Mike Lanphier
PSCI 4783
African
Presentation
The Architecture and Capacity of the African
AU Blueprint
v
o AU architects use EU model because it’s the strongest and most effective
v
EU model doesn’t work for
o Too ambitious
o AU has no central authority to hold elections or to vote on referenda
o Lack will to act supranationally, states want to protect sovereign rights, looks like ASEAN in this way
o ‘aspirational union’ AU is just jumping to the finish line, leaving little room for procession involved or evolution, no roadmap provided
v Looks most like a human rights convention
o Weak enforcement mechanisms
o Can make treaties but not enforce them
o States can violate treaties at will
v ‘domestication’ of standards and values expressed within the union
o Over time people moral thinking can be changed through education, civil society activism, etc.
Components of AU
v
Constitutive Act of AU set up these official
bodies: (check web for details) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Union
Assembly of the Union; Executive Council; Pan African Parliament; Court
of Justice; Commission; Permanent Representatives Committee; Economic, Social,
and Cultural Council; Financial Institutions.
v
Assembly and Commission are key to its early
success along with the Executive Council, they resemble the OAU
v
Establishment of each will depend on which
approach the leaders feel will best suit the union (i.e. Economic or security
concerns)
v
States aren’t truly sovereign because of
international aid
v
How will it be budgeted
o Its level of resourcing will determine its
viability and credibility
v
There is a lack of experts and skilled staff to
fill positions right now
v
Their lack to build institutions is the main
problem facing the AU and until they can change that within each government the
private sector and democracy will remain weak.
Linkages between the AU and other
International and Regional Organizations
v
No link at the moment between the AU and other
REC’s
o they
will need to either cooperate or integrate REC’s
v
No ‘security council’
v
Need to promote governance, democracy, and human
rights
v
Need to build strong relations with other IGO’s
(especially the UN)
v
Need to build relations within borders with
CSO’s (civil society organizations)
Participation in the Process of Setting up
the
v
Decisions about AU future and capacity will be
decided in OAU
v
Need to expand membership away from just
participating governments
v
Need to create a ‘Democratic Surplus’ to avoid
deficit
o more
democratic, transparent and accountable
v
Need to realize that there is a power in numbers
and the more collective action there is the more they will grow and prosper
individually.
“False
Hopes for an African
The main goal of this article is to show why the AU is failing to realize its goals of total integration. Haefliger uses recent data to show how the current governments are not realizing the importance of certain sectors of integration –like trade, authority, and transfer of powers- so the process is failing. He also tries to provide reasons why Africans are not as connected as we think they might be.
v Looks like a copy of the EU except Western donor countries don’t think highly of it and the media portray it as just a bunch of paper work
v Intra- African trade is negligible
o Most treaties are made protectionist or not followed at all, they only care about their personal profit
o Governments get 1/3 of their revenues from tariffs and taxes on trade
o Blame is put on former colonial rulers and current governments being greedy
o There is an overall mistrust between nations to liberalize trade and until these politics of personal gain change the AU will struggle
v Even with bureaucratic positions created there is no budget or positions created to follow through with the task at hand
v There is a high level of anti-reform politics so it’s hard to even imagine integration policies taking effect
v Leaders are fearful of giving up and of their power
o Decentralization
of power is the key to many democratic successes but nowhere in
o Need the governments to serve the people for integration to work, it is not a byproduct of supranationalism
v Unification from Above
o Lack of ideological roots, full of clientelism, heterogeneous and unreliable states
v Traditional and Modern Rule
o National identity has been slowly building since independence
o However the sense of being “African” comes mostly when they are abroad
o Besides geography there lacks little common identity and the large space creates many small homogeneous groups with little links to anybody else
o “It is the identification of citizens with their nation that lays the groundwork for supranational institution. African needs passionate patriots first; pan-African utopias can wait”
AU Seeks Muscle
This article deals with the
implementation of a human rights court and a Peace and Security Council. The question is whether or not these will
make any forward progress from the OAU.
The most important addition will be that of the military presence.
Questions and Themes
Lack of governments to give up power; authority, liberalization of markets, decentralization
v Most of the problems that arrive come from these anti-reform governments and their current policies, does this explain the failures of the AU or is it more than that?
Carbon copy of the EU
v
It is a carbon copy and is this the best model
for
v Do you agree with the argument that copying the EU model is cheating by just jumping to the last step and not using stepping-stones or even stumbling blocks?
Homogeneity vs. Heterogeneity
v Are Africans so different that they can never truly integrate or is there the possibility to create a common identity through the AU?
Integration
v Where is the best place to start with integration (i.e. peace and security or trade)?
v How should the AU relate with other IGO’s and does their dependence takes away from their authority and credibility?
v What steps need to be taken to find/ educate people to fill the high skill AU positions that they are currently lacking?
v Do you think the AU will work? If yes, how long will it take?