Title : The African Union as Security Actor: African Solutions to African Problems?
Working Paper No : 57 (series 2)
Author(s) : Bjorn Moller
Date : August 2009
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This paper focuses on the problem-solving capacity of the
African Union (AU) and its predecessor, the Organisation of
African Unity (OAU). It forms a companion
paper to WP56.2 which looks specifically at the ability of
African sub-regional organisations to play their part in dealing
with Africa's conflicts and security issues. Both papers
examine the hypothesis that a regional hegemon, and a measure of
shared values and norms, are necessary requirements for an
effective regional security organisation.
The paper commences with a brief account of the concept of hegemony, followed by an analysis of the empirical question as to whether there are any potential hegemons in Africa. The author goes on to analyse the OAU's record in dealing with conflict and traces the genesis of the AU, its ambitions, organisational structure and actual accomplishments in the realm of peace and security.