The aim of this highly interesting and innovative book is to assess whether security cooperation has contributed to change the relations between the EU and Africa. It launches the hypothesis that security concerns can contribute to change the overall relations between the two continents. The authors demonstrates that it has been European concerns about security in Africa that have been the most important motivating factor for bringing about the changes in EU–Africa relations. The author describes the changes as an ‘institutionalisation’ of the relationship. The ‘institutionalisation’ is a consequence of the introduction of the Joint Africa–EU Strategy in 2007 and it refers to a process whereby cooperation between the two partners increasingly incorporates ‘norms and shared standards of behaviour’ (p. 23).

The basic argument of the book is ‘tested’ in two cases, namely the EU support for the African Standby Force (ASF) and the attempt to establish a small arms regime in Africa. In two chapters before the analysis of the cases, the author first develops an analytical framework for scrutinising the current relationship between the two continents. The framework called ‘institutionalised inter-regionalism’ is based on ‘marrying’ historical institutionalism and the empirical concept of inter-regionalism. One chapter deals with the rise of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and the role of external partners in that context. The chapter gives a fine overview of the developments in Africa's security situation including the role of the African Union and the different components in the APSA. When it comes to the external partners, it is emphasised that the UN and the European Union share the ambitions of the African Union to develop autonomous African capabilities to address the security challenges on the continent and thereby find a new role for the continent in international security provision.

The analysis of the African Standby Force convincingly shows how security cooperation between the EU and the AU has changed the relationship between the two partners. It is no surprise that France has played a particularly important role in the development of the different institutions including the armed forces in Africa. In spite of the strong role of one particular member state, the chapter concludes that the implementation of the ASF is a visible example of interregional cooperation between the EU and Africa. It also points to the possibility for the AU to take ownership of decision-making and implementation of peace and security initiatives in Africa.

The conclusion in the following chapter points in the opposite direction when it comes to the attempt to establish a regime to control the illicit flow of small arms in Africa. Because member states have been unwilling to Europeanise their policies on small arms, it has been impossible for the EU Commission to coordinate European policy initiatives towards the small arms policy area. It is stated that the inability to achieve coherence diminishes the effectiveness of the contributions that the EU can make to international peace and security.

This book by Toni Haastrup is an important contribution to the study of inter-regional relationships extremely important to Africa. It clearly demonstrates that interests of the individual EU member states continue to hamper attempts by the European Union to act as a coherent and efficient actor in relation to promoting peace and security in Africa. On the other hand, the book's analysis of the ASF shows that the EU can make a difference to African security and thereby to the lives of ordinary Africans.