INTRODUCTION

Africa of today is indeed a dark continental with darkness getting manifested in all spheres of its existence or the lack of it, considering the fact that the rest of the world seems hardly concerned with the collapse of the continent. It seems world opinion is more directed towards the effects of terrorism and the acts of the hegemon but is ignorant about the millions of silent deaths occuring in Africa due to a host of factors be it low economic growth bringing poverty, civil strife and intra armed conflict among the tribes, escalating the number of deaths as well as of the refugees, epidemics o the all encompassing AIDS or the failure of democratic traditions leading to human rights violations. All these is further aggravated by the natural calamities drought and desertification snatching the base necessities of human survival. It is in this context the paper tries to evaluate the

diplomatic initiative of the African statesmen - the African union, a forum for multilateral diplomacy about how they are going to confront the challenges to their survived and

whether it is ust an idea in paper having severe limitations getting short of its expectations.

Present Africa
!any of the ills that affect today can be seen in the internal failures. Africa has rich sources of mineral wealth " i.e. it has #$% of world&s platinum, '$% of worlds uranium ( . Instead of producing manufactured goods, post independent countries of Africa concentrated on export of primary

products which have fluctuating prices in the world market. )his was further affected by droughts, the oil crisis of (*+$s which pushed their external debt. ,nd of cold-war cost

them Soviet -nion as an ally. .hen I!/ and the .orld 0ank came forward to tackle the debt crisis, it launched a programme called the structural ad ustment programme according to which debtor nations& resources will be used to produce exports to be sold for dollars that can be used to pay debts under the condition that the former have to reduce or eliminate subsidies and price controls. )heir universal application without any regard of the special circumstances of each country or reasons behind their
1Africa in a 2hanging .orld3 Journal of the USI of India , 4ol. 2555II 6o. 7'#, April-8une 9$$9.
1

balance of payment difficulties have resulted in their failure further deteriorating the debt crisis. Analyst /antu 2heru says that these programmes had a regressive impact on human development and eopardi:ed the right to food,

education and health as government subsidies to the social sectors were curtailed under the programmes. 9 At this uncture, there is an urgent need of a strong state for nation building which is not the case in Africa. )he reason behind this is tribalism which divides one tribe from

another, breeds dictatorship and also identifies elites who when ac;uire power direct their hatred to other tribes. <enya in (**9-*= witnessed state sponsored violence

directed against ethnic <ikuyu, >uo and >uhya farmers? so did @wanda in (**' and against Ibos in 6orthern 6igeria. @ise of dictatorship have led to the growth of corruption. As Aodfrey !wakikagile argues that, 1many African leaders have been busy stealing and have simply led their countries rot. Asians also stealB so do others, but relatively speaking, they invest more in national developmental pro ects far more than the Africans. )hat is why South <orea, whose per
9

2heru, /antu 1Debt, ad ustment and the politics of effective response to CI4DAIDS in Africa3 Third World Quarterly , 4ol. 9=, 6o. 9, 9$$9.

capita income E(9$FG was lower than Hambia EF9$$G in (*I+ has now a per capita income of more than F(=,$$$ whereas Hambia&s is a mere F'$$J. = Another aspect of African problem is about the state of democrati:ation expressed in multi-party elections. Kost independents African nations were ruled by single parties due to the immediate needs for keeping the multi ethnic population together. )he sailing was smooth till the

economic crisis of the +$s, following public unrest state repression increased. It was them, the donor countries started putting down condition to conduct multi-party

elections reinstating democracy, accountability and respect for human rights. Although between (*#*-*', most African countries moved away from single party political systems there are also is indications fraying at that the the process )he of

democrati:ation

edges.

western

countries are democratic because democracy is the political order which has emerged from several centuries of

economic and political changes at the most effective and legitimate system of political accountability. 0ut in Africa
!wakikagile, Aodfrey, The Modern African State E6ew Lork, 9$$(G.
3

there was no such tradition which was in-fact a tribal society and the donor induced system was seen as the price to pay for continued financial assistance rather as the political modality that would bring development. )herefore elections here have become as one of the many

instruments of factional mobili:ation. ' )he MA- apart from decoloni:ation and apartheid have not been able to respond the above issues. Mwing to such factors, the diplomacy to remove Africa from this ;uagmire have come from within Africa as many African states and statesman have taken various initiatives collectively E>agos plan of Action, the 2airo Agenda for Action @elaunching Africa&s economic @ecovery, the <hartoum Declaration on human centred development, the treaty ,stablishing the African ,conomic community, 6,KADG or individually ESouth African victory on the importing of AIDS drug, 6igerian peace initiative which ended the civil war in >iberiaG Some countries have introduced innovative political instruments to tackle the ethnicity problem - convening of a sovereign

'

2habal, Katrick 1)he ;uest for good government and development in Africa3, International Affairs , 4ol. +#E=G 8uly 9$$9.

national conference in 0enin, the implementation of three tier federalism and federal character principles in 6igeria, the institution of new forms in of government, and such as

polyethnic

federalism

,thiopia

1party-less3

democracy in -ganda. 7 2oming from this, one of the most significant development and a smooth and ;uiet one is the formation of the African -nion, which brings all the African nations Eexcept oneG under its umbrella in the lines of the ,uropean union to confront the challenges and issues discussed above.

Why the affinity for Regional Integration?

)he first examples of regional integration among developing countries in the 7$s was to the reaction of the formation of ,uropean 2ommunity. 0y freeing trade economic growth through traditional Infact customs union was seen as

development.

conventional

neo-classical

theory

describes economic integration as a means of expanding economic opportunities through speciali:ation based on comparative advantage of economics of scale. >ater it shifted
5

to

more

structural

one

laying

emphasis

on

Mnwudiwe, ,bere 1Africa&s Mther Story3, Current History , !ay 9$$9.

industriali:ation. 0ut this created underdevelopment calling for focused efforts at regional cooperation towards the adoption of a common front through regional policies as a from of collective self reliance i.e. with common negotiating positions in larger international forums. I !ichael Smith puts forward three central elements to

regional integration Eby Stubbs and -nderhillG. + /irst, there is a common historical experience and shared problems among the group. Secondly, there is more close interactions within members of the group than with the outside world? and thirdly, there is the emergence of an organi:ation in the region giving a structural framework for further

integration. .ith respect to Africa it was during the (* th century colonisation government that integrative arrangements

came up to in 6orthern, central, eastern western and southern regions of Africa. /or example, the 0ritish ,ast African colonies had a common currency and services

Axline, .. Andrew EedG. The Political Economy of Re ional Coo!eration E>ondon, (**'G. 7 Smith, !ichael 1@egions and @egionalism3 in .hite, 0rain et al EedG Issues in World Politics E6ew Lork, 9$$(G.

sharing arrangements, the .est African /rench colonies, administered as a federal unit with a common currency? the 0elgian colonies in central Africa permitted free movement of factors of production? portuguese colonies were

integrated with the metropolitan economy. # In Africa need for regional integration was realised in the immediate aftermath of its independence post colonial Africa was a deeply disintegrated continent of small countries with

fragmented national markets and were too small to become economically functional success viable. of So the need to accept further the by neo the )he

model of the

integration

fuelled

,uropean

,conomic

2ommunity.

structural framework was provided by the MA- which came up in (*I=. At present there are more than (7$ of such organi:ation in Africa e.g. SAD2, 2M!,SA, ,2M.AS, -A!. * Genesis of AU:Since the time of <wame 6krumah, 8omo <enyatta, seleou toure, Caile selassie and 8ulius 6yerere influenced the great

,ditorial, Africa Quarterly , 4ol. '( E=G, 9$$(. South African Development 2ouncil, 2ommon !arket for ,astern and Southern Africa, the ,conomic 2ommunity of .est African States, the -nion of the Arab !aghreb union.
9

ideas of pan-Africanism, the notion of united states of Africa had remained an elusive dream. MA- soon failed in its attempt as it became a competing forum between power blocks with no political unity. It was week and disunited by the dispute over .estern /rance,G Sahara the Einvolving Algeria, Ethe

!orocco,

!auritania,

shaba

rebellion

attempted invasion of HaireG, the invasion of 0enin, and the Mgaden war against Somalia. ($ 0y (*##, eradication of colonialism and establishment of the independence of African nation was completed. 0ut the economic series in the region has become acute. In April (*#$, African leaders adopted the >agos plan of Action and /inal Act in which they expressed their firm commitment to established an African ,conomic 2ommunity by the year 9$$$. Mn 8une =, (**(, thirty-four African leaders meeting in the new 6igerian capital, Abu a signed the )reaty

establishing the African ,conomic 2ommunity to create a framework for the development, mobili:ation, and

utili:ation of African human and material resource in an

($

Kacker and @ukare, N)he 6ew African -nion and its constitutive Act3 American Journal of International "a# 4ol. *I. 9$$9.

effort to achieve continental self sufficiency. (( It formally came into existence in !ay (**' wherein it recommended the establishment of an African union and a Kan-African Karliament. In the meantime aggressive calls for the formation of an African union was first put forward in the MA- by the >ibyan leader !uammar Oadhafi, where Oadhafi was not able to get enough support for the >ockerbie case from the Arab leaders, he shifted his attention to pan-African unity

triggered by the African support towards >ibya as it was proclaimed in the MA- annual meeting of foreign ministers in )ripoli, /ebruary (**+. >ibya reciprocated by paying F'.7 dollars to the MA- in (***. (9 As an economic heavy weight, >ibya is taken seriously by African leaders. It has been reported that >ibya paid F 9.9 million dollars to cover the membership dues of ((

countries. .hen Himbabwe faced an acute fuel shortage recently, >ibya helped it out. )his development was further augmented by South African Kresident, )habo !beki&s effort
2alls for creating a free trade area in each of the four regional communities of the -!A, ,2M.AS, 2M!,SA, SAD2G. 12 @onen, Lehudi, 1>ibya&s Diplomatic Success in Africa3 $i!lomacy and Statecraft 4ol. (=. 6o. ', 9$$9.
11

called 6,KAD E6ew Kartnership for Africa&s DevelopmentG in the lines of the !arshall plan asking the west to invest in the African economies in return for accountability

democracy and a commitment to human rights from the African nations. So all these led to the establishment of the African -nion on * 8uly, 9$$9 at a summit meeting of heads of state and government held in Durban, South Africa. What it is? )he organisation is modeled after the ,- with goals to foster prosperity and democracy through social economic and regional integration. )he important distinction with MAis that it will have the right to intervene in the affairs of member states and investigate cases of war crimes and genocide. In order to obtain its ob ectives it has set up several organs " )he Assembly of the union, )he ,xecutive 2ouncil, the Kan-African Karliament, the 2ourt of 8ustice, the 2ommission the Kermanent @epresentatives 2ommittee, the Speciali:ed )echnical 2ommittees, the ,conomic Social and 2ultural 2ouncil and the /inancial Institution. NEPAD:

)he 6ew Kartnership for Africa&s Development is a pledge by African leaders based on a common vision and a firm and shared conviction, that they have a pressing duty to eradicate poverty and and to place on a at their path the countries, of both

individually growth and

collectively,

sustainable time, to

development

and

same

participate actively in the world economy and body politic. (= )he central focus is to establish a type of partnership with the international community particularly the highly

industriali:ed countries to bridge the development gap. )he ob ectives put forward by the African leaders include maintain peace by preventing conflicts, protect democracy and human rights? and maintain regulatory macroeconomic frameworks for stability, financial

institute

legal

markets and audit of private companies and the public sector? and to extend provision of education, technical training and health services, particularly to the problem of CI4DAIDS. Its stated aim is to achieve the overall + percent annual growth necessary for Africa to meet one of the

13

6,KAD document, Africa Quarterly , 4ol. '(, 6o.', 9$$(, p.($+.

!illenium Development Aoals E!DAsG halving poverty by 9$(7. (' 6,KAD emerged from three parallel initiatives launched in 9$$$-9$$(. /irst was the !illenium Kartnership for Africa&s @ecovery Krogramme E!KA@KG, by )habo !beki. (7 )he

mandate was given by the MA- to Kresident !beki, along with Kresident Mlusegun Mbasan o of 6igeria and Kresident Abdela:i: 0outeflika of Algeria to investigate how to

overcome debt crisis.

Second was the M!,AA Klan of

Senegal&s president Abdoulaye .ade to focus on regional infrastructural and educational pro ects. )hird was the

2ompact for African @ecovery initiated by the ,xecutive Secretary of the -.6. ,conomic 2ommission for Africa, <.L. Amoako, in response to a decision by African ministers of finance to a decision by African ministers of finance in late 9$$$. All three was clubbed together in a oint conference of Africa&s minister of finance and economic planning in

!DAs were established by the -6 Aeneral Assembly at its !illenium session as targets for the promotion of human development. 15 !A@K is designed to present a common front when Africa deals with the developed world, seek aid and investment in return for good governance.
14

Algiers in !ay 9$$( as the new African Initiative and later renamed as 6,KAD. )he significance of it is that it is not accusing the west for its state, rather engaging the developed world on its own terms arguing for liberali:ation and free trade and for globali:ation. It is trying to challenge 6orth at its own

game e.g. South Africa, India and 0ra:il have since (**7 been consistently among the main initiators of anti-

dumping measures against 6orthern exporters. (I In order to avoid >ibyan influence and bureaucratic maneuvering in the A-, it is ust responsible to the A- assembly. )here is no Acontrol, let alone veto, over 6,KAD. In 8une 9$$9, in a

meeting of the group of seven industriali:ed nations and @ussia Ethe A-#G welcomed the formation of 6,KAD and adopted an African Action Klan in support of the initiative. RE !ECTION": !any analysts have argued about the effectiveness of the -nion because there are several shortcomings which are needed to overcome. Alex De .aal says that Africa has

)aylor and 6eil, 16ew Africa, globali:ation and the confines of elite reformism3, 1 Third World Quarterly 3, 4ol. 9=, 6o.(, 9$$9.
16

insufficient capacity in terms of human capital, effective institution pandemic. which is further to see aggravated whether by proper the AIDS

/urther

political

governance is practiced will be demanding.

0ecause as

recently, in the case of Himbabwe African heads of state failed to pass udgements on the electoral EmalG practices of their peer. (+ !oreover, the ,- took about 7$ years to grow to its present successful stature under circumstances very dissimilar to Africa. As it lacks any provision for financing,

it might reach the same fate as MA- which was plagued by arrears problem. (# Integration experts like Amitai ,t:ioni argue that factors such as limited hori:on, lack of

administrative and political skills, and preoccupation with problems of domestic moderni:ation are inimical to

successful integration efforts in developing countries which is what is prevalent in Africa. 2hillers and Sturman argue

that the maintenance of peace and conflict prevention will be difficult as African military capabilities are very limited. Also there is no provision for a standby force of the A-. )hese are several of the constraints in front of the A-.
De .aal, Alex 1.hat&s new in the 6,KAD3, International Affairs , 4ol. +# E=G 8uly, 9$$9. 18 Kacker and @ukare, 16ew African -nion and its 2onstitutive Act3, American Journal of International "a# , 4ol. *I, 9$$9.
17

#I#!IOGRAP$%: Articles: (. Ailliers, 8akkie P Sturman, <athryn. 1)he @ight

interventionQ enforcement challenges for the African -nion3. African Security Re%ie# , 4ol. (( E9G, 9$$9. 9. Mnwudiwe, ,bere 1Africa&s Mther Story3, Current History , !ay 9$$9. =. 2habal, Katrick 1A few considerations on democracy in Africa3 International Affairs , +'.9, (**#. '. @onen, Lehudit 1>ibya&s Diplomatic Success in AfricaQ )he @eemergence of Oaddhafi on the International

Stage3 $i!lomacy and State Craft , 4ol.(= E'G, December 9$$9. 7. Danso, <waku 1)he African ,conomic 2ommunityQ

Kroblems and Krospects3 Africa Today , ' th Ouarter, (**7. I. 1)he 6ew African union and its 2onstitutive Act3. American Journal of International "a# . )he

+. !athews, <. 10irth of the African -nion EA-G, Africa Quarterly , 4ol.'(, 6o.(-9, 8anuary-8une 9$$(. #. DocumentQ African -nionQ 2onstitutive Act EA-2AG, Ibid. *. !agliveras, <onstantinos D. and 6aldi, Aion 8, 1)he African -nion " a 6ew Dawn for Africa3 The International and Com!arati%e "a# Quarterly , 4ol. 7(, April, 9$$9. ($.2habal, Katrick 1)he ;uest for good government and development in AfricaQ Is 6,KAD the answerR

International Affairs , 4ol.+#E=G, 8uly 9$$9. ((.De .all, Alex, 1.hat&s new in the 16ew Kartnership for Africa&s Development3 Ibid. (9.!an i, /iro:e and M&coill, 2arl, 1)he missionary positionQ 6AMs and development in Africa3 ibid. (=.1Africa in a 2hanging .orld3, ,xcerpt of the talk given by the Ambassador of Sudan, Abdal !ahmood

Afdalhalum !ohammad in Journal of the united Ser%ice Institution of India , 4ol 2555II 6o. 7'#, April-8une 9$$9. ('.1@egional 2ooperation and Development in Africa3

editorial, Africa Quarterly . 4ol.'( E=G, 9$$(.

(7.,:eonu, Ifeanyi 2. and Mkolie, Andrew 2 1)he Aatt -ruguay round Agreements and their implication for Sub-Saharan African ,conomics3 ibid. (I.!ehta, Satish 2. 1African -nificationQ Kast ,xperience and /uture Kromise3, Africa Quarterly , 4ol. '( E'G, 9$$(. (+.DocumentQ )he 6ew Kartnership for Africa&s

Development E6,KADG Ibid. (#.12harter of the Mrgani:ation of African -nity3, in The &AU and the U' by Andemicael, 0erhanykun. E6ew Lork, African Kublishing 2ompanyG (*+I. (*.2herian 8ohn 1African -nion Arrives3 (rontline , August 9, 9$$9. 9$.2heru, /antu, 1Debt, ad ustment and the politics of effective response to CI4DAIDS in Africa3, Third World Quarterly , vol. 9=, 6o.9 E9$$9G. 9(.)aylor, Ian and 6el, Khilip 16ew Africa, globali:ation and the confines of elite reformismQ Ngetting the rhetoric rightG&, getting the strategy wrong3 Third World

Quarterly , 4ol. 9=, 6o.(, 9$$9.

99.1Keace

)alks

buoy

Africans3

International

Herald

Tri)une , 9( Aug., 9$$9. Book: (. 2ervenka, Hdenek, The Unfinished Quest for unity* Africa and the &AU E>ondon, 8ulian /riedman KublishersG, (*++. 9. Smith, !ichael 1@egions and @egionalism3 in .hite, 0rian et al EedG Issues in World Politics . KalgraveG 9$$(. =. !wakikagile, Aodfrey The Modern African State* Quest for Transformation E6ew Lork, >ibrary of 2ongressG 9$$(. '. Axline, .. Andrew Eed.G The Political Economy of E6ew Lork,

Re ional Coo!eration E>ondon Krinter KublishersG (**'. 7. 6orth Africa and the Arab .orld E Euro!a , 9$$=G.

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