Breaking the Cycle of Civil–Military Failure is not another routine assessment of Africa’s security architecture. It is a wake-up call to a continent trapped between its aspirations and its realities. Daoud argues that the AU stands at a strategic breaking point: its traditional model—built on consensus diplomacy and cautious engagement—has reached its limits in an era where instability is systemic, not episodic. Through incisive analysis, the book dissects the anatomy of Africa’s fragility: from the psychology of malicious joy and the politics of neighbors’ collapse to the manipulations of foreign actors who have turned parts of the continent into experimental battlegrounds for influence and resources.