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This study is an attempt to interrogate the peace and security architecture in West Africa in relation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts in Liberia between 1989 and 2003. Peacekeeping, developed during the Cold War to resolve conflicts between states is a major apparatus of the UN in conflict resolutions. However, the nature of post-Cold War conflicts precipitated a dramatic shift in the United Nations and multilateral peacekeeping structure. Peacekeeping activities became far more complex, incorporating more non-military and peacebuilding elements to ensure sustainability. Using Human Security Theory as its framework, this study argues that peacekeeping and peacebuilding missions have helped to end some armed conflicts and reduced the recurrence of some civil unrest in West Africa. It further argues that the military has played an important role in addressing the challenges posed by protracted conflicts in West Africa. The paper analyses the peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the UN in bringing an end to the first and second civil unrest in Liberia. It outlines the basic principles that should guide the planning and conduct of peacekeeping operations in Africa. The study contends that there is a need to address the root causes of multidimensional and interrelated threats to human security in West Africa. It concludes that regional security apparatus, like the ECOMOG, is a sine qua non to regional peace and security in West Africa.

War, Peacekeeping, Peacebuilding, ECOWAS, Human Security,