| Publication |
2010.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The recent establishment of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) embodies the resurgence of counterinsurgency arguments within the transformation of the US military. The command's emphasis on its "non-traditional" character that includes civil activities, a focus on the population's security, as well as its interagency approach intensified the controversy about the role of the military in US foreign policy. Rather than merely focusing on how to succeed in asymmetric warfare, AFRICOM proposes a long-term commitment of US forces in situations where violent conflict is not apparent and has to be prevented. This "proactive peacetime engagement" on the continent targets crucial communities and their perceptions through humanitarian and development projects. Africa is likely to become a testing ground for the US military's expansion into "non-traditional" activities ranging from counterinsurgency to conflict prevention. Blending security and development in this radical way may make the distinction between civil and military intervention vanish.
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