The book reconciles the conflicts and legal ambiguities between African Union and ECOWAS law on the use of force on the one hand, and the UN Charter and international law on the other hand. In view of questions relating to African Union and UN relationship in the maintenance of international peace and security in Africa in recent years, the book examines the legal issues involved and how they can be resolved. By explaining the legal theory underpinning the validity of the AU-ECOWAS laws, the work provides a legal basis for the adoption of the AU-ECOWAS laws as the frameworks for the implementation of the R2P in Africa.

Introduction.- From Humanitarian Intervention to the Responsibility to Protect.- Post-Cold War Interventions in Africa and the Origin of the AU-ECOWAS Regional Military Intervention Legal Regimes.- The AU-ECOWAS Regional Military Intervention Legal Regimes and the UN Charter.- The Legal Validity of the AU-ECOWAS Regional Military Intervention Legal Regimes in a Transformed Global Constitutive Process.- The AU-ECOWAS Regional Military Intervention Legal Regimes as a Process of Illegal International Legal Reform.- The Legal Validity of the AU-ECOWAS Regional Military Intervention Legal Regimes under Conventional and Customary International Law.- Conclusion: The AU-ECOWAS Regional Military Intervention Legal Regimes and the Operationalisation of R2P in Africa.