The project was aimed at assessing the European Union's possible contribution to peace and security in Africa, focusing on the development of the African Union's security policies, conflict prevention instruments and crisis management capabilities. It originated from a joint initiative of the IAI (Rome), the project leader, the EU Institute for Security Studies (Paris) and Chatham House (London). African researchers institutions, including the Centre de Recherches sur l'Etat en Afrique (CREA), were involved in both the research and dissemination phases.