African Union Studies (2002-2017)

The African Union is a regional international organization of great importance.Its influence is not only on the African continent but also in the whole world.Therefore,on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the African Union,a review of its development and an analysis of its challenges and countermeasures are of historical value and practical significance.The AU is the product of Pan-Africanism in the new historical period.As we all know,Pan-Africanism is the nationalism of the African continent and was born in the late 19th century.Pan-Africanism has two goals:In the colonial era,it called on Africans all over the world to unite and fight to overthrow Western colonialism and racist rule and win the independence of the African continent.After the independence of African countries,the Pan-Africanism shifts its focus to the unification of the African continent,and finally to a United States of Africa.In 1963,after the African colonies gained their independence,independent African countries,under the guidance of Pan-Africanism,established the Organization of African Unity(OAU).In the 37 years of its existence,OAU contributes a lot to consolidate the new-born African nation-states and the overall independence of the African continent.The independence of South Africa in 1994 marked the completion of the political independence mission in the African continent.Pan-Africanism thus completed its first historical mission.After the 1980s,the tide of economic globalization spread all over the world,and the African continent showed a trend of marginalization.The OAU is a political consultative organization in the African continent and is therefore unable to continue to lead African countries to meet the challenges of economic globalization.Pan-Africanism advances with the times,proposes the idea of "African renaissance " and decides to replace the OAU with the African Union.Obviously,the AU is not only a product of Pan-Africanism in the new historical period,but also an inevitable product of African history.Due to the different historical conditions faced by the AU and the OAU and the different historical missions undertaken,the AU is not only the successor of OAU but also the development of the OAU under new historical conditions.The AU is more in line with the requirements of the times in terms of organizational structure and operational mechanism.According to the Constitution Act of the African Union,AU is a comprehensive body that governs Africa's political,economic,military,cultural,and social affairs.As a result,its organizational structure and functions become more perfect and it has been given greater authority in dealing with internal and external affairs.In other words,the AU has greater independence and authority.Maintaining peace and security on the African continent is one of the important tasks of the AU.As an organizational guarantee,the AU Peace and Security Council was established.The Council has a full range of institutions,including the African Union Commission,the Panel of the Wise,the Continental Warning Mechanism,the African Standby Force and a special fund.The AU has made many innovations and advancements in the area of peace and security.As a result,it has incurred some new features.For instance,when a member state comes across certain special situation,the AU can intervene,and the AU also establishes its own peacekeeping force.It is clear that the AU's ability to maintain peace and security has been greatly enhanced.Another important task of the AU is to actively advance the economic integration process in the African continent.In 1991,the OAU countries signed the Abuja Treaty in Abuja,Nigeria,to establish the African Economic Community(AEC),which is still the goal AU's mission.In order to accelerate economic development,the AU has formulated the New Partnership for Africa's Development(NEPAD).This is the first grand blueprint for all African countries' autonomous development in the early 21st century to comprehensively plan their development goals in Africa and solve problems such as backwardness and being marginalized.One of its important principles is to establish partnerships among African countries,among African countries and developed countries,thus to promote regional and African continent integration,and to boost the competitiveness of African countries and the entire continent.In order to expand the space for international cooperation and enhance its international status and influence of the African continent,the AU actively carries out common diplomacy.The AU has established various exchanges and cooperation relations with the United Nations,traditional Western powers,emerging economies and other countries in the world,and has made many progresses.After its establishment,the AU contribute a lot to promote the overall development of the African continent as follows:vigorously develop the education cause and improve the level of human resources;implement the African peer review mechanism to enhance the effectiveness of national governance;attach great importance to women,gender and development to promote social equity;improve health and medical security,prevent and control the spread of the disease.In short,after 15 years since its establishment,the AU has made many beneficial attempts and explorations to accelerate the development of the African continent,to promote the realization of the goals of Pan-Africanism on the basis of lessons of the OAU,which is an obvious progress.However,since the foundation for the development of the African continent is still very fragile,there is still a long way to go to achieve the ultimate goal of Pan-Africanism.The AU has to work hard through a long way.