African Union and African Agency in International Politics

Overview

This book examines the role of the African Union in relation to African agency in international politics. It examines the manner and extent to which the African Union exercises two forms of agency—shirking and slippage—in its strategic and collaborative partnerships.

Partnerships Analyzed

The author focuses on four major AU partnerships with the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, and US AFRICOM. The book examines African agency in each partnership by exploring the politics and dynamics of each partnership in different aspects: the multilevel engagement, institutionalization, resource contribution and disbursement, as well as preference linkage.

Focus on African Ownership and Leadership

It specifically does that by examining African ownership and leadership in all of these aspects. The book highlights the role of agency slack as a survival strategy to escape from the AU’s subaltern position in international politics.

Agency in Partnerships

It designates the partnership with the European Union as emblematic of African agency; while the others exhibit different forms of agency slack. Partnerships with NATO and the United Nations exhibit shirking, while that with US AFRICOM exhibits slippage.