ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the policy-making agency by the ECOWAS Commission in political affairs, peace and regional security, providing empirical evidence for the second phase of the investigated causal process. It presents a novel perspective of the Commission as a driver of regional policy making. Again, the policy cycle is employed as a heuristic to investigate Commission agency. Specific instances of policy making analyzed include the Commission’s role in security sector reform, mediation, early warning, and electoral monitoring. Policy-making agency includes the opening and closing of policy windows or the involvement of expert bodies in agenda setting, the inclusion of policy sub-communities such as civil society groups and high-level task forces at the formulation and monitoring stages, and the direct implementation of measures related to security sector reform and small arms proliferation.
