REGIONAL ORGANISATIONS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION: A CASE OF THE AFRICAN UNION

The changing nature and magnitude of conflicts across the world continue to raise concerns as to whether there is sufficient institutional capacity to solve the growing number of conflict crises some of which pose serious threats to human security. Notably, there has been an increased number of non -state actors involved in conflict resolution efforts. This paper seeks to explore the growing narrative of African solutions to African problems by examining the involvement of the African Union as an institution in the various conflicts in the continent. The paper will begin by examining some of the deep-rooted causes of conflicts in Africa, the structure of the African Union. Specifically, those agencies involved in conflict-related issues and the approaches AU adopts in different scenarios. The paper argues that the AU has a special duty and legitimacy to front solutions to conflict situations in the continent. However, this potential is yet to be fully utilized, and there is room for improvement.

___

  • Adebajo, A., & Paterson, M. (Eds) (2012). The African Union at ten: Problems, progress, and prospects. Cape Town, South Africa: International Colloquium Report.Ake, C. (1981). A Political Economy of Africa. Lagos: Longman Group Ltd.Albuquerque, A. L. (2016). The African peace and security architecture (APSA): Discussing the remaining challenges (FOI-R--4301—SE). Sweden: Ministry of Defense.Aneme, G. A. (2008). The African Standby Force: Major Issues under' Mission Scenario Six.' Available at SSRN 1315786.AU Commission, Strategic Plan 2009-2012, AU document EX.CL/501 (XV) Rev.2, May 19, 2009, p. 11.African Union. Peace and Security Council 856th Meeting 13 June 2019 Addis AbabaBadmus, I. (2015). The African Union's Role in Peacekeeping: Building on Lessons Learned from Security Operations. Springer.Bergholm, L. (2010). The African Union, the United Nations, and civilian protection challenges in Darfur. Oxford, UK: Refugee Studies Centre.Berhe, M.G. & A. de Waal. 2016. African Politics, African Peace. Boston, MA: World Peace Foundation.Collier, P., & Hoeffler, A. (2004). Greed and grievance in the civil war. Oxford economic papers, 56(4), 563-595.Coleman, K. P., & Williams, P. D. (2017). Logistics Partnerships in Peace Operations. International Peace Institute.Cramer, C. (2006). Civil war is not a stupid thing: Accounting for violence in developing countries (p. 199). London: Hurst.De Coning, C., Gelot, L., & Karlsrud, J. (Eds.). (2016). The future of African peace operations: From the Janjaweed to Boko Haram. Zed Books Ltd.Deutsch, K. (1957). Political Community and the North Atlantic Area, Princeton University Press.Dersso, S. (2016). To Intervene or Not to Intervene?. Occasional Paper (Boston: World Peace Foundation, 26 February 2016).Dersso, S. A. (2017). Defending Constitutional Rule as a Peacemaking Enterprise: The Case of the AU’s Ban of Unconstitutional Changes of Government. International Peacekeeping, 24(4), 639-660.Desmidt, S. (2016). Peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and conflict monitoring in the African Peace and Security Architecture. European Centre for Development Policy Management.Engel, U. (2010). Unconstitutional changes of government-new AU policies in defense of democracy. Leipziger Univ.-Verlag.Gleditsch, Kristian Skrede. 2002a. All International Politics Is Local. The Diffusion of Conflict, Integration, and Democratization. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.Gruzd, S. (2007). Peace, security, and the African Peer Review Mechanism Are the tools up to the task?. African Security Studies, 16(3), 53-66.Guesh, H. (2013). The response of the African Union to the North Africa revolutions of 2011: Critical analysis on the African Union normative frameworks governing democracy, constitutionalism, and unconstitutional change of government (Unpublished undergraduate dissertation). Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa.Hardt, H. (2016). From states to secretariats: delegation in the African Union Peace and Security Council. African security, 9(3), 161-187.Harbom, L., & Wallensteen, P. (2005). Armed conflict and its international dimensions, 1946-2004. Journal of Peace Research, 42(5), 623-635.Hope, SR, K. R. (2005). Toward good governance and sustainable development: The African peer review mechanism. Governance, 18(2), 283-311.Hurd, I. (2014). The UN Security Council and the international rule of law. The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 7(3), 361-379.Ikejiaku, B. V., & Dauda, J. (2011). African Union, conflict, and conflict resolution in Africa: a comparative analysis of the recent Kenya and Zimbabwe conflicts. International Journal of development and conflict, 1(01), 61-83.Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Focus on human rights a change of direction for the AU, 12 January 2016Joshua, S., & Olanrewaju, F. (2017). The AU’s Progress and Achievements in the Realm of Peace and Security. India Quarterly, 73(4), 454-471.Kuwali, D., & Viljoen, F. (2013). Africa and the responsibility to protect: article 4 (h) of the African Union constitutive act. Routledge.LeMelle, G., & Stulman, M. (2008). Africa Policy Outlook, 2008. Foreign Policy in Focus, 7.Lisk, F. (2012). The African Union after 10 Years: Successes and challenges. Retrieved 5 January 2017, from http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/expertcomment/ the_african_union/Mapuva, J. (2010). Government of National Unity (GNU) as a conflict prevention strategy: Case of Zimbabwe and Kenya. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, 12(6), 247-263.Mehler, A., & Degenhardt, C. (2008). Not Always in the People's Interest: Power-Sharing Arrangements in African Peace Agreements.Miller, R. R. (1996). Lichbach, Mark Irving. The Rebel's Dilemma. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1995.Moving Africa Forward: African Peace and Security Architecture 2010 Assessment Study, paragraphs 75–77Moolakkattu, J. S. (2010). The role of the African Union in continental peace and security governance. India Quarterly, 66(2), 151-165.Moore, W. H. (1998). Repression and dissent: Substitution, context, and timing. American Journal of Political Science, 42, 851-873.Murithi, T., & Lulie, H. (2012). The African Union Peace and Security Council-a five-year appraisal. Institute for Security Studies Monographs, 2012(187), 268.Nathan, L. (2005). Consistency and inconsistencies in South African foreign policy. International Affairs, 81(2), 361-372.Nathan, L. (2017). A survey of mediation in African coups. APN Working Papers, (15).Okeke, J.M. & P.D. Williams, eds. 2017will. Protecting Civilians in African Union Peace Support Operations. South Africa: ACCORDOluborode, J. A. (2008). The African Union Peace and Security Architecture: can the Panel of the Wise make a difference? (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pretoria).Omorogbe, E. Y. (2008). A club of incumbents? The African Union and coups d’etat. Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, 44(1), 123–154Oguonu, C. N., & Ezeibe, C. C. (2014). African Union and conflict resolution in Africa. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(27), 325–332.Report of the UN Secretary-General, Support to African Union peacekeeping operations, paragraph 24Schroeder, M., & Lamb, G. (2006). The Illicit arms trade in Africa. African analyst, 1(4).Toga, D. (2016). The African Union and the Libyan revolution: The efficacy of the African Peace and Security Architecture (Paper No. 12). World Peace Foundation, Medford, USA.Umozurike, U.O. (2005) Introduction to International Law (5th Edition). Ibadan: Spectrum Books Ltd.Union, A. (2000). The Constitutive Act. Addis Ababa.Union, A. (2004). Solemn declaration on a common African defence and security policy. Available at www. africa-union. org/News_Events/2ND% 20EX% 20ASSEMBLY/Declaration% 20on% 20a, 20.Williams, P. D. (2009). The Peace and Security Council of the African Union: evaluating an embryonic international institution. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 47(4), 603-626.Williams, P. D. (2011). The African Union’s conflict management capabilities (Working Paper). International Institution and Global Governance Program, New YorkWilliams, P. D. (2013). Peace operations in Africa: Lessons learned since 2000. Washington, DC: Africa Center for Strategic Studies.Williams, P. D. (2017). A new African model of coercion? Assessing the ECOWAS mission in the Gambia. IPI Global Observatory, 16.Zanger, S. C. (2000). A global analysis of the effect of political regime changes on life integrity violations, 1977-93. Journal of Peace Research, 37(2), 213-233.