Disputed Destiny

The dataset contains the respondents' views on the dimensions of insecurity in West Africa and ECOWAS initiatives as the peace and security actor in the region. Specifically, they are arranged in accordance with the fourteen research questions designed for this study. The areas covered include ; the effectiveness of ECOWAS’s responses to myriads of conflicts across West Africa; the successes and failures of ECOWAS post-Cold War peace operations and factors responsible for the outcomes; the challenges associated with ECOWAS peacekeeping in West Africa; the appropriateness or otherwise of ECOWAS Multilateral Security Mechanisms ;ECOWAS missions in Liberia (ECOMOG), in Gambia (ECOMIG) and Mali (MICEMA/AFISMA/MINUSMA).It also contains the Respondent's views on the lessons and strategies to be deployed to boost ECOWAS operational capability in the future. This information is a product of 12 Months field research conducted across West Africa states,particularly across ECOWAS's Peace and Security Directorates. This involved data collection through a number of qualitative research techniques such as participant observation, in-depth interviews, and semi-structured methods (written open-ended questionnaire, focus groups), and case studies.The contents of these responses support the findings of this study.

本数据集收录了受访者针对西非地区不安全问题的多维度表现，以及西非国家经济共同体（Economic Community of West African States）作为区域和平与安全行动主体所推行相关举措的看法。具体而言，本数据集的内容按照本次研究设定的14项研究问题进行编排，所覆盖的领域包括：西非国家经济共同体针对西非各类冲突作出应对的有效性；冷战后西非国家经济共同体和平行动的成败及其影响因素；西非国家经济共同体在西非开展维和行动面临的挑战；西非国家经济共同体多边安全机制的恰当性与否；以及西非国家经济共同体在利比里亚的特派团（ECOMOG）、冈比亚的特派团（ECOMIG）和马里的特派团（MICEMA/AFISMA/MINUSMA）。本数据集还收录了受访者关于未来可用于提升西非国家经济共同体行动能力的经验教训与部署策略的看法。该数据集的信息来源于一项横跨西非各国、尤其针对西非国家经济共同体和平与安全总局开展的为期12个月的实地研究，本次研究通过多种质性研究方法开展数据采集，包括参与式观察、深度访谈、半结构化研究手段（书面开放式问卷、焦点小组讨论）以及案例研究，上述受访者的反馈内容为本研究的结论提供了支撑。