Multinational Rapid Response Mechanisms: From Institutional Proliferation to Institutional Exploitation

Cover -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of tables -- List of contributors -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Introduction: Rapid response mechanisms-strengthening defense cooperation and saving strangers? -- Background to military rapid response -- Rapid response and inter-organizationalism -- Aims and structure -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 1. Tools in a toolbox: The African Union's repertoire of mechanisms for addressing peace and security on the continent -- A trajectory of the development of the African Standby Force -- Obstacles to the AU's utilization of the ASF and responses to Africa's security challenges -- Enhancing the AU's ability to utilize the ASF -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 2. EU Battlegroups: From standby to standstill -- The Artemis template -- Key features -- Obstacles to deployment -- Any future left? -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 3. The NATO Response Force: Bellwether of NATO's commitment to regional deterrence -- Where does the NRF come from? -- What does the NRF look like? -- What has the NRF been hindered by? -- Where will the NRF go from here? -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 4. United Nations rapid reaction mechanisms: From SHIRBRIG to a UN Vanguard Force -- Where do the UN rapid reaction mechanisms come from? -- What did the SHIRBRIG rapid reaction mechanism look like? -- After SHIRBRIG: towards new UN rapid reaction mechanisms? -- What have the UN rapid reaction mechanisms been hindered by? -- Conclusion: where will UN rapid reaction mechanisms go from here? -- Notes -- 5. Multinational rapid response forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Another example of winning battles, but losing the peace? -- Rapid reaction forces -- The European Union interventions in the DRC: Operation Artemis and EUFOR RD Congo -- The SADC Force Intervention Brigade

The track record of military rapid response mechanisms, troops on standby, ready to be deployed to a crisis within a short time frame by intergovernmental organizations, remains disappointing. Yet, many of the obstacles to multinational actors launching a rapid and effective military response in times of crisis are largely similar. This book is the first comprehensive and comparative contribution to explore and identify the key factors that hamper and enable the development and deployment of multinational rapid response mechanisms. Examining lessons from deployments by the AU, the EU, NATO, and the UN in the Central African Republic, Mali, Somalia and counter-piracy in the Horn of Africa, the contributors focus upon the following questions: Was there a rapid response to the crises? By whom? If not, what were the major obstacles to rapid response? Did inter-organizational competition hinder responsiveness? Or did cooperation facilitate responsiveness? Bringing together leading scholars working in this area offers a unique opportunity to analyze and develop lessons for policy-makers and for theorists of inter-organizational relations.