Challenges for the African Union at Twenty

The African Union (AU) faces worrying headwinds in the year ahead. As the organisation approaches its twentieth anniversary, the democratic norms enshrined in its peace and security mandate look increasingly under threat. A recent coup in Burkina Faso just days before this year's AU summit marked the latest in a string of military takeovers that have toppled democratic governments in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa. The Union’s response has sometimes been worryingly muted, with some member states reluctant to take swift and decisive action.

This week on The Horn, guest host Elissa Jobson, Crisis Group’s chief of advocacy, is joined by Dr Solomon Ayele Dersso, Founding Director of Amani Africa, an independent policy and research organisation with a focus on the African Union, to talk about these concerning developments. They discuss the recent AU summit, the dividing line between member states and the mixed responses to unconstitutional takeovers in Sudan, Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso. They also take a deep dive into the history of the AU’s commitment to democratic norms and the peace and security architecture developed to safeguard them and promote stability in the continent. They ask how successful the organisation has been in its aspiration to find “African solutions to African problems”, plotting out the AU’s place within global collective security as it turns twenty.

For more on the African Union, explore our recent briefing, ‘Eight Priorities for the African Union in 2022’.

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