African Standby Force

Standby forces of the African Union are expected to deploy rapidly into high-intensity conflict zones. Inherently they stem from and are expected to work effectively with regional militaries of differing capabilities. But first, the AU has to muster the political will to deploy the force at all and do it all on a shoestring budget. VreA and Mandrup's edited volume illuminates through the chapter contributions the breadth of challenging political hurdles that the African Union's African Standby Force faces. They do this in clear and readable terms. This important book is imperative for anyone seeking to understand the rapid deployment forces on which African states have optimistically pinned the future of their collective security aspirations.