The African Union's Role in Peacekeeping: Building on Lessons Learned from Operations

Abstract

With the transformation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU) in 2002, Africa witnessed the emergence of a new form of multilateralism with a new set of norms and values governing intra-African diplomacy and security relations. At the heart of this evolving intra-African security cooperation is the construction of an African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). The APSA is a proactive security regime that seeks to address African conflicts and governance deficits with respect to improving opportunities for unhindered socio-economic development. This new pan-African approach to regional peace and security management is envisioned to promote human security. It is against this backdrop that this thesis examines the African Union's (AU) role as a conflict management and peace consolidation actor in Africa, especially the way in which it relates to its peacekeeping operations. Overall, the thesis investigates AU peacekeeping carried out to manage post-Cold War African conflicts. The purpose of this research endeavour is to analyse these operations to better understand the lessons that can be learned from them in order to build on these positively and thereby improve the outcomes of AU peace operations in the future. Accordingly, the AU peace operations in Burundi (AMIB), Somalia (AMISOM), and the hybrid peacekeeping operation in Darfur (UNAMID) are examined in this thesis to evaluate their effectiveness (or otherwise) in relation to whether they can deliver a more secure path to durable peace in Africa. Furthermore, the thesis examines how well these operations fit within the broad context of the APSA.