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Human societies have tended to cooperate among themselves since their existence on earth. This cooperation has generally been realised for purposes such as protecting common interests, providing security, sharing resources or increasing cultural interaction. Throughout history, different civilisations and civilisations have formed various organisations. These organisations have ranged from tribal alliances to ancient empires, from medieval feudal structures to modern nation-states and international organisations. However, fundamentally, the effort of people to act together and achieve common goals has been the driving force behind these different organisations. These efforts can be seen as a sign of progress towards humanity coming together as a greater whole and building a common future. In this context, the African Union (AU) has emerged as an important driving force for Africa’s integration, development and prosperity, building on the continent’s rich cultural heritage and potential. Established in the early 21st century, this organisation aims to provide a common platform to address a range of challenges facing Africa. In this context, the main mission of the African Union, which has many roles and missions, is to maintain peace and security, promote democratic governance, ensure economic development, protect human rights and enhance social welfare on the continent. In line with these overarching objectives, the role of the AU is quite diverse. In this context, through its mediation and peacekeeping efforts, it seeks to reduce tensions in conflict zones while ensuring political stability by overseeing democratic elections and mediating political crises. Similarly, through economic integration projects and trade agreements, it promotes economic growth and development on the continent. It also plays an active role in social and environmental issues, such as protecting human rights, increasing access to health care, improving education and promoting environmental sustainability. In this way, the African Union helps the continent to become stronger and more influential at home and internationally. At this point, this study will provide a general analysis of the missions and roles adopted and played by the AU in the African geography and will examine its activities on the continent through various examples. In this context, before examining the effectiveness and position of the AU in the African continent in detail, it is important to examine the purpose of the Union and the dynamics that led to the establishment of such an organisation.
The History of the African Union and the Dynamics of its Establishment
It is possible to say that the developments in the African continent in the past played a key role in the process leading to the African Union. In particular, the reflections of the negative effects of the Second World War and its aftermath on Africa led to a search for integration in the continent. At this point, the search for unification in Africa arose from the need to deal with common problems as well as the historical, cultural and geographical connections in the continent. The continent faces a number of challenges such as artificial borders, ethnic diversity, economic disparities, political instability and conflict, which are legacies of the past. To overcome these challenges and make the continent stronger, leaders and societies in Africa have come together to seek ways of acting together and regional integration. In particular, with the end of the Second World War, the world entered a period of radical change and a new era in international relations. This period marked the decline of colonialism and imperialism and emphasised the importance of fundamental principles such as sovereignty and the right of peoples to self-determination in international relations (Dalar, 2013: 46). In the process of establishing the post-war international order, institutions such as the United Nations (UN) acted with the aim of maintaining international peace and security, guaranteeing human rights and law, and promoting international co-operation. This new order aimed to preserve the sovereignty of states and strengthen their authority to take independent decisions in their internal affairs. In fact, this situation is seen as an important dynamic that ignited the fuse of integration in the process that led first to the Organisation of African Unity and then to the African Union.
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