Le Mécanisme africain d’évaluation par les pairs : Evaluer les origines, les relations institutionnelles et les réalisations

This research paper by Steven Gruzd evaluates the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), analyzing its origins within the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), its institutional challenges, and its impact on governance across the African continent as of April 2009.

• The APRM represents a significant shift from the era of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), where state sovereignty was paramount and internal criticism was unacceptable. Now, more than half of African countries, representing three-quarters of the continent's population, have voluntarily agreed to submit their governance and economic development practices to peer judgment.
• The APRM emerged from a lineage of governance mechanisms: the African Union (the 'grandfather'), NEPAD (the 'father'), and the APRM itself (the 'child'). While NEPAD was subsumed into the AU as its economic plan and lost its voluntary nature, the APRM retained the principle of voluntary membership.
• Institutional relations between the AU, NEPAD, and APRM have been characterized by rivalry, overlapping mandates, and 'territorial wars.' This was evidenced by disputes over hierarchical reporting lines and a lack of integration, such as the AU website lacking links to the APRM and the AU governance library lacking APRM reports as of February 2009.
• A significant institutional milestone was reached in October 2008 with the signing of a 'seat agreement' between the South African government and the AU. This recognized the APRM Secretariat as a legal entity in South Africa, allowing it to negotiate contracts directly with staff and increasing the AU's influence in appointing its executive director.
• The APRM has demonstrated diagnostic potential by identifying conditions that led to ethnic violence in Kenya after December 2007 and xenophobic attacks in South Africa in May 2008. However, because its recommendations are neither mandatory nor enforceable, they were ignored in these instances.
• The mechanism has led to concrete governance gains in several countries through National Plans of Action (NPAs). Ghana implemented a new ministry for Traditional Authorities and Culture and a Whistleblower Act; Rwanda integrated its NPA into its poverty reduction strategy; and Kenya passed laws on witness protection and public procurement.
• The APRM has expanded political space by requiring participating countries to involve citizens in evaluating governance. This process is intended to make rigorous debate and criticism more acceptable in Africa and increase the accountability of leaders.
• The mechanism faces critical leadership and technical challenges. Participation in the APRM Forum is often low, and the Secretariat has been described as 'weak and outdated.' Additionally, the administrative system is under pressure, with an estimated decade required to complete evaluations for the 20 states currently waiting.

APA

Gruzd, S. (2009). Le Mécanisme africain d’évaluation par les pairs : Evaluer les origines, les relations institutionnelles et les réalisations. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/Occasional-Paper-29-FR.pdf

Chicago

Gruzd, Steven. Le Mécanisme africain d’évaluation par les pairs : Evaluer les origines, les relations institutionnelles et les réalisations. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2009. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/Occasional-Paper-29-FR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gruzd |first1=Steven |title=Le Mécanisme africain d’évaluation par les pairs : Evaluer les origines, les relations institutionnelles et les réalisations |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=April 2009 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/Occasional-Paper-29-FR.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gruzd2009mcanisme, author = {Gruzd, Steven}, title = {{Le Mécanisme africain d’évaluation par les pairs : Evaluer les origines, les relations institutionnelles et les réalisations}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2009}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/Occasional-Paper-29-FR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }