Pan-African Multilateralism: Transformative or Disconnected?

Abstract

Despite a multitude of international institutions on the African continent, worldwide Africa's multilateralism has generally received little attention. Yet, with the emergence of the African Union (AU) and its institutions, questions arise about its character. Will rhetoric and state symbolism take the place of substance or will the space opened up for democracy and civil society participation allow for greater democratically informed sustainability? With this in mind, the article addresses the issue to what extent the character of African multilateralism continues to display features of disconnectedness as opposed to those of transformation, where its institutions address issues of uneven development in concert with civil society concerns. A more participative multilateralism could have Africa more credibly participate internationally to leverage concessions from the international community. In the interim, amidst state-centred interpretations of sovereignty there remains the rhetorical and only partial participation of civil society in the institutions of the new AU. The question remains open whether Africa's new multilateralism is becoming transformative in ways that would make it more dualistic in a Coxian sense, connected with the basic social and developmental concerns of greater African society, or whether it remains disconnected with any civil society base.

Notes

The institutions still to be constituted (such as an African Central Bank, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOCO), African Monetary Union or African Court of Justice) and the five building blocks for economic integration—the Regional Economic Communities (RECs)—marked by overlapping membership and economic asymmetry—preoccupy the African Union as it evolves.

In 2006 the AU came to a decision to make the African Court a chamber of a parallel body, the African Court of Justice. As per late 2007, the protocol enabling the merger had not come into effect. See Motala (2008, p. 282).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Paul-Henri Bischoff

∗Department of Political and International Studies, Rhodes University, South Africa. Email: [email protected]