This handbook takes stock of the African Unions Vision 2020 to rid the African continent of wars, civil conflicts, human rights violations, and humanitarian disasters including violent conflicts and genocide and provides recommendations on how to address contemporary threats to peace and security in Africa. It explores the continents current peace and security landscape, including new actors, emerging threats, and the prospects for achieving sustainable peace. With contributions from highly respected experts in the field, both academics and practitioners, the volume unpacks the sources of conflict, instability and the challenges of peace and development, and provides research-based policy advice to guide and inform African governments, policy makers, practitioners, and scholarly audiences on the continent and beyond.