African Union’s Diplomatic Strategies for Addressing Climate Change-Related Security Threats, 2015-2024

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dc.contributor.authorJoy Fiyinfoluwa AFOLABI
dc.date.accessioned2026-09-14T14:25:26Z
dc.date.available2026-09-14T14:25:26Z
dc.date.issued2025-12
dc.description.abstractClimate change has emerged as a major driver of insecurity across Africa, intensifying conflict, displacement, poverty, and humanitarian crises. This study investigates how the African Union (AU) employed diplomacy to address climate change as a security threat between 2015 and 2024. It examines how the AU reframed climate change from an environmental concern into an urgent security issue requiring coordinated regional and global responses. Guided by Securitization Theory, the research analyzes the processes through which climate risks were presented as threats demanding immediate diplomatic and policy action. A qualitative research design was adopted, relying primarily on AU summit declarations, communiqués, climate-security policy frameworks, peace and security reports, and relevant academic literature. Thematic analysis was used to examine documents produced between 2015 and 2024. The findings show that the AU made notable progress in elevating climate–security linkages, especially through the African Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy (2022–2032), the AU Climate Change and Security Framework, and the alignment of AU strategies with global commitments like the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the study also reveals persistent challenges that weaken the AU’s diplomatic effectiveness. These include inadequate and unpredictable funding, weak institutional capacity, slow implementation mechanisms, governance constraints, and competing priorities such as terrorism, political instability, and economic crises. The study concludes that while the AU has successfully advanced recognition\ of the climate–security nexus, greater effort is required to integrate climate-security considerations into Africa’s peace and security architecture. It recommends predictable climate- security financing, stronger implementation structures, and enhanced cooperation among AU organs, regional bodies, and international partners. Strengthening early-warning systems and mainstreaming climate-risk assessments into peace operations will further support proactive and coordinated responses to climate-related security threats in Africa. Keywords: African Union, Climate Change, Security, Diplomacy, Securitization Theory, Conflict Prevention Word Count: 287
dc.identifier.citationKate Turabian
dc.identifier.otherM.sc
dc.identifier.urihttps://repository.lcu.edu.ng/handle/123456789/1493
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherLead City University, Ibadan
dc.relation.ispartofseriesM.sc
dc.subjectAfrican Union
dc.subjectClimate Change
dc.subjectSecurity
dc.subjectDiplomacy
dc.subjectSecuritization Theory
dc.subjectConflict Prevention
dc.titleAfrican Union’s Diplomatic Strategies for Addressing Climate Change-Related Security Threats, 2015-2024
dc.typeThesis

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