On the pillars of pan-Africanism: an emerging AU foreign policy

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Masters, L. ORCID: 0000-0002-1053-8977, 2024. On the pillars of pan-Africanism: an emerging AU foreign policy. In: M. Charountaki, C. Kourtelis and D. Irrera, eds., Non-state actors and foreign policy agency: insights from area studies. Non-state actors in international relations . Cham, Switzerland: Springer, pp. 25-41. ISBN 9783031518843

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51885-0

Abstract

The field of foreign policy analysis has seen growing attention given to the role of non-state actors in shaping foreign policy decision-making, including the case of the European Union (EU). Given that the EU is the only regional organisation with a shared foreign policy approach, there is a wealth of analysis interrogating the region’s agency on the world stage. To the south, the intergovernmental/regional institution of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and its successor, the African Union (AU), has demonstrated its own agency in international relations, but with little critical analysis concerning the framework guiding its international approach. Given the political nature of the organisation, there is debate on whether it is possible to develop a coordinated AU foreign policy. While there may not, as yet, be an explicit foreign policy, this paper points to the role of Pan-Africanism in providing continuity from the OAU to the AU as the underlying framework shaping the pursuit of an “independent and significant Africa”. Nevertheless, while Pan-Africanism ideals provide a shared understanding in developing a nascent foreign policy, they also present a challenge to coherence and cooperation between member states in the AU’s approach to international relations.

Item Type:

Chapter in book

Description:

Chapter 2

Creators:

Masters, L.

Publisher:

Springer

Place of Publication:

Cham, Switzerland

Date:

2 April 2024