The African Union and the African Peace and Security Architecture: Past, Present and Future

Abstract

Ten years after the formal launch of the African Union (AU), which emerged from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), it is appropriate to refl ect on whether it will achieve its intended objectives of peace and security. In 2002, the AU adopted the Protocol on the Peace and Security, an institutional framework – also referred to as the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) – designed to oversee the successful implementation of the continent’s peace and security strategy. This article will briefl y outline Africa’s peace and security challenges and how they informed the creation of APSA, examining the emergence and genesis of the AU and the institutionalisation of APSA, and undertaking a critical prognosis of its present status of implementation and an assessment of its prospects.