The OAU and African Subregional Organisation: A Closer Look at the 'peace pyramid'

The paper explores the role of African subregional organizations in conflict management and security, noting that their diversity in structure and resources makes them less understood than the OAU or UN. It references a 1998 seminar on peacekeeping and aims to provide guidelines to enhance the effectiveness and definition of these subregional entities.

• The paper aims to analyze the role of African subregional organizations within a security context and their specific function in conflict management. It seeks to establish general guidelines for action and identify structural issues to improve the role of these organizations and clarify their relationship with the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
• While the limitations of the United Nations and the OAU as conflict resolution bodies are widely understood by analysts, there is significantly less understanding regarding African subregional organizations because they vary greatly in their orientation, resources, and structure.
• In late 1998, the International Peace Academy (IPA) and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) conducted a seminar focused on peacemaking and peacekeeping in Africa, specifically examining the development of sub-regional conflict management mechanisms and the relationship between the OAU and sub-regional organizations.

APA

Malan, M. (n.d.). The OAU and African Subregional Organisation: A Closer Look at the 'peace pyramid'. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/papers/the-oau-and-african-subregional-organisation-a-closer-look-at-the-peace-pyramid

Chicago

Malan, Mark. The OAU and African Subregional Organisation: A Closer Look at the 'peace pyramid'. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/papers/the-oau-and-african-subregional-organisation-a-closer-look-at-the-peace-pyramid.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Malan |first1=Mark |title=The OAU and African Subregional Organisation: A Closer Look at the 'peace pyramid' |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/papers/the-oau-and-african-subregional-organisation-a-closer-look-at-the-peace-pyramid |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{malanndoau, author = {Malan, Mark}, title = {{The OAU and African Subregional Organisation: A Closer Look at the 'peace pyramid'}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/papers/the-oau-and-african-subregional-organisation-a-closer-look-at-the-peace-pyramid}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }