ABSTRACT

Creating maritime security in the African context is a substantial challenge – while 39 out of 55 states are littoral or coastal, most lack the capacity to patrol or enforce law over their maritime areas of jurisdiction. The maritime dimensions of contemporary African security are deeply rooted in postcolonial experiences and relations. Indeed, the geographical position and characteristics of the African continent and its surrounding seas have long held to have a major impact on the security of states around the world (particularly in the event of the closure of the Suez Canal). For such states, projecting their own power into African seas might be seen as a better guarantee of maritime security than waiting for African states to acquire the capacity and capability with which they could realise their own maritime goals. The predominant response to what amount to shared predicaments has been, in effect, to create further, more complex, shared predicaments. Meanwhile, African states are currently experiencing a sharp rise in global expectations that they will provide greater assurances of maritime security and contributions to overall maritime governance. This seminar will explore whether the enhancement of African maritime security capabilities could remain maritime domain – a regime of governance that is anchored in transnational cooperation - will remain something that few African states are either able, or, more importantly, willing to countenance. 

SPEAKER BIO

Timothy Walker is the Maritime Project Leader and a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa. Since 2011 he has worked to promote maritime security as a policy priority with organisations such as the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association. He is currently leading the implementation of an ISS project to strengthen African maritime security institutions. The AU recognised the unique ability of the ISS to identify the maritime security and capacity building priorities that should guide strategy implementation for the creation of effective African maritime institutions by awarding it the 2018 special award of excellence for its partnership with the AU Commission to promote Africa’s blue economy. Timothy has a master’s degree in political and international studies from Rhodes University, South Africa.