The African Union: Has the Substance of the OAU Evaporated in the Style of the New African Union?

摘要

The first summit of the African Union (AU), which has replaced the Organization for African Unity (OAU), ended in Durban, South Africa, on July 10, 2002, amid self-congratulatory statements, but with an underlying foundation weakened by extreme rivalries and biases which threaten its ability to achieve meaningful progress for Africa in the near-term. The AU had been intended to increase the level of cooperation and integration between African states, beyond what the OAU had achieved in 39 years of existence. However, it began with political posturing which was in some instances patently hypocritical and in other instances belied the rivalries between key African leaders; rivalries which became more inflamed rather than remedied.