The African Union’s Early Warning System: An Easy Come, Easy Go Regionalism?

Abstract

The African Union (AU) is a pan-African globalization project that has led to a specific form of regionalism. Established in 2002, the AU was the successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which was founded in 1963 to protect the newly won independence of African states. Headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Union has become a hub for a wide range of continental policies. Through several spokes, it is also connected to the African Regional Economic Communities (RECs). And externally, the Union is linked through various interregionalism practices to other regional organizations, for instance the European Union (EU), as well as the League of Arab States (LAS).

Biographical Note

Ulf Engel (SFB 1199 & Leipzig University, Germany)

Ulf Engel is the professor of politics in Africa at the Institute of African Studies, Leipzig University (Germany). He is also a visiting professor at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia) and a professor extraordinary at the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch University (South Africa). Since 2006 he is advising the AU Peace and Security Department (as of 2021: Political Affairs, Peace and Security) in the fields of conflict prevention, early warning, and preventive diplomacy. Currently, he is coordinating a research network financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) on African non-military conflict intervention practices (see https://ancip-project.de).