The necessity for a principle such as the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) emerged in the aftermath of humanitarian catastrophes of the 1990s and the ineffective and partially destructive response...Show moreThe necessity for a principle such as the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) emerged in the aftermath of humanitarian catastrophes of the 1990s and the ineffective and partially destructive response by the international community. R2P represents the notion that states not only have a responsibility to protect their own citizens from atrocity crimes, but due to increasing global interconnectedness have a responsibility to protect citizens worldwide. Furthermore, through R2P, African actors have exemplified shifting power relations, i.e. their growing agency and political, economic, and cultural importance in international relations. This thesis poses the research question, how can ubuntu be used as a framework to understand R2P from an African perspective? This study aims to reacknowledge African agency in the creation and implementation of R2P and the value of a regional and cultural approach, seeing as the literature review reveals that the application of African philosophies to R2P requires further research. To analyze the role of ubuntu principles in R2P, desktop research and document analysis were used. In addition, an interview with Professor Timothy Murithi was conducted. By applying the principles of ubuntu to the responsibilities to prevent, react, and rebuild, this thesis concludes that ubuntu has the potential to increase the legitimate and cohesive implementation of R2P in Africa. Guiding values of ubuntu such as communalism, reciprocity, forgiveness, and communication highlight the humanitarian, ethical aspect of R2P. Furthermore, ubuntu enables a more regional approach to R2P that reacknowledges Africa’s role in international affairs.Show less
As the involvement of regional organizations in peacekeeping has significantly grown over the past decades, the relationship of these organizations with the United Nations has been reconfigured....Show moreAs the involvement of regional organizations in peacekeeping has significantly grown over the past decades, the relationship of these organizations with the United Nations has been reconfigured. This is particularly the case for the African Union and the UN, that set up their first peacekeeping mission with joint ownership in 2007 with UNAMID, the UN-AU hybrid mission in Darfur. The UN-AU relationship is not only determined by global-regional power relations, also postcolonial power relations play a role. As a result of these power relations, the AU is often perceived as being rather agency- and powerless. This thesis will counter this narrative, by studying the way in which the AU exercised agency over the set-up of UNAMID. It finds that while the AU was constrained by material capacity and the influence of powerful actors, it was still able to exercise agency and have influence on the UN, by using discursive strategies and the contestation of norms. Following these findings, this thesis advocates for a decolonial shift in the understanding of the AU that makes space for African agency and African contributions in international affairs, particularly, but not only, in peace and security matters.Show less
For decades, Mozambique was a showcase of a beneficial Western aid recipient on the African continent. However, following a national debt crisis and the global financial crisis in 2008, the country...Show moreFor decades, Mozambique was a showcase of a beneficial Western aid recipient on the African continent. However, following a national debt crisis and the global financial crisis in 2008, the country started looking eastwards, increasingly seeking and accepting investment and aid from China. Mozambique witnessed increasing engagement from China, especially in the exploitation of raw materials and infrastructure development. In academic literature and public discourse, the South-South cooperation between the two developing countries is often portrayed as benefitting only China, ascribing the Mozambican state a merely passive and receiving role. This thesis scrutinizes this assumption and explores the different ways in which the Mozambican government asserts its agency vis-à-vis China, specifically in the mining sector. Indeed, the analysis shows that, despite structural constraints, the government does exercise agency on various levels.Show less
The complex nature of peace and security threats demands a profound approach that tackles the problem at its roots. Especially regional conflicts are highly interconnected with many causes and...Show moreThe complex nature of peace and security threats demands a profound approach that tackles the problem at its roots. Especially regional conflicts are highly interconnected with many causes and stakeholders, requiring the right collaborations between local, regional and international institutions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of the African Union as a regional actor versus the United Nations as an international actor in addressing these complex challenges. The underlying motive is to research regional competences, difficulties and possibilities in the role as security actor. To do this, the regional and international response to the militant group Boko Haram in Nigeria is used to provide insight in the different dimensions of this conflict. It is argued that on the one hand, the African Union can act faster and is more relevant in cases of a regional conflict, but on the other hand suffers from a lack of neutrality. Besides this, the amount of resources and authority is limited, and financial means and legitimacy have mainly been provided by the United Nations up until now. Although the extent of influence is difficult to measure, the African Union has the potential to be of more significance and to increase its influence in effectively addressing regional conflicts on the African continent.Show less
