Since the end of the Cold War, the concept of national security has been widened to include a range of non-military threats to the security of the state. This book explores the underlying tensions between a state-centric concept of security, and the concept of human security with respect to a number of new security threats emanating from situations of forced displacement of populations, terrorism, diseases, food insecurity, and the impacts of climate change, all of which are prevalent in Africa and give a particular resonance to the evolving security discourse. The volume undertakes a thorough interdisciplinary investigation of the tensions between state security and human security in the search for solutions to African crises by the international community and regional actors.

Over the past decade, Africa's center of gravity in world politics has shifted from mere humanitarianism to a strategic view that posits the centrality of the continent as energy and natural resources supplier, in the fight against terrorism and other security threats, and in the globalization of culture. Besides these considerations, this shift is reflective of two defining dynamics. On one hand, political and economic reforms have contributed to the growth of democracy, an improvement in the economic outlook, and the strengthening of regional governance. On the other hand, the ongoing diffusion of global power is setting the stage for a new international order in which Africa will increasingly matter. This book probes the importance and significance of these developments and their implications for Africa's international relations.

The adoption of the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) in December of 2007 represented a watershed moment in Africa-EU relations, one that sought to 'reinvent' this historical relationship and transform it to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing regional and international context marked by complex interdependencies, deepening integration, expanding globalization, and growing competition against the backdrop of a tectonic power shift which seems to signal the slow dislocation of the West as the epicenter of world politics. Five years into its implementation, this book offers a thorough and first comprehensive investigation of the JAES, which has set the stage for the most advanced form of interregionalism in international relations.

The adoption of the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) in 2007 was a watershed moment in Africa-EU relations, one that sought to 'reinvent' a historical relationship to meet the challenges posed by complex interdependencies, expanding globalization, and growing competition, all framed by the gradual dislocation of the West as the epicenter of world politics. Five years into its implementation, this book offers a thorough and first comprehensive investigation of the JAES, the most advanced form of interregionalism seen to date.

This book is a multidisciplinary approach to Africa's international relations in an era of globalization and the shifting of power from the West. It moves beyond colonization, marginalization, imperialism to look at the forces and dynamics that are reshaping Africa's external relations today.

Over the last decade, there has been a shift toward a strategic view of Africa. China and the US import much of their oil from Africa which is clearly emerging on the world stage as a strategic player. Africa and the New World Era probes the importance and significance of this shift and its implications for Africa's international relations.