As large international organisations become increasingly more relevant in a globalising world, many countries in world regions of comparatively lesser influence have sought to form regional...Show moreAs large international organisations become increasingly more relevant in a globalising world, many countries in world regions of comparatively lesser influence have sought to form regional alliances to collectively represent their interests in the international sphere. African states have formed alliances in an effort to find “African solutions to African problems” within the crisis-prone region without overly relying on the international community’s aid. The African Union (AU) has developed the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) with the African Standby Force (ASF) as its key implementing organ to realise the African aspiration of regaining agency on the continent with regard to regional security. This thesis analyses the role of the ASF in establishing the AU as an independent regional security actor by looking at its structural design as well as at its operationalisation.Show less
In this thesis, three European integration theories are applied to the case of African integration. The use of federalism, neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism for explaining African...Show moreIn this thesis, three European integration theories are applied to the case of African integration. The use of federalism, neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism for explaining African regional cooperation are tested. Academic writing combining these two topics can hardly be found, creating a gap in the literature that this thesis seeks to fill. In analysing the historical development of the three theories, a set of indicators for each is constructed, leading to the formulation of hypotheses that are tested in the African case. The main driving force behind African integration in the 1950s and 1960s was the Pan- African movement calling for independence of African states and the end of colonialism. This ideologically driven movement was supported by a transnational elite pushing for regional cooperation. The main actors in creating the Organization of African Unity, the African Economic Community and the African Union were national leaders, basing their efforts both on Pan-African reasoning and on the maximization of national gains. The neofunctionalists’ main claim of spillover effects occurring in the integration process leading to wider and deeper cooperation cannot be proved, neither seems the role of supranational institutions to be of importance. This leads to the conclusion that a combination of federalist assumptions and liberal intergovernmentalist claims provides the best explanation for African integration.Show less
