THE ROLE OF ECOWAS AS A REGIONAL ORGANIZATION IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION (2010-2020)

The study consciously examines the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in conflict resolution from 2010-2020, highlighting both its successes and limitations. Overtime ECOWAS has evolved from being an economic bloc into a political and security body, carrying out peace operations in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Guinea Bissau and The Gambia. The work is shepherd by the Regional Security Complex theory (RSCT) and backed by other theories of neoliberal institutionalism, constructivism and neo-functionalism, adopting a qualitative methodology. Data were attained from ECOWAS reports, academic works and credible secondary sources. According to the findings, ECOWAS has had some success managing short- term crises, most notably in The Gambia (2017), but has had less success bringing about lasting peace, as evidenced by Mali and Guinea-Bissau. Over-reliance on Nigeria for resources, financial weakness, a lack of institutional capacity, issues with sovereignty, and new dangers including cyber insecurity, terrorism, and climate stress are some of the main obstacles. The analysis comes to the conclusion that smart international alliances, like ECOWAS's relationship with France and the UN in Mali, greatly increase the organization's efficacy. Diversifying funding, improving institutional and logistical capacity, strengthening rotating leadership to foster unity, using artificial intelligence to predict conflicts, incorporating gender and environmental perspectives, and fortifying hybrid partnerships with the AU and UN are all recommendations made by the research. When taken as a whole, these actions will re-establish ECOWAS as a more resilient, inclusive, and active peace actor in West Africa.