The African Union (AU)

The African Union (AU) is the most ambitious continental project for peace and security, economic development, and regional integration created thus far in Africa. Out of the hard experiences of the 1990's, with genocide, humanitarian disasters, and internal conflicts, a new wave of pan-africanism emerged. Together with the fall of Apartheid, this led to the re-organisation of the predecessor Organiation for African Unity (OAU) into the AU in 2002.  

The AU strives for far-reaching political and economic cooperation between its member states. The vision is one of poverty reduction, increased respect for human rights, and furthering of peace and democracy. The AU condemns non-constitutional shifts of power in its member states, and reserves the right to intervene in grave circumstances, such as genocide and crimes against humanity. 

The AU is a continuously and rapidly evolving organisation, and there is currently a great demand for information and knowledge about the AU among many actors outside Africa, especially in the field of Peace and Security. 

During 2008-2009, the FOI Studies in African Security team conducts a focus study series on the African Union, including its role, development, relationships with regional and subregional structures, resource and capacity aspects, and approaches in peace operations. Some examples of studies are:

• AU Structures and Processes, including the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA)
• AU Experiences from Peace Operations
• AU Cooperation with other international structures
• African Capacity Building, including the APSA African Standby Forces and Early Warning systems
• The 'Regional Economic Communities' and 'Regional Mechanisms' (e.g. SADC, EAPSM, NARC, ECOWAS, ECCAS) and their role, capacities, and challenges in the field of Peace and Security.