Description
Foreign policy, traditionally the preserve of the state in guiding international relations, has been dominated by analysis driven largely by western scholars. Over the last decade this has seen some redress, with an increase in contributions from diverse scholars and a burgeoning foreign policy literature, particularly on China and India. Extending beyond the confines of the Westphalia system, scholars have further highlighted the foreign policy approach of international governmental organisations. This includes considerable analysis on the development of the European Union’s (EU) Common Foreign Policy and Security Policy, which sets out the trajectory of the region’s international relations. To the south, the emerging regional approach by Africa to international relations, from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to its successor the African Union (AU), has drawn less attention. In its pursuit of ridding the continent of colonialism, the OAU provided the underlying framework for the AU’s international engagement in the shape of pan-Africanism in carving out a role for an independent and significant Africa on the world stage. Building an active role as a ‘global powerhouse of the future’ is central to the AU’s Agenda 2063, which continues to give emphasis to the idea of pan-Africanism, not just in addressing the internal challenges facing the continent, but as an ‘influential global player and partner’. This research assesses the impact of pan-Africanism in shaping the AU’s approach to international relations and its nascent foreign policy. It begins by investigating the role of the OAU in providing the ideological framework for Africa’s regional foreign policy and how this continues to shape current developments in the AU’s foreign policy development and practice.
