Ten Years of a Contrasted Union: The African Union at the Crossroads or Business as Usual

This research paper evaluates the first ten years of the African Union (AU), contrasting its developmental mandate with the decolonisation focus of its predecessor, the OAU. It examines the AU's progress in governance, institutional infrastructure, and peacekeeping, while highlighting a loss of momentum in conflict resolution and a gap between ambitious goals and structural realities.

• The African Union represents a fundamental shift from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU); while the OAU focused on decolonisation, the AU's mandate is based on development and the economic and political integration of Africa.
• The AU has established specific governance mechanisms to strengthen democracy, including the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and a policy of refusing to recognise governments that come to power via coup d'état.
• The AU has conducted peacekeeping missions in Somalia, Sudan, and Burundi, with success attributed to collaboration between 'driver countries' such as Nigeria, Algeria, South Africa, and Senegal.
• Despite institutional progress, the AU faces a structural impasse and a lack of a coherent, widely accepted approach to conflict management and resolution.
• The author recommends three priority areas for the AU: translating democratic governance into developmental results to fight poverty, strengthening regional economic communities like ECOWAS as anchors for security, and establishing clear principles for the leadership of the AU Commission.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2012). Ten Years of a Contrasted Union: The African Union at the Crossroads or Business as Usual. https://saiia.org.za/research/ten-years-of-a-contrasted-union-the-african-union-at-the-crossroads-or-business-as-usual/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Ten Years of a Contrasted Union: The African Union at the Crossroads or Business as Usual. 2012. https://saiia.org.za/research/ten-years-of-a-contrasted-union-the-african-union-at-the-crossroads-or-business-as-usual/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Ten Years of a Contrasted Union: The African Union at the Crossroads or Business as Usual |date=9 July 2012 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/ten-years-of-a-contrasted-union-the-african-union-at-the-crossroads-or-business-as-usual/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2012ten, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Ten Years of a Contrasted Union: The African Union at the Crossroads or Business as Usual}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2012}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/ten-years-of-a-contrasted-union-the-african-union-at-the-crossroads-or-business-as-usual/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }