The African Union
Pan-Africanism, Peacebuilding and Development

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.

Contents: Introduction; From Pan-Africanism to the African Union: the invention of an idea; Peace and development challenges for the African Union; The peace and security institutions; Reinforcing African Union - civil society partnership; Towards a paradigm of auto-development; Conclusion; Bibliography; Select index.

Dr Timothy Murithi is Programme Officer of the Programme in Peacemaking and Preventive Diplomacy at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), Switzerland.