigilantes na Nigéria, observa-se que ao contrário da prática em democracias liberais, onde grupos de vigilantes, - em conduta e prática - , seguem os princípios do estado de direito e constitucionalismo, o oposto é o caso de uma Nigéria em democratização Argumenta-se e conclui-se que enquanto os grupos de vigilantes, como os estabelecimentos formais de policiamento, continuam sendo instrumentos de intimidação política de opositores políticos pelos políticos que os controlam; o terreno do vigilantismo continuaria a ser no reino da "anocracia".