THE OAU AND AFRICAN SUBREGIONAL ORGANISATIONS – A closer look at the ‘peace pyramid’

The document examines the 'peace pyramid' model of conflict management in Africa, where subregional organisations act as the base, the OAU as the linkage, and the UN as the apex. It argues that while subregional bodies like ECOWAS and SADC are often better motivated for intervention due to proximity, they lack institutionalised crisis management mechanisms and are built upon fragile states. The author suggests that effective regional security requires a focus on state-building, good governance, and the creation of permanent secretariats to ensure impartiality and reliability.

• The 'peace pyramid' conceptualises a hierarchical partnership for African conflict management where the United Nations serves as the supreme world body at the apex, subregional organisations form the base, and the OAU provides the "critical linkage" between the two.
• African subregional organisations, including larger entities like ECOWAS and SADC, generally lack institutionalised mechanisms for crisis prevention and management, leading to ad hoc military involvement in conflict resolution.
• There is a trend toward using subregional organisations as peace enforcers because the UN lacks the institutional capacity for military enforcement under Chapter VII, and regional bodies are perceived to have greater political will and familiarity with local conflicts.
• The effectiveness of multinational security regimes in Africa is undermined by the weakness of the member states themselves, which often suffer from a 'security dilemma' where the state's failure to provide protection leads to the privatisation or communalisation of security.
• To improve credibility and reliability, subregional organisations should establish permanent secretariats to reduce reliance on personality-based presidential leadership and create formal bureaucratic channels for communication with the OAU and UN.
• The OAU has prioritised five main subregional organisations: ECOWAS in the West, SADC in the South, IGAD in the East, UMA in the North, and ECCAS in Central Africa.

APA

Malan, M. (1999). THE OAU AND AFRICAN SUBREGIONAL ORGANISATIONS – A closer look at the ‘peace pyramid’. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper36.pdf

Chicago

Malan, Mark. THE OAU AND AFRICAN SUBREGIONAL ORGANISATIONS – A closer look at the ‘peace pyramid’. Institute for Security Studies, 1999. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper36.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Malan |first1=Mark |title=THE OAU AND AFRICAN SUBREGIONAL ORGANISATIONS – A closer look at the ‘peace pyramid’ |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=January 1999 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper36.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{malan1999oau, author = {Malan, Mark}, title = {{THE OAU AND AFRICAN SUBREGIONAL ORGANISATIONS – A closer look at the ‘peace pyramid’}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {1999}, month = jan, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper36.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }