Towards a Union Government for Africa

Towards a Union Government for Africa PDF Author: Timothy Murithi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Africa
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
In 1963 President Kwame Nkrumah argued that a Union Government for Africa would ultimately be the most effective vehicle for Africa’s social, political and economic emancipation. At that time there was significant dissension and disagreement on this point. The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was formed as a comprise between those who wanted immediate continental integration and those who saw benefits in retaining a degree of national sovereignty and autonomy in managing their internal affairs. Forty-four years after Nkrumah’s visionary proposal, the leadership of the African Union (AU), the successor organisation to the OAU, is still grappling with the issue of whether to forge a Union Government for Africa. This book will contribute to this ongoing debate by drawing together the views of a selection of AU officials, AU member state representatives, policymakers, researchers, academics and civil society representatives. The chapters contained in the book will discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the proposed Union Government for Africa. This introduction will contextualise the debates leading up to the Union Government discussions and also outline the content and structure of the book.

Towards a Union Government for Africa

Towards a Union Government for Africa PDF Author: Timothy Murithi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Africa
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book

Book Description
In 1963 President Kwame Nkrumah argued that a Union Government for Africa would ultimately be the most effective vehicle for Africa’s social, political and economic emancipation. At that time there was significant dissension and disagreement on this point. The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was formed as a comprise between those who wanted immediate continental integration and those who saw benefits in retaining a degree of national sovereignty and autonomy in managing their internal affairs. Forty-four years after Nkrumah’s visionary proposal, the leadership of the African Union (AU), the successor organisation to the OAU, is still grappling with the issue of whether to forge a Union Government for Africa. This book will contribute to this ongoing debate by drawing together the views of a selection of AU officials, AU member state representatives, policymakers, researchers, academics and civil society representatives. The chapters contained in the book will discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the proposed Union Government for Africa. This introduction will contextualise the debates leading up to the Union Government discussions and also outline the content and structure of the book.

Towards a People-driven African Union

Towards a People-driven African Union PDF Author: Ibrahima Kane
Publisher: African Minds
ISBN: 192005183X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 78

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Book Description
This report is the first independent, substantive and public assessment of the progress of the African Union. "Towards a People-Driven African Union: Current Obstacles and New Opportunities" analyses the preparations of African Union member-states, the AU Commission and civil society organizations for the twice-yearly AU summits. The main finding is that despite some welcome new opportunities for participation, the African Union's vision of "an Africa driven by its own citizens" remains largely unfulfilled. Detailed recommendations are offered to help deliver on this vision in future. Published by AFRODAD, AfriMAP and Oxfam, this report is endorsed by more than a dozen other organizations in Africa and elsewhere, and is based on interviews with more than 50 representatives of member-states, the AU Commission and civil society organizations in eleven African countries.

The African Union and New Strategies for Development in Africa

The African Union and New Strategies for Development in Africa PDF Author: Said Adejumobi
Publisher: Cambria Press
ISBN: 1604975741
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 508

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Book Description
The early twenty-first century witnessed remarkable attempts by Africa's political leadership to promote regional integration as a means of fast-tracking economic progress, facilitating peace and security, consolidating democratic gains, and promoting the general welfare of the African people. The transition of the Organization of Unity (OAU) to the African Union (AU), as well as the foisting of a new economic blueprint for the continent-the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), combined with the growing role of the regional economic communities (RECs) in harmonizing and creating subregional norms and standards in the political and economic arena suggests a new trend towards regionalism in Africa. Indeed, in the new regional integration architecture, the RECs are considered to be the building blocks of the integration process led by the African Union. This new impetus of a regional development strategy was largely prompted by the slow pace of economic progress on the continent, the increasing marginalization of Africa in the global economy, and the need to create regional resources and standards that would benefit the continent in all spheres of social life. A painful realization became obvious that small micro-states in Africa sticking to their political independence and sovereignty would hardly make much progress in an increasingly globalised world. A macro-states' approach of regional integration has assumed Africa's new strategy to intervene in and integrate with a globalizing world. The current regional trend in Africa has received very little scholarly attention especially in a systematic and comprehensive way. This is due partly to the fact that the processes are currently unfolding and there is still uncertainty in the outcomes. Poor documentation and the dearth of primary materials (especially from the regional institutions) also contribute to the lack of scholarly work in this area. This study assembles the voices of some of the most seasoned African and Africanist scholars who have constantly, in one way or another, interacted with the integration process in Africa and kept abreast of the developments therein, and seeks to capture those developments in a nuanced manner in the economic, political and social spheres. The essence of this book is to analyze those processes--teasing out the issues, problems, challenges and major policy recommendations, with tentative conclusions on Africa's regional development trajectory. The book therefore fills major knowledge and policy gaps in Africa's regional development agenda. This book is a landmark contribution in a systematic attempt to comprehend Africa's regional development strategy led by the African Union. It examines the background, nuances, and dimensions of the process, which include the basis and historiography of pan-Africanism, the transition of the OAU to the AU, the issue of popular participation in development, the NEPAD and APRM initiatives, the evolving regional peace and security architecture, and the efforts of regional institutions to facilitate democracy, human rights, rule of law and good governance on the continent. The book underscores the fact that formidable obstacles and challenges abound in the trajectory, politics, and processes of this regional development paradigm, especially as Africa navigates an uncertain future in a deeply divided and unequal yet globalised World. The book constitutes a major reference material and compendium for a wide range of readers--students and scholars of African affairs and African development, policy makers both in Africa and the western countries, regional and international institutions and organizations, and all those interested in the past, present and future of Africa's development process.

Contesting Sovereignty

Contesting Sovereignty PDF Author: Joel Ng
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108490611
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
Examines and compares diplomatic practices and normative change in the African Union and ASEAN.

Strengthening Popular Participation in the African Union

Strengthening Popular Participation in the African Union PDF Author: Oxfam Oxfam
Publisher: African Books Collective
ISBN: 1920489770
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description
The African Union (AU) has committed to a vision of Africa that is integrated, prosperous and peaceful driven by its own citizens, a dynamic force in the global arena (Vision and Mission of the African Union, May 2004). This guide is an effort to take up the challenge of achieving this vision. It is a tool to assist activists to engage with AU policies and programmes. It describes the AU decision-making process and outlines the roles and responsibilities of the AU institutions. It also contains a sampling of the experiences of those non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that have interacted with the AU.

'New Growth on Deep Roots'

'New Growth on Deep Roots' PDF Author: Kathryn Sturman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Africa
Languages : en
Pages : 16

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Book Description
"What is meant by a United States of Africa, and where does the idea come from? Is it feasible? Or even desirable as a realistic goal for the continent's diverse people? This paper traces the roots of the Pan-Africanist vision for the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), and then examines the prospects for its revival in the African Union (AU). It is evident from an analysis of OAU decisions, declarations and speeches over the years that Pan-Africanism was subsumed by African nationalism. It was a minority voice, seldom heard and at times drowned out by African nationalism. The ideals of founding fathers Nkrumah, Selassie and Nyerere did not have the support of the majority of African leaders, who were all concerned to a greater or lesser degree with the consolidation of state power. From the ideas and actions of a few visionaries, support for an African regional peacekeeping capacity and for human rights monitoring across borders grew into the AU institutions of the Peace and Security Council and the African Commission (and court) of Human and Peoples' Rights. The agenda for a United States of Africa goes further than what member states agreed upon in the AU Constitutive Act, however. The paper analyses the AU Commission's 'Study on an African Union government towards the United States of Africa' -- a discussion document issued by the office of the chairperson of the AU Commission"--Page 12

Institutionalising Pan-Africanism

Institutionalising Pan-Africanism PDF Author: Timothy Murithi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Africa
Languages : en
Pages : 18

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Book Description


Integrating Africa

Integrating Africa PDF Author: Martin Welz
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136235191
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
The African Union (AU) is a continental organization that comprises every African state except for Morocco, is indeed a pioneering undertaking. Its ambitious aim is to integrate all member states, with the ultimate goal of forming the United States of Africa. Despite several attempts to build a union, the AU has remained an intergovernmental organization, one reason being a perceived unwillingness of the AU states to pool their national sovereignties. This study seeks to comprehend why Africa’s integration process has not moved towards a supranational organization, using a novel approach. It shifts the usual perspective away from the organization level and provides the first comprehensive and systematic analysis of the AU from the perspective of the states themselves. It includes 8 comprehensive case studies: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mauritius, South African, Swaziland, Uganda and Zimbabwe to help understand their foreign policy and provide key insights into why they are (un)willing to yield sovereignty. This work will be of great interest to students and scholars of African politics, international relations and international organizations.

The African Union

The African Union PDF Author: Timothy Murithi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 135189515X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
The African Union was established in July 2002 by African leaders, evolving from the Organization of African Unity (OAU). However the idea of the African Union can be traced to the Pan-Africanist movement. Timothy Murithi looks at the emergence of Pan-Africanism and how it was institutionalized through the Pan-African Congress and the OAU. He argues that the African Union represents the third phase of the institutionalization of Pan-Africanism. The book examines the limitations of the OAU and discusses whether the African Union can adopt a more interventionist stance in dealing with peacebuilding and development in Africa. The volume assesses the African Union's peace and security institutions and analyzes how it is beginning to collaborate with civil society. It takes a critical look at the Union's New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and argues that Africa needs to adopt a developmental and governance agenda that will be much more responsive towards improving the well-being and livelihood of its peoples.

The African Union and African Agency in International Politics

The African Union and African Agency in International Politics PDF Author: Tshepo Gwatiwa
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783030878061
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This book examines the role of the African Union in relation to African agency in international politics. It examines the manner and extent to which the African Union exercises two forms of agency-shirking and slippage-in its strategic and collaborative partnerships. The author focuses on four major AU partnerships with the European Union, NATO, the United Nations and US AFRICOM. The books examines African agency in each partnership by exploring the politics and dynamics of each partnership in different aspects: the multilevel engagement, institutionalization, resource contribution and disbursement, as well as preference linkage. It specifically does that by examining African ownership and leadership in all of these aspects. The book highlights the role of agency slack as a survival strategy to escape from the AU's subaltern position in international politics. It designates the partnership with the European Union as emblematic of African agency; while the others exhibit different forms of agency slack. Partnerships with NATO and the United Nations exhibit shirking, while that with the US AFRICOM exhibits slippage. Tshepo Gwatiwa is Lecturer in the Department of International Relations at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is also a Research Associate at the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS) at the same university.