Analyzing the Multidimensional Non-traditional Security Challenges in North Africa and Regional Implication

Year 2025, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 67 - 86, 03.05.2025

Ramzi Bendebka

https://doi.org/10.53451/ijps.1531863

Abstract

The non-traditional security challenges in North Africa have experienced significant changes in recent years. In addition to conventional military issues, the region has experienced many problems, such as drug trafficking, illegal immigration movements, smuggling, the Arab Spring, and the consequences of the global 'War on Terror' launched after the events of 9/11. Most research on North African security concentrates on threats within the traditional paradigms of military matters and terrorism. Nevertheless, this paper considers the overall parameters of an expanded North African regional non-traditional security. It focuses on four specific issues: illegal immigration movement, water scarcity, drug trafficking, and smuggling. The study indicates that if coordinated action is not taken, the interaction of these non-conventional risks can erode the future stability and growth of North Africa.

Keywords

Non-traditional security , North Africa , Illegal immigration , Drug trafficking , Water scarcity.

References

• Acharya, A. (2001). Constructing a security community in Southeast Asia: ASEAN and the problem of regional order. Routledge.
• African Union. (2014). African Union strategy for combating illegal migration. African Union.
• Agunias, D. R., & Newland, K. (2012). Developing a road map for engaging diasporas in development: A handbook for policymakers and practitioners in home and host countries. International Organization for Migration.
• Andreas, P. (2003). Redrawing the line: Borders and security in the twenty-first century. International Security, 28(2), 78-111.
• Andreas, P., & Nadelmann, E. (2006). Policing the globe: Criminalization and crime control in international relations. Oxford University Press.
• Ayoob, M. (1995). The third world security predicament: State making, regional conflict, and the international system. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
• Baldwin, D. A. (1997). The concept of security. Review of International Studies, 23(1), 5-26. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210597000053
• Bendebka, D.R. (2021). Factors Shaping Regionalism in the Middle East and North Africa: A
• Bendebka, R. (2021). Factors Shaping Regionalism in the Middle East and North Africa: A Classical Approach. Academia Letters, Article 2539.
• Bendebka, Ramzi. (June, 2021). Regional Dynamics and Governance in Modern Middle East: From the Ottoman Empire to the Cold War. Journal Of Religion And Civilisational Studies. 4 (1). pp 29-59.
• Bigo, D. (2002). Security and immigration: Toward a critique of the governmentality of unease. Alternatives, 27(1), 63-92.
• Buzan, B. (1991). People, states, and fear: An agenda for international security studies in the post-Cold War era (2nd ed.). Harvester Wheatsheaf.
• Buzan, B. (2004). From international to world society? English School theory and the social structure of globalisation. Cambridge University Press.
• Buzan, B., Waever, O., & de Wilde, J. (1998). Security: A new framework for analysis. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
• Campbell, D. (1998). Writing security: United States foreign policy and the politics of identity. University of Minnesota Press.
• Cannon, B. J. & Donelli, F. (2020). Asymmetric alliances and high polarity: evaluating regional security complexes in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. Third World Quarterly.
• Classical Approach. Academia Letters, Article 2539. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2539.
• Clunan, A. L. (2009). The social construction of Russia's resurgence: Aspirations, identity, and security interests. Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Collins, A. (Ed.). (2016). Contemporary security studies (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
• Collyer, M. (2006). States of insecurity: Consequences of Saharan transit migration. COMPAS Working Paper No. 31.
• Cornelius, W. A., & Rosenblum, M. R. (2005). Immigration and politics. Annual Review of Political Science, 8, 99-119.
• Dalby, S. (2009). Security and environmental change. Polity Press.
• Duffield, M. (2001). Global governance and the new wars: The merging of development and security. Zed Books.
• Elbe, S. (2006). Should HIV/AIDS be securitized? The ethical dilemmas of linking HIV/AIDS and security. International Studies Quarterly, 50(1), 119-144. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2478.2006.00395.x
• Felbab-Brown, V. (2009). Shooting up: Counterinsurgency and the war on drugs. Brookings Institution Press.
• Geddes, A. (2003). The politics of migration and immigration in Europe. Sage Publications.
• Gootenberg, P. (2008). Andean cocaine: The making of a global drug. University of North Carolina Press.
• Hansen, L. (2000). The Little Mermaid’s silent security dilemma and the absence of gender in the Copenhagen School. Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 29(2), 285-306. https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298000290020501
• Hoogensen, G., & Rottem, S. V. (2004). Gender identity and the subject of security. Security Dialogue, 35(2), 155-171. https://doi.org/10.1177/0967010604044974
• Huysmans, J. (2006). The politics of insecurity: Fear, migration, and asylum in the EU. Routledge.
• Inglehart, R., & Norris, P. (2012). The four horsemen of the apocalypse: Understanding human security.
• Scandinavian Political Studies, 35(1), 71-96. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9477.2011.00280.x
• International Organization for Migration (IOM). (2019). World Migration Report 2020. IOM.
• International Water Management Institute (IWMI). (2007). Water for food, water for life: A comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture. Earthscan.
• Kaldor, M. (2012). New and old wars: Organized violence in a global era (3rd ed.). Polity Press.
• Karras, A. L. (2009). Smuggling: Contraband and corruption in world history. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
• Klitgaard, R. (1988). Controlling corruption. University of California Press.
• Koser, K. (2005). Irregular migration, state security and human security. Global Commission on International Migration.
• Koser, K., & Lutz, H. (Eds.). (1998). The new migration in Europe: Social constructions and social realities. Macmillan.
• Krause, K., & Williams, M. C. (Eds.). (1997). Critical security studies: Concepts and cases. UCL Press.
• Lutz, J. M. (2005). Terrorism: Origins and evolution. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Mathews, J. T. (1989). Redefining security. Foreign Affairs, 68(2), 162-177. https://doi.org/10.2307/20043906
• Meneghini, C. (2022). Structure and Evolution of Drug Trafficking Networks in North Africa: The Impact of Rule of Law and Corruption. In: Savona, E.U., Guerette, R.T., Aziani, A. (eds) The Evolution of Illicit Flows. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95301-0_10
• Meyer, K. (2021). Political Economies of the Middle East and North Africa. African Studies Quarterly, 20(4),100+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A689026796/AONE?u=anon~1fb06f84&sid=googleScholar&xid=25027257
• Nadelmann, E. A. (1990). Global prohibition regimes: The evolution of norms in international society. International Organization, 44(4), 479-526. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818300035375
• Newman, E. (2001). Human security and constructivism. International Studies Perspectives, 2(3), 239-251. https://doi.org/10.1111/1528-3577.00053
• Paris, R. (2001). Human security: Paradigm shift or hot air? International Security, 26(2), 87-102. https://doi.org/10.1162/016228801753191141
• Petersen, K. L. (2011). Risk analysis—A field within security studies? European Journal of International Relations, 18(4), 693-717. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066111403086
• Reuveny, R. (2007). Climate change-induced migration and violent conflict. Political Geography, 26(6), 656-673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2007.05.001
• Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Alfred A. Knopf.
• Sheehan, M. (2005). International security: An analytical survey. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
• Shelley, L. (2005). Human trafficking: A global perspective. Cambridge University Press.
• Smith, S. (2000). The increasing insecurity of security studies: Conceptualizing security in the last twenty years. Contemporary Security Policy, 20(3), 72-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/13523260008404241
• Solomon, H., & Chukwuma, O. (2012). Counter-terrorism in Nigeria: Responding to Boko Haram. The RUSI Journal, 157(4), 6-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/03071847.2012.714184
• Solomon, H., & Chukwuma, O. (2012). The socio-economic impacts of migration in South Africa. Journal of Social Sciences, 32(2), 203-215.
• Stivachtis, Y. A. (Ed.). (2008). International order in a globalizing world. Ashgate.
• Tickner, J. A. (1995). Re-visioning security. In K. Booth & S. Smith (Eds.), International relations theory today (pp. 175-197). Polity Press. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2004). Water governance for poverty reduction: Key issues and the UNDP response to Millennium Development Goals. UNDP.
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). (2010). The globalization of crime: A transnational organized crime threat assessment. UNODC.
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). (2013). Transnational organized crime in West Africa: A threat assessment. UNODC.
• Waltz, K. (1979). Theory of international politics. Addison-Wesley.
• Waterbury, J. (1979). Hydropolitics of the Nile Valley. Syracuse University Press.
• Williams, P. (2008). Violent non-state actors and national and international security. International Relations and Security Network (ISN). ETH Zurich.
• Williams, P. D. (Ed.). (2012). Security studies: An introduction (2nd ed.). Routledge. Wolf, A. T. (2007). Shared waters: Conflict and cooperation. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 32, 241-269. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.energy.32.041006.101434
• World Bank. (2011). Migration and remittances factbook 2011. World Bank Publications.
• World Bank. (2021). World Development Report 2021: Conflict, security, and Development. World Bank.
• Wyn Jones, R. (1999). Security, strategy, and critical theory. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
• Zeitoun, M. (2008). Power and water in the Middle East: The hidden politics of the Palestinian-Israeli water conflict. I.B. Tauris.
• Zeitoun, M., & Warner, J. (2006). Hydro-hegemony: A framework for analysis of trans-boundary water conflicts. Water Policy, 8(5), 435-460. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2006.054
• Zoubir, Y. H., & White, G. (Eds.). (2016). North African politics: Change and continuity. Routledge.