The objective of this research is to investigate the causes of conflict in Africa. Further, it discusses the role played by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in ensuring political order during its period of existence. The study employs content analysis of historical documents, academic works, internet sources and also current conflict situations in Africa as a baseline for its argument. Mainly, the study shows which major sources of tension need to be resolved to enjoy a sound, stable, peaceful, political and economic environment in the new millennium.
This thesis examines the future of conflict resolution in Africa and the role of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in the process, based on the 1993 OAU's "Mechanism" (MCPMR). It argues that, in Africa, historical evidence suggests a continuing pattern of internal conflicts aggravated by destabilization attempts. It also seeks to demonstrate that for various reasons, the OAU has been weak in this type of conflict. This opens two options. One, making the OAU irrelevant, is to maintain the present track and end up between an evil and a lesser evil scenarios. The first is the intervention by a regional power, using a sub-regional organization. Here the risk is to see the regional power, in the absence of a watchdog, use the organization for its own agenda, as in the Nigerian interventions in Liberia and Sierra Leone, with the ECOWAS. The other scenario is the intervention by a country or group of countries for purely selfish reasons to change another country's political leadership, as in the Angolan interventions in Zaire and Congo. The second option, less likely without substantial reforms, is for the OAU to use the support available from the international community to establish itself as a forum, an organizer, a legitimizer and a watchdog.
African regional organizations have played leading roles in constructing collective conflict management rules for the continent, but these rules or norms have not been static. Currently, the African Union (AU) deploys monitors, authorizes peace support operations, and actively engages to resolve internal conflicts. Just a few decades ago, these actions would have been deeply controversial under the Organization of African Unity (OAU). What changed to allow for this transformation in the way the African regional organization approaches peace and security? African peace examines why the OAU chose norms in 1963 that prioritized state security and led to a policy of strict non-interference - even in the face of destabilizing violence - and why the AU chose very different norms leading to a disparate conflict management policy in the early 2000s. Even if the AU’s capacity to respond to conflict is still developing, this new policy has made the region more willing and capable of responding to violence. Nash argues that norm creation largely happened within the African context, and international pressure was not a determinant factor in their evolution. The role of regions in the international order, particularly the African region, has been under-theorized and under-acknowledged, and this book adds to an emerging literature that explores the role of regional organizations in the Global South in creating and promoting norms based on their own experiences and for their own purposes.
Essay from the year 2022 in the subject Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict, Security, grade: 3/4, , language: English, abstract: This paper is an overview of the role of the African Union in resolving conflicts in Africa through diplomacy. The work was based on a synoptical review of related literature actions and policies. An attempt was also made in classifying the different types of conflicts and related resolution strategies. Africa has been embroiled in a plethora of intra- and interstate conflicts. Most of these conflicts had a transnational character and generated consequences that had implications for regions beyond those in which they occurred. The quest for peace on the continent had remained a critical subject matter, which was at the core of the establishment of both the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and its successor, the African Union (AU). African conflicts are classified into six groups as follows: interethnic conflicts, interstate conflicts, liberation conflicts, civil rights conflicts, annexationist conflicts, and political transition conflicts. The key AU Organ for promoting peace and security on the continent is the Peace and Security Council (PSC) which is the standing decision-making organ of the AU for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflicts. The Continental Early Warning System (CEWS) is one of the pillars of the African Peace and Security Architecture Leone in the early years of the ECOWAS/ ECOWAS Cease-Fire Operation Monitoring Operation Group (ECOMOG) contributed to the consolidation of mechanisms for conflict prevention and peace building in West Africa. Africa has made remarkable progress in resolving many complex and old conflicts across the continent. Despite this progress, however, millions of people continued to be adversely affected by the consequences of conflict. It is also obvious that the peace achieved is fragile and can not be sustained in the long term, so long as the underlying causes and the needs of the affected populations are not effectively addressed.
There were a lot of expectations for a stable world at the end of the cold war. while this is generally true, Africa has experienced more devastating conflicts in the post cold war era. Past efforts to conclusively end these conflicts have proved futile. This paper will give a brief background of the external intervention's influence on the continent's evolution. It will discuss in detail the common causes of the conflicts, highlight the roles of external players, the challenges and roles of the international community, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the sub-regional organizations in their resolution.
