The ISS Peace Academy, the Details and What Positions are Available

The ISS Peace Academy is scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2011, and with a tight deadline the ISS is searching for the key personnel to begin enhancing stability in Africa.

Published on 18 December 2010 in ISS Today

Despite the perception of African instability and insecurity that intrudes so heavily into the global conscious the factual situation is quite contrary. Africa today is in a much better position than at any time previously despite the recent setbacks that followed the recent food crises and global recession.  The improvement has many origins, including a decade of sustained economic growth in a number of African countries and improvements in government capacity in sectors such as macro-economic management.  Other factors include global engagement, particularly through the massive deployment of UN peacekeepers to Sierra Leone, Liberia, the DR Congo, Sudan and elsewhere, as well as African engagement on peacemaking and mediation.  Globally the end of Cold War has removed Africa as a source of bipolar competition.  Today the African Union, its Peace and Security Council and organizations such as ECOWAS, SADC and IGAD play a prominent role in building the capacity for the African Standby Force and related components of the AU’s peace and security architecture.  In this process the international community, the EU Peace Facility in particular, has played a particularly important role - but the key factor has been improved African ownership. 

The challenge today is to build upon this foundation and to develop, teach and propagate appropriate solutions to the myriad security challenges that Africa continues to face.  Equally important is the need to develop new thinking in Africa across different departments, stakeholders and agents involved in the management of human security in all its aspects – to build capacity for non-traditional security issues such as the impact of climate change and globalization. These are areas where the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) has much to offer.  One of Africa’s largest independent applied policy research institutes, the ISS has staff from 17 African countries in its offices in South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia and Senegal. 

With the establishment of the ISS Peace Academy (ISS PA) the Institute intends to further translate its research into practical results.  The Academy will prepare today’s and tomorrow’s African leaders to respond effectively to the security challenges of the 21st century, to build sustainable peace by the provision of high-level education in African peace and security issues, and to strengthen governance throughout the continent.  Alumni from ISS PA courses will be encouraged to remain engaged in the Academy’s activities through the establishment of an alumni network whose purpose will be to build an African human security community with expanded capacity to better manage the manifold challenges that confront the continent. ISS PA will draw on the reputation and experience of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) as an internationally renowned training centre with fifteen years experience in this field. This relationship will draw on the strengths of both institutions and will ensure the highest quality training in subjects such as terrorism in the 21st century.

ISS PA’s core activity will be the provision of expert training at the conceptual and strategic level in African peace and security for mid-career diplomats, military officers, and civil servants from African foreign, defence, and other relevant ministries, as well as from international organizations and non-governmental organizations engaged with African issues. Participants in ISS PA courses will primarily come from Africa but also include participants from the international community.  Each course will accommodate as diverse a group as possible, balancing geographic origin, nationalities, professional affiliation, degree of experience, and, importantly, gender. While its principal course (lasting up to three months) as well as short courses will be offered at the ISS PA in Addis Ababa, the Academy will also offer needs based courses elsewhere on the continent, as well as at the Geneva offices of GCSP.

An advantage of ISS PA will be its proximity to the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as well as its emphasis on professional development, as opposed to basic academic credentialing.  Over time, courses will be accredited that can be used by participants for advanced professional or academic credentials.

The APA is to undertake senior staff recruitment early 2011 and commence with training as from mid-year 2011. 

The Academy is being launched within the context of 2010 as Year of African Peace and Security with which the ISS has a partnership with the African Union.  The establishment of the Academy was recently welcomed by AU Heads of State during the July 2010 Summit of the African Union in Kampala, Uganda as “an important tool for the enhancement of Africa’s capacity in the area of peace and security …”

A summary of the current list of proposed courses are as follows:

Fundraising for the Academy is currently in progress.  The projected budget over six years is €22.1 million.

In terms of staffing the ISS PA will have a relatively small core staff and contract in course leaders, specialists and others upon requirement.  The staffing component is envisaged as follows:

Click here for the various vacancy details

In addition the Academy will share various support staff with the ISS office in Addis Ababa.