About the Observatory
The African External Security Engagement Observatory (ASEO) is a country-year database covering external security ties with all 54 African states, 2000–2025. It is assembled entirely from open sources and measures observable engagement — not influence or intent.
Yunus Ozturk, Ph.D.
ASEO is designed, compiled and maintained by Yunus Ozturk, Ph.D., whose research focuses on external security engagement, defence diplomacy and armed conflict across Africa and the Horn. The Observatory is assembled entirely from open sources.
For research enquiries and potential collaborations, contact y.ozturk@erdogan.edu.tr.
Sources & method
ASEO integrates seven open layers into a single country-year record. Each measures something observable; together they describe who arms African states, and under what conditions.
What it measures
Observable external security ties — arms transfers, foreign bases, defence-cooperation agreements and embargoes — set against conflict and governance. Engagement is not the same as influence.
Arms transfers
SIPRI Trend-Indicator Value (TIV) of delivered major conventional weapons. TIV is a volume index for comparison across deals and years — it is not a price or sales figure.
Conflict
Armed-conflict context drawn from UCDP/PRIO and ACLED, used to read demand and the conditions under which arms flow.
Bases & cooperation
Foreign military presence and bilateral defence-cooperation agreements compiled from the Kinne DCAD dataset and corroborating open-source reporting.
Embargoes
UN and EU arms-embargo measures on African states, recorded at country level with scope noted (full vs. partial / non-government).
Caveats & coverage
Open-source data carry gaps and reporting lags; small island states and informal transfers are under-counted. The EMEI is a transparent composite, not a precise score. Corrections are welcome.
How to cite
Ozturk, Yunus (2026). African External Security Engagement Observatory (ASEO), 2000–2025. Compiled from open sources; please also cite the underlying datasets (SIPRI, UCDP/PRIO, ACLED, Kinne DCAD, UN/EU, V-Dem, World Bank) where used. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22234295.
Licence: this work is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence — you are free to share and adapt it, provided you credit the source.