Determinants of a regional organisation's role in peace and security: the African Union and the European Union compared

This article presents the determinants of the influence of regional organisations in the area of international peace and security. It is aimed at initiating and provoking debate on the preponderant factors shaping that influence. The factors or determinants treated include (1) the willingness of the regional organisation to act, (2) the acceptance of its actions and (3) its capacity to discharge such peace-related tasks. The determinants are contingent on nine sub-determinants. The article uses a comparative approach, focusing on the African Union and the European Union after placing the discussion in the context of the relationship between regional organisations and the United Nations in international peace and security efforts.     

The role of African Union law in integrating Africa

This article traces how the development of regional law is linked to the state of regional integration in Africa. Given the prominent role European Union law plays in the functioning of the European Union, the question is posed whether there is similar scope for the development of ‘African Union law’, a term not established hitherto. Initially devoid from the necessary supranational elements required to adopt law that would automatically bind member states, the African Union is leaning towards a functionalist approach paving the way for transfer of sovereign powers to African Union institutions. It is argued that law-making capacity, be it through the activities of the Pan-African Parliament, the Peace and Security Council or the African court system, is a necessary requirement to accelerate the process of regional integration. African Union law will hold member states accountable to comply with international and continentally agreed standards on, inter alia, democracy, good governance and human rights.     

The clash of ideologies: Notions of multiparty (liberal) democracy versus African systems

In South Africa traditional leaders, aka (also known as) chiefs or collaborators, had hoped that the new liberation political environment would retain and safeguard their deeply embedded cultural practices and values, which had existed for centuries, but had been partly violated during the colonial era. However, the new liberation era brought with it notions of liberal democracy—characterised by concepts of meritorious selections, based on democratic “elections”, a practice that further marginalised and frustrated hereditary cultural norms and practices, upon which the pillars and identities of each ethnic group or community were based. In discussing the complex and interlocking interests, epochs of colonial and postcolonial experience, the introduction of “foreign” meritorious notions that dispensed with the craved hereditary positions, the chiefs, traditional leaders and former collaborators appear to have been forced to abandon the liberation project and take up the issue of their survival as custodians of customs and chiefdoms; even against the messaging coming from the new political classes. Inevitably, this has created new tensions in the political governance of urban and rural communities, by elected officials who have either failed or succeeded to coopt traditional leaders. This article argues for a balance between democracy and traditional leadership that can inform modern electoral processes and modernise the cultural practices and eliminate unnecessary conflict and tensions.     

Knowledge production on conflict early warning at the African Union

ABSTRACT

How does the African Union (AU) generate knowledge about on-going violent conflict as well as post-conflict situations? This article offers an analysis of the multiple sites and sources in the construction of conflict-related knowledge. It also reflects on the various institutional ways this knowledge is filtered into the activities of a wide range of AU actors, starting with the AU Commission, the AU Commission Chairperson and the Peace and Security Council. Emphasis is on the development of the Continental Early Warning System and some of its limitations, the latter partly related to the specific organisational culture of the African Union.     

Exploring the role and place of the Permanent Representative Committee within the African Union

It can be confidently stated that, since its constitutive act came into effect in July, 2001, the African Union (AU) has enjoyed increasing attention at the administrative level from a number of scholars. Most of these scholars focus, however, on the evolution of the AU in general or on the Peace and Security Council and its components and how it links with regional organisations and the United Nations. This article adds to the existing literature by looking closely at the role and place of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) in the decision-making framework of the AU. It also critically analyses the potential of the PRC and the challenges facing it as one of the most important decision-making committees of the AU. Lastly, it examines the evolution of the PRC and its functions. Finally, among other things, the article questions the lack of transparency practised by the PRC and proposes new approaches.     

Norm dynamics and international organisations: South Africa in the African Union and International Criminal Court

Over the past two decades, South Africa has sought to perform several roles on the world stage, such as the economic dynamo of Southern Africa, a diplomatic heavyweight representing the African continent, and a norm leader on the world stage as a so-called ‘middle-power’. Although South Africa's evolution and rise as an important player in global affairs has generated a welcome body of critical scholarly literature, comparatively little analysis has been allocated to understanding how norm dynamics and the country's ever-evolving international identities have enabled it to construct and reconstruct its ‘interests’. Social constructivism is best suited for such an analysis because it can operationalise norms, commitments, identities, and interests, and it provides the epistemological tools to map the increasingly multilateral connections between global, regional, and domestic forums. By employing a rationalist approach to constructivism, this paper remedies the aforementioned gap in the literature by illustrating how South Africa constructs and reconstructs its identities and interests in relation to membership in international organisations (IOs). To that end, the paper examines the evolution of South Africa's participation in the African Union (especially ‘peacekeeping’ contributions) and the International Criminal Court. The paper concludes by assessing the theoretical implications and practical ramifications of the norm dynamics involved in South Africa's commitment to these two IOs.     

Looking back,thinking forward: Understanding the feasibility of normative supranationalism in the African Union

The creation of the African Union (AU) in 2002 was seen as a significant paradigm shift in the course of continental integration. Unlike its predecessor, the Organization of African Unity, the AU has a normative framework that espouses supranational aspirations. Various aspects of the AU framework, such as the nature of some of the AU institutions, the declared right of intervention, and the objective of harmonising the policies of Regional Economic Communities under the AU umbrella, are allusions to supranationalism. Furthermore, it appears that normative supranationalism is the goal, in that these aspects indicate the intention on the part of the architects of the AU to create a regime under which AU laws and policies are superior to national and sub-regional rules. The fact that, after a decade of the AU's existence, little or no progress has been made in this regard requires serious introspection. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore some of the factors that militate against the effective operation of normative supranationalism in the AU and proffer recommendations on how to address those constraints.     

South African foreign policy and China: converging visions,competing interests,contested identities

South Africa's burgeoning relationship with China exposes the increasing complexities of its post-apartheid international relations. On one hand bilateral relations have deepened since 1998, due to the increasing complementarities with South Africa's foreign policy priorities that emphasise developmental pragmatism and a Southward orientation within the broader African context. On the other hand this relationship emphasises the deeper schisms within South African society itself, where divergent and multi-layered perspectives on South Africa's post-apartheid identity and relationship with China, the country's largest trading partner, remains unresolved. This article maps out the nature of China–South Africa relations through a thematic approach. This allows for nuanced consideration of South Africa's contemporary foreign policy, one that remains compressed between a combination of external and domestic factors.     

Southern African governments,multilateral development banks,non-state actors,and sustainable infrastructure: Managing changing relationships

There is a need for the countries of Southern Africa to invest in building infrastructure, for which purpose they can be expected to utilise the services of multilateral development banks (MDBs). MDB-funded infrastructure projects often become arenas for debate over the roles and responsibilities of different actors in the development process. This article discusses the fact that there is no longer a clear consensus on the relative responsibilities of governments, MDBs and non-state actors in regard to infrastructure projects, and analyses how these new tensions in the relations between these three actors could complicate efforts to develop the infrastructure so urgently needed in Southern Africa.     

A comparative analysis of regionalism in the Global South: The security and defence dimension of Unasur and the African Union

The aim of this article is to compare Unasur and the African Union with regard to their institutional structure, agenda and performance. Although some scholars have made comparative assessments of regional institutions in the same region or comparisons between regional projects worldwide and the European Union, there are still few academic contributions which develop a cross-regional comparison among regional initiatives from different regions of the Global South. By assessing the cases of Unasur and the African Union, and particularly Unasur’s Defence Council and the AU’s Peace and Security Council, taking into account their institutional structure, performance and limitations, and the role of regional leaders and exogenous actors in both cases, we have elaborated an analytical framework aiming to identify and explain the similarities and differences between two regional institutions outside Europe. Based on the contributions of comparative regionalism and the evaluation of Unasur and the AU, we conduct a comparative analysis of both regional organisations, giving specific attention to their security and defence agendas, moving forward the empirical and analytical agenda of comparative regionalism.     

Membership accession in the African Union: The relationship between enforcement and compliance,and the case for differential membership

It is argued in this paper that the level of non-compliance is high in the Organisation of African Unity/African Union in part because the organisation failed to institute and enforce strict membership accession conditionalities. Across the life of the organisation, this has resulted in non-compliance, mainly the non-payment of dues and non-implementation of policies. This position adds a historical dimension to arguments that identify weak economic capacity and the lack of political will as the main sources of non-compliance. It also supports the thesis that the enforcement of strict accession rules prepares states to perform their obligations and sets them up to receive benefits from the group. In 2002, Africa's continental body changed its mandate from liberation to integration. Since integration requires the strict enforcement of accession rules, the paper suggests that the organisation proceed by choosing differential membership to align the behaviour of its members to their obligations.     

Reconsidering the role of non-public actors in Turkish policy-making

Indirect forms of government have become increasingly prominent in Turkey over the last few decades. After giving an overview of the growing role of non-public actors in Turkish policy-making, we depart from the common idea that the phenomenon is a result of neoliberalism only and examine the multiple genealogies and complex dynamics at work. The paper then questions the preconception according to which the involvement of non-public actors implies a retreat of the state and frames these developments in terms of changing forms of government. Finally, we question the outcomes of this phenomenon in terms of policy and power reconfigurations.     

The work of the African Union Liaison Office in building peace on the ground: A case study of Madagascar

ABSTRACT

Field offices are an increasingly important reality in the architecture of African peacemaking. Yet despite their importance in practice, in academic debates on peacebuilding and mediation, little attention has so far been paid to their work. This paper analyses the role of the African Union Liaison Office in the international efforts to re-establish constitutional order after the 2009 political crisis in Madagascar. The paper scrutinises the mandate, set-up and institutional capacities of the liaison office and reconstructs how and to what extent it has contributed to peacemaking and conflict prevention in Madagascar. It thereby particularly highlights the often ad hoc way the liaison office reacted to unprecedented and rapidly changing events on the ground and stresses the important role played by individual staff members in translating the liaison office’s mandate into practice.     

俄罗斯与南非关系的历史考察——以苏联与非国大关系为视角

俄罗斯与南非关系可以追溯到上世纪60年代初发轫的苏联与南非非洲人国民大会的关系。在将近30年的时间里,苏联向非国大提供了重要的道义和物质上的援助,尤其是武器装备的援助。80年代中期开始,苏联与非国大关系出现新的变化,苏联的同盟军战略和非国大的多元化战略产生了良性的互动,为南非的民主改革创造了较适宜的环境,但对苏联在新南非创建中的作用不宜高估。事实上,苏联与非国大的关系在80年代末趋冷,直接影响到此后的俄南关系。     

Myanmar and the argument for engagement: A clash of contending moralities?

Through an analysis of Myanmar’s history, together with the instability that arose in consequence of it, this paper argues that the international community needs to overcome its policy divide by embracing a combination of diplomatic pressure and targeted engagement designed to enhance, in the long-term, the security and stability, of Myanmar and its people. While the idea of even limited engagement may be repugnant to some, the analysis will show that the ‘middle path’ advocated by this paper represents the best sustainable option to resolve the crisis in Myanmar.