Includes bibliographical references (pages 225-238).

Cover; Title page; Copyright page; Contents; Notes on Contributors; Preface; Introduction; PART I -- Understanding Conflicts in West Africa; 1. ECOWAS: From Economic Integration to Peace-building; 2. Conflicts and Crises in West Africa: Internal and International Dimensions; 3. Natural Resources and the Dynamics of Conflicts in West Africa; 4. Social Vulnerability and Confilcts: Elements for Regional Conflict Vulnerability Analysis; 5. Demography, Environment and Conflict in West Africa; 6. Youth and Conlifcts in West Africa: Regional Threats and Potentials; 7. The Diaspora and Conflicts.

8. Gender Dimensions of the ECOWAS Peace and Security Architecture: A Regional Perspective on UN Resolution 1325PART II -- ECOWAS' Institutional Responses to Confilcts; 9. ECOWAS and Regional Responses to Conflicts; 10. ECOWAS and Human Security; 11. Reflections on Our Knowledge in Peacemaking; 12. Consolidating Regional Security: Security Sector Reform and Beyond; Notes; Bibliography; Back cover.

ECOWAS and the Dynamics of Conflict and Peace-building testifies to the fact that we cannot talk of West African affairs, more so of conflict and peace-building, without talking about ECOWAS. For over two decades now, West Africa has remained one of Africa�is most conflict-ridden regions. It has been a theatre of some of the most atrocious brutalities in the modern world. It has, nonetheless, witnessed one of the most ambitious internal efforts towards finding regional solutions to conflicts through ECOWAS. The lead role of ECOMOG �n the ECOWAS peacekeeping force �n in search of peaceful solutions to civil wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau and Cote d�iIvoire has yielded a mix of successes and failures. In this book, the authors take a candid look at the role that ECOWAS has played and show how the sub-regional organisation has stabilised and created new conditions conducive to nation building in a number of cases. Conversely, the book shows that ECOWAS has aggravated, if not created, new tensions in yet other cases. The comparative advantage that ECOWAS has derived from these experiences is reflected in the various mechanisms, protocols and conventions that are now in place to ensure a more comprehensive conflict prevention framework. This book provides a nuanced analysis of the above issues and other dynamics of conflicts in the region. It also interrogates the roles played by ECOWAS and various other actors in the context of the complex interplay between natural resource governance, corruption, demography and the youth bulge, gender and the conflicting interests of national, regional and international players.