Local hero? Introducing the Regional Organisations Security Activity Dataset for Africa (ROSADA)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Regional organisations (ROs) are increasingly important actors in managing regional and intrastate threats to peace and security, especially in Africa. The article introduces the Regional Organisations Security Activity Dataset for Africa (ROSADA), which encompasses military and non-military peace and security activities by all 24 ROs in Africa (1997-2016). Bridging the literature on comparative regionalism and international conflict management, ROSADA offers new insights into a broad spectrum of conflict management tasks such as mediation, sanctions, capacity building and military operations. The analysis indicates a considerable variation over time between different regions and subregions, and these activities are interconnected. ROSADA’s broad conventionalisation of peace and security activities contributes to the analysis of complex regional engagement in peace and security affairs, especially concerning preventive measures and post-conflict peacebuilding. By using established coding standards and including detailed raw data, ROSADA is useful for a wide set of research agendas.