African Union and its Inability to Solve Protracted Conflicts in Africa: Sudan, Congo and Libya as Case Studies

The change of OAU into AU in 2002 marked the emergence of a new paradigm for African governance that moved away from the inflexible concept of sovereign statehood and non-intervention toward a more interventionist approach of non-indifference. The core of the new paradigm was the creation of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) aimed at bringing about the idea of “African Solutions to African Problems” (ASAP). Nevertheless, despite years of institutionalization, the continent still suffers from protracted conflicts that appear immune to any regional interventions. This study critically assesses the performance of the AU as an institution through the analysis of its incapability to solve the existing problems in Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Libya. First is the dependence dilemma, where the AU is dependent on foreign donors – especially the European Union – for the lion’s share of its funding related to peace and security matters, thus rendering itself strategically dependent on outside forces. Second is the problem of sovereignty-security duality, where member states do not trust the AU enough with supranational powers in case they require intervention in their territories sometime in the future. Third is the intervention dilemma, where the interests of external actors and regional powers conflict with the AU-led diplomacy. The central argument presented in this research is that although the AU has managed to develop a normative system for resolving conflicts successfully, it does not have the “teenth” needed to deal with lingering problems. To conclude, it can be stated that the AU will have to secure itself financially through the proper operation of the Peace Fund, and strive for a more radical approach to peacekeeping by focusing on the principle of human security as opposed to regime security.

Keywords: African Union, Conflict Resolution, Protracted Conflicts, APSA, Sudan, DRC, Libya