INTERROGATING THE SECURITY-DEVELOPMENT NEXUS

WHAT IMPLICATIONS FOR STRATEGIC GOVERNANCE?

Abstract

The security-development nexus has been an important problematic in contemporary security cum development discourses. The thinking around this “nexus” has tremendously influenced the way that both security and development have been conceptualized and administered. By way of a descriptive analysis, predicated on selected literature, this paper revisits the security-development nexus with the intent to underscoring its essence and strategic import in the context of contemporary governance in Africa. The paper posits that the security-development nexus signifies the articulation of security and development regimens into a coordinate sphere of strategic governance in an effort to optimize the dispensation of public good. The paper submits that the “nexus” constitutes a paradigm shift that holds strategic implications for governance in Africa both in theory and in practice.