![](https://archives-ad.policycenter.ma/sites/default/files/Mini-Banni%C3%A8re%20-%20Regional%20Responses%20to%20Security%20.jpg)
Regional Responses to Security Challenges in Europe and Africa
OCP Policy Center, Rabat
The recent attacks in Barcelona, London and Paris have pushed terrorism, and concurrently national, regional, and global efforts to counter it, towards the top of the security agenda in Europe. Alongside that, the strengthening position of Boko Haram in Nigeria and the raging civil war in Libya are just two examples that demonstrate Africa faces its own serious security challenges. This all comes against the backdrop of a deteriorating global security picture in the Middle East, Asia, United States and elsewhere, which is of deep concern to both regions. With that in mind the need for a regional response within Europe and within Africa, and between the two regions and continents, has never been stronger.
This conference will examine the current trends in terrorist attacks across Europe and Africa, and the responses being taken by individual governments and between governments. The conference will then discuss the current state of regional integration in Europe and Africa, and how regional initiatives can be used to tackle regional and global security issues.
The RUSI-OCPPC conference will be broken down into two parts, with two panels each:
Part I: Terrorism and Counterterrorism
Panel I: Terrorism Trends and Developments
Panel II: Counter-terrorism and Safeguarding Peace and Security
Part II: Security vs. Regional Integration
Panel III: Integrating the EU and NATO in the Security Sphere
Panel IV: Regional Integration and Security in Africa
Agenda
09:30 – 09:50 |
WELCOME REMARKS Karim El Aynaoui, Managing Director, OCP Policy Center |
09:50 – 11:10 |
PANEL I: TERRORISM TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS Over the years, the African continent has witnessed the multiplication of terrorist groups, destabilizing the countries and regions in which they operate in their fight for influence over particular regions. In the Sahel, both Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Islamic State (IS, also known as Daesh) are at play, competing for influence and ideological supremacy. This terrorist phenomenon knows no borders, and thrives on new forms of communication, primarily social media. Through this medium, both AQIM and IS are able to export their extremist views worldwide, and have seen their ideology translated into violence, hence the wave of terrorist attacks in Europe. The new trend in terrorism is to operate in isolation and utilize basic methods such as knife attacks and car ramming, which make them difficult to prevent, and makes any crowd a potential target. Across Europe and Africa, states and governments are struggling to overcome the terrorist threat and are witnessing great challenges when faced with the phenomenon of returning foreign fighters. What are the roots of these groups? Are there similarities in their discourse and ideology? And how has the situation evolved over the past couple of years? CHAIR SPEAKERS |
11:10 – 11:30 |
Coffee Break |
11:30 – 12:50 |
PANEL II: COUNTER-TERRORISM AND SAFEGUARDING PEACE AND SECURITY There is an urgent need to take stock of the many security challenges facing both Europe and the African continent, identify the links between each one, and design policies that address the rise of terrorism, both in the medium and long term. For instance, the Islamist threat in Europe has triggered a far right-wing domestic movement that expresses a hostile narrative against Muslims, and more generally against immigration, and which in certain cases has even perpetrated their own acts of violence and terrorism. Broad generalizations about the motives of terrorist groups should be avoided, and it is crucial to take into account the local dimension that feeds into a group’s discourse when discussing appropriate counter-terrorist measures. Dismantling the anti-globalization and anti-Western extremist narrative that causes wide social unrest and which leads to the radicalization of young people is also fundamental when dealing with such movements. What can be done to contain or defeat the terrorist phenomenon? Do governments alone have the capacity to address current security challenges? What are the structures put in place to deal with terrorism, in Europe, MENA and Africa? Is there sufficient coordination between North and South on their counter terrorism efforts? CHAIR Bouchra Rahmouni Benhida, Senior Fellow, Al Akhawayn University SPEAKERS |
14:20 – 15:40 |
PANEL III: INTEGRATING THE EU AND NATO IN THE SECURITY SPHERE In Europe NATO is traditionally responsible for the defence and security of the continent. In turn, the European Union is its foremost political and economic body. In this way they neatly divide, in theory, the core tasks of protection, wealth generation and political coordination. However, the European Union has in truth become an increasingly important security actor in Europe and its limited military ambitions are increasingly creating some tensions between it and NATO. While both the EU and NATO are far more developed, extensive multilateral organizations than those in Africa so far, it is clear that greater coordination in the security arena is required between the two bodies. What role is there for the European Union in promoting security in Europe? How can NATO and the EU integrate their security and defence policies effectively? What tension is there between the EU and NATO with regard to the USA’s membership of the latter body? What lessons can prospective regional initiatives, such as in Africa, learn from them? And what aspects of them should Africa’s own regional initiatives avoid? CHAIR |
15:40 – 16:00 |
Coffee Break |
16:00 – 17:20 |
PANEL IV: REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN AND SECURITY IN AFRICA In the face of Africa’s multiple security threats, integration and regionalization initiatives are increasingly seen as providing unique opportunities for securing sustainable economic growth, peace and stability, and democratic consolidation. Thus, regional integration and co-operation groupings such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) are emerging as conflict managers in their respective regions. In response to regional conflicts, some have come up with regional early warning and early response apparatus, such as the ECOWAS Early Warning Mechanism and the IGAD Conflict Early Warning and Early Response Mechanism, CEWARN. Projects such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the UN Millennium Declaration, and the African Union (AU) have emphasized the role of regional economic communities in responding to Africa’s challenges. How can these groupings help the continent identify and deal with its security issues? SPEAKERS |
17:20 – 17:30 |
CLOSING REMARKS Karim El Aynaoui, Managing Director, OCP Policy Center |
Keep me informed
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Abdelhak Bassou
Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center
Abdelhak Bassou occupied several offices within the Directorate General of the Moroccan National Security where he was Borders’ Division Chief from 1978 to 1993. He was the former Director of the Royal Institute of Police in 1998. He also served as the Chief of Regional Security (Errachidia 1999-2003, Sidi Kacem 2003-2005) and was also Head of the Central General Intelligence from 2006 to 2009.
He also contributed to the output of several international organizations endeavors including the Council of Arab Interior Ministers from 1986 to 1992, where he represented the Directorate General of National Security in several meetings. Abdelhak Bassou holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science and International Studies from the Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences of Agdal in Rabat.
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Zineb Benalla
CEO and Founder, Eirene Associates. Int.
Zineb Benalla in an international expert and consutant in CVE, PVE, CT and Peace Building who spent many years working in VE hotspots in the Maghreb, Sahel and the Lake Chad region. She was a consultant to USAID /OTI and AECOM International Development in Bamako, Gao, and Timbuktu in peace building reconciliation and CVE working with civil society, community engagement and policy makers doing Action research and implementing projects. Prior to that Ms. Benalla worked with the Arab Center on counter radicalization programming and promoting civil society values in the Middle East/North Africa. She has also been involved as a CVE advisor to International Organization on Migration (IOM) in Niger. During six months she conducted research, identified youth at risk and helped implementing CVE activities in Agadez, Diffa and Niamey. She provided her CVE experience to shape approaches and activities development to the NCCI program in Niger. She was a Consultant as a field researcher to the British Council in Morocco on building community resilience in the North of Morocco. She was part of the research team of Mercy Corps which examined lessons from violence prevention programs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and apply those lessons to violence prevention in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). She was also Consultant to USAID/Creative Associates Nigeria Program to develop a regional CVE Network ( Niger. Nigeria, Cameron, Chad and Mali). She also led a research in the North of Morocco and in the Rif Mountains with the Research Security Unit at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the UK. She just finished last month her work as a consultant in Ghana on a project in the Lake Chad Basin helping establishing a platform to CVE/and CT in the four countries (Niger, Nigeri, Chad, and Cameroon) focusing on the Lake Chad Basin area. Ms. Benalla is alo co founder of a Think tank working on transnational violence and CVE and a Co founder of a peace building network ( a civil society network).
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Bouchra Rahmouni Benhida
Senior Fellow, Al Akhawayn University
Bouchra RAHMOUNI BENHIDA is a Professor at Hassan I University of Morocco and Senior Fellow at the Social Science Research Institute’s (SSRI) of Al Akhawayn University. Professor RAHMOUNI is an international affiliated Professor at New York University (Risk of Finance Engineering department) – USA, she is also visiting professor at Holy Spirit University – Lebanon. Bouchra is a distinguished Professor of Geopolitics at Grenoble School of Management – France, and adjunct professor at the International trade and Law Institute of Pusan National University – South Korea.
Professor RAHMOUNI wrote and contributed to many books and publications, among which Afrique: Terre des nouvelles convoitises, Femme et entrepreneur: c’est possible!, Geopolitics in Mediterranean area, Geopolitique de la condition féminine, and Le basculement économique et géopolitique du monde, le poids et la diversité des pays émergents. She also manages a book which is devoted to geopolitical, economical, and social Moroccan evolution : Le Maroc stratégique: Ruptures et permanence d’un Royaume en mouvement. Professor RAHMOUNI manages another book which is devoted to a geopolitical and geo-economics analysis of Africa and titled “Africa the New Boarder of Growth”. Bouchra gave lectures in world forums and special topics within prestigious institutions in France, Hong Kong, United States, South Korea, Lebanon and Switzerland.
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Alice Billon-Galland
Research Fellow, European Leadership Network
Alice Billon-Galland works as a Research Fellow at the European Leadership Network (ELN).
As part of the European Defence programme, her current research focuses on transatlantic burden-sharing, European capability shortfalls, and the implementation of the new EU defence package. She also follows developments at NATO and in the European Union Common Security and Defence Policy [CSDP]. Moreover, Alice writes on French foreign and defence policy issues.
Alice is a member of the Young Professionals’ National Association of the French Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defence [ANAJ IHEDN]. English reviewer at the Institute’s Editorial Office, she is also a contributor to the Europe committee and a member of the London delegation.Before joining the ELN in January 2017, Alice completed a Master’s Degree in Public Policy at University College London, focusing on European affairs and defence policy. Her dissertation analysed French EU defence policy in the context of the invocation of article 42(7) of the Treaty on European Union after the November 2015 Paris attacks.
Prior to this, she studied at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon as normalienne, achieving a first-class Research Master’s in English Studies and completing the Agrégation of English language examination. Alice also held a visiting scholar position at Northwestern University during which she conducted field research on immigration policy among the Chicago Latino community. Her previous research has been focused on US foreign and refugee policies, including analysis on countries in Central and South America.Alice is fluent in English, French, and Spanish.
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Karim El Aynaoui
Managing Director, OCP Policy Center
Karim El Aynaoui is currently Managing Director of OCP Policy Center, a think tank based in Rabat. He also serves as advisor to the CEO and Chairman of OCP Group, a global leader in the phosphate sector. From 2005 to 2012, he worked at Bank Al-Maghrib, the Central Bank of Morocco. He was the Director of Economics and International Relations, where he provided strategic leadership in defining and supporting monetary policy analysis and strategy. He was also in charge of the Statistical and International Relations Divisions of the Central Bank, led the research division and was a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. Before joining Bank Al-Maghrib, Karim El Aynaoui worked for eight years at the World Bank, both in its Middle Eastern and North Africa, and Africa regions as an economist. He has published papers, books and articles in scientific journals on macroeconomic issues in developing countries. Recently, he co-authored a book outlining a growth strategy for Morocco and was the guest editor of a special issue on food price volatility in Oxford Economic Papers. Karim El Aynaoui is a board member of the OCP Foundation, a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) and a member of the COP22 Scientific Committee. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Bordeaux, where he taught for three years courses in statistics and economics.
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Rachid El Houdaigui
Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center
Rachid EL Houdaïgui is professor of International Relations at Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tangier's Law Faculty and Senior Fellow at the OCP Policy Center. He is also professor at Royal College of Advanced Military Studies (Kenitra) and professor invited at Cergy-Pontoise University (Paris),Cadix University (Spain) and at La Sagesse University (Beirut, Lebanon).
Mr. EL Houdaïgui is the author of numerous books and articles dealing with International relations and geopolitics: the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Arab world. Also, he is co-director of the Moroccan-Spanish review “Peace and International Security” and in charge of the Observatory of Mediterranean Studies (Abdelmalek Essaadi University).
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Tobias Borck
Associate Fellow, RUSI
Tobias Borck is an Associate Fellow at RUSI; an independent researcher and analyst specialising in Middle East politics and security; and a PhD candidate at the Strategy and Security Institute at the University of Exeter.
He regularly contributes as a senior tutor to the work of the RUSI Leadership Centre, which delivers training courses for government and military personnel from Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. His doctoral research focuses on stability and regional order in the Middle East from the perspective of the Arab Gulf states. His other research interests include European - specifically German and British - foreign policy towards the Middle East, the evolution and propaganda narratives of extremist groups, and the post-2011 political and security developments in North Africa (especially Libya). He holds degrees in Arabic and Middle East Studies (BA) and Applied Security Strategy (MA) from the University of Exeter, and is an alumnus of the German National Academic Foundation. He has spent time studying and working in Egypt and Morocco, has travelled extensively in the region, and is proficient in Arabic.
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Mohammed Elshimi
Research Analyst, RUSI
Mohammed is a Researcher in the National Security and Resilience Team. He is one of the leading experts on the Prevent strategy in the UK counter-terrorism policy, as well as on the concept and practice of de-radicalisation. His research focuses on terrorism and political violence, radicalisation and extremism in the Western context, UK counter-terrorism, countering violent extremism, de-radicalisation and the politics of the Middle East and Africa. He has a PhD from the University of Exeter, an MA in International Studies & Diplomacy from SOAS, and a BA in History from UCL. His PhD thesis, ‘The Concept and Practice of De-radicalisation in the Prevent Strand of the UK Counter-terrorism Strategy: What is De-radicalisation?’, used primary data from key informant interviews to analyse the de-radicalisation component of HMG’s Prevent programme. His book, ‘De-radicalisation Policy in the UK: Security, Identity, Religion,’ was published by Routledge in February 2017.
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Jonathan Eyal
Associate Director, Strategic Research Partnerships, RUSI
Dr Eyal is the Associate Director, Strategic Research Partnerships, and International Director, at the Royal United Services Institute. He was born in Romania, but has lived most of his life in Britain. Educated at Oxford and London Universities, his initial training was in International Law and Relations, in which he obtained both his first degree and his Master's with a Distinction. His Doctorate, completed at Oxford in 1987, analysed relations between ethnic minorities in Eastern Europe since the end of the First World War. After teaching at Oxford for three years, Dr Eyal was appointed a researcher at RUSI. Since 1990, Dr Eyal has been Director of Studies at the Institute, and also serves as a Senior Research Fellow and Editor of the RUSI Newsbrief. Dr Eyal has completed books on military expenditure in the former Warsaw Pact and a published a study on military relations in the Balkans during the time of Communism. He is a regular commentator on East European affairs for The Guardian, The Independent, The Times dailies and the Observer newspaper on Sundays. He has also given evidence to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on the conduct of British foreign policy in Eastern Europe, and the teams of experts which contributed to the peace plans for the former Yugoslavia. He has acted as an adviser to the European Union's studies on the process of dividing the assets of the former Yugoslav state, and has published two studies on the errors committed by the West in handling the Balkan conflict since 1991. He is fluent in English, French, Romanian, Italian, Hungarian and German.
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Fatima Harrak
Research Professor, University Mohamed V Institute of African Studies
Historian and political scientist, graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques (IEP) in Paris and the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Research Professor of the University Mohamed V Institute of African Studies (IAS) where she served as Director from 2003 to 2008. Active member of the pan-African Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Dakar, which she served as Vice-President then President from 2009 to 2015. Visiting scholar at a number of African, European and U.S. universities and author of numerous works (books and studies) on themes of Islamic reform in North and West Africa, African women in the transmission of Islamic learning, trans-Saharan slavery and Africa in the world.
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Ewan Lawson
Senior Research Fellow for Military Influence, RUSI
Ewan Lawson is Senior Research Fellow for Military Influence at the Royal United Services Institute. He researches a range of subjects including strategy and cross-government working, military influence and information operations, law of armed conflict and war crimes, conflict in Africa and cybersecurity. He also oversees conferences, meetings and lectures in these areas. He was previously a Royal Air Force officer, initially as a policing and security specialist but in more recent years in a range of joint warfare appointments. Since graduating from the UK Advanced Command and Staff Course, his experience has included tours as a joint operational planner, as the commanding officer of the UK Psychological Operations Group, as military faculty at both the UK and Kuwait Staff Colleges and as the first Defence Attaché at the British Embassy in South Sudan.
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El Mostapha Rezrazi
Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center
Dr El Mostafa Rezrazi is a professor of Crisis Management, and Security Studies. His area of Expertise covers Afro-Asian Affairs, Strategic & Security Studies, Terrorism, Extremism and Deradicalisation, mainly from the view of Criminal; Legal and Forensic Psychology. He got his Ph.D in Regional & International Affairs from the University of Tokyo in 1998, and later a Doctorate from the University of Mohammed V on the Psychological dynamisms of Suicide Bombers (2014). He is the executive director of the Moroccan Observatory on Extremism and Violence, Director of the African Center for Asian Studies, Rabat. Currently, he is Visiting Professor at the University Mohammed V Rabat. In 2017, was appointed a Co-coordinator of the OBOR China-Morocco Research Group, and a member of the Advisory Board of The Euro-African Studies Institute, Hanyang University Seoul, South Korea. Dr Rezrazi is the president for the second term of the Moroccan Association for Asian Studies. Dr Rezrazi has served in the past as a distinguished professor in the school of law of Sapporo Gakuin University (Japan), a professor & Deputy Director of the Institute of International Relations in Hagoromo University in Osaka (Japan). A political Analyst at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research in Abou Dhabi, and was also a Visiting Fellow in Princeton University, USA.