New York — Forty years ago, when the Organization of African Unity was established, it passed off with little comment except for the realization that the leaders who established it did not often agree on anything else. There was no unity.
The Cold War was on, and did little more than distract Africans from uniting and building their future on democratic foundations.
To be sure, the OAU was born in spite of, not because of, the Cold War. But the OAU was stillborn. It became a dwarf. It grew no teeth, had no muscle, suffered brain death, and had a heart of stone. It grew soul-less by the day. And in the end, it was a little more than a pathetic club of leaders (or rather dealers) whose feeling of insecurity and penchant for undemocratic control meant all sorts of schizophrenic and brutal actions against each other and their own people.
Forty years on, what has changed? Why should the fate of the African Union be different?
What has not changed is that Africa is still on the margins of the global scheme of things. For example, Africa's share of global trade remains an insignificant 1.1 percent.
Yet there are also important developments to bear in mind as we reflect on the new African Union. The first is a steady rise of organized civil society at the continental level, a mosaic of institutions, organizations, interactive processes, networks and publicly-spirited actors and media, which holds great promise for bridging the gulf between continental policies and ordinary Africans.
Related to this is the democratic transition underway throughout the continent. Ten years ago, only five sub-Saharan countries did not have military regimes or single party rule; today the reverse is true. Popular democracy is, in reality, still a long way off, but we now have democratic events we can all be proud of: for example the electoral change of governments in Senegal, Ghana and Benin.
Another important development is the renewed effort towards greater regionalism that is embodied in cooperative mechanisms for peace and security, Nepad, and a host of others.
Guardedly hopeful
Against this background, there are three reasons why we can be guardedly hopeful about the new Africa Union.
First, it is now possible to increase civil society demands for an accountable, transparent and effective African Union and its processes and constitutive institutions. This potential is yet to be fully realized, but it's work that's now more feasible and possible than it has ever been. The largely unregulated global information and media technologies available provide clear opportunities for cross-border networking and coalition-building by civil society organizations.
Second, the daunting crises and challenges presented by HIV/Aids, armed conflicts, and globalization present no viable options for African countries other than to work together. In the absence of a distracting Cold War (and we must fight to ensure "terrorism" doesn't distract us), and given the proven severe limitations of nationalism, Africa really has no option but to come together.
Third, the constitutive act of the African Union articulates principles that are remarkably sound. The most significant of these are the right of collective intervention in situations of genocide, the rejection of military coups, and the promotion of gender equality.
The organs and institutions of the African Union, such as the continental parliament, court, central bank and monetary fund are critical for advancing these principles. The exact shape, form and operation of these institutions must be determined from a broadly consultative process that can also help build popular constituencies for them at national levels. They must be debated in and outside national parliaments. Appointments to them must be strictly on the basis of individual professional competence and transparent elections. They must have ultimate authority in deciding matters within their jurisdiction (i.e. inter-state and pan-African matters), without intervention by Heads of State, and as institutions of "last resort" in relation to sub-regional bodies (such as the East Africa Parliament or the Ecowas Court).
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Still, the success of the African Union requires specific conditions. These include, first of all a serious engagement of the African private sector as well as the existence and commitment of strong democratic states in Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Congo and Ethiopia.
African unity must be financed from African sources - primarily by the private sector and strong regional influentials (like the countries mentioned above).
In the absence of these conditions, the African Union would be a mere paper tiger. So there is an interesting dialectical imperative at work here: without democratic, viable and peaceful regional poles (countries), the African Union is merely an idea; and yet the African Union itself has an important role to play in ensuring that these key countries are democratic, viable and peaceful.
For once in Africa, the challenge is so clear of ideological burdens and limitations. That is a source of great hope.[ADF3]
