The transformation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to the African Union (AU) was done in order to give a new lease of life to the organization and also to address the ‘new challenges’ of the millennium as outlined in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). While the OAU focused on the unity and protection of the African states, the AU focuses on collective efforts for African development. NEPAD and APRM were introduced to promote African development from an African perspective. This study examined the circumstances behind the formation of both NEPAD and APRM. The study used the primary and secondary sources of data as well as the content analysis research approaches. As its findings, it revealed that after the exit of the arrowheads for the formation of the AU from power, the enthusiasm that greeted the introduction of the AU programmes began to wane down. It concludes that this does not help in actualizing Africa’s development agenda, including Agenda 2063 – the Africa We Want.

This article, using the framework criteria of the 2007 African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), comparatively examines the intervention of the Independent Election Commission (IEC in highly contested electoral processes of Malawi, in May 2014 and the Snap Election of Lesotho in February 2015. Employing the trace process, qualitative and comparative analysis based on secondary sources, reports and newspaper reports, this article argues that the post-2000 Election Commission, has been able to assert itself by invoking constitutional provisions that ultimately ensure the integrity of electoral processes during the brief period of power vacuum even when confronted by fiercely, gladiatorial competitors. Findings in the comparative case studies reveal that soon after the announcement of the electoral result, losing candidates were forced to flee the country into self-imposed exile, fearing imminent incarceration or even assassination. In spite of the negative legacy of competitiveness, the public perception of the fairness and performance of the EMBs and its growing integrity as an institution has been maintained. Sadly, this positive assertiveness of the EMBs remains largely undocumented and understudied on the continent.

The year 2018 marks the 14th anniversary of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), which was established on 18 March 2004. The PAP is the legislative body of the African Union (AU) whose aim is to make and implement legislation on behalf of the AU. In June 2014, African Heads of States converged in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, and adopted the Malabo Protocol. The primary objective of this Protocol was to extend the jurisdiction of the yet-to-be established African Court of Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR) whose mandate will be to try crimes under international law and transnational crimes. Noticeably, to-date, the PAP has failed to deliver on its mandate. The two key questions posed in this article are the following: Why has the PAP failed to discharge its responsibility? Importantly, what are the future prospects of this institution? The article blames historical and current reasons for the failure. It then makes concrete proposals on the way forward.

For the past few decades, the notorious Boko Haram sect has caused havoc in Nigeria, resulting in heightened fears among many Nigerians due to its incessant horrific deadly attacks and kidnappings. Various attempts by successive Nigerian governments to address this internal crisis have been futile. Thus, it has become clear that the Nigerian government alone cannot win the war against this terrorist group. Against this backdrop, this article scrutinises the current state of Nigeria’s counter-terrorism approach and establishes why the government has struggled to eliminate Boko Haram. The article assesses the actions of the political leadership and postulates on the possible impact of a joint regional attempt to contain the scourge, given its spill-over effects. The discussion is predicated upon the African Union’s (AU) resolve to find ‘African solutions to African problems’. The article argues for African agency as opposed to looking up to Western countries to provide a solution. We suggest what should be done to uproot Boko Haram.

The Africa Regional Economic Integration venture could be the only key for African countries to stimulate expansive and comprehensive development for economic growth. The continents’ territorial integration remains a strategic politico-economic yearning since independence in the 1960s. Under regional integration, states within a geographical region come together to promote social and economic development. At times, two or more states across borders go into an agreement for the same reason. Research shows that, although South Africa's significant exchanging partners have utilised SEZs for quite a long time, South Africa only presented these few years ago, and all SEZs have comparative goals. They mean to recognize particular zones where products and ventures can be foreign-made, free from customs duties and other aberrant duties in order to draw in venture, misuse assets and make monetary development through business and exports. This article assesses regional integration and its impact on individual member states.

The demise of colonialism in the 1960s and 1970s in Africa was a welcomed move through which Africans regained their dignity. However, it also trigerred a series of endemic conflicts, some of which were caused by ethnicity, religious differences and the fight over boundaries. Lately, the deadliest among all these conflicts is terrorism which has ravaged the continent with no workable solution. Despite efforts by countries such as Nigeria, Mali, Kenya and Somalia, terrorist groups continue to cause havoc. This challenges the strength of the African Union (AU) and its sub-regional bodies. Against this background, the present article assesses the dynamics of terrorist groups in Africa. It also evaluates the role of the AU in counter-terrorism and the constraints inherent in the AU in combating the groups. The study concludes that the AU should be bound by its plan of action on the prevention and combating of terrorism in Africa.

The Great Lakes crisis is among the key issues generating empirical and theoretical controversy in contemporary African politics and international relations. More important is that despite the depth of facts and figures on the demographic history of the region, not even the key studies on the crisis made any attempt to assess the relationship or otherwise between the scene and the rapidly increasing population in the area that has made Rwanda one of the most densely populated African states. The present study is a response to this lacuna. The work employs the empirical methods of history and relies on document analysis of secondary sources. The study moves from the premise that originally population explosion constituted the bedrock of the crisis. But as events took new dimensions, other secondary factors crept in. Therefore, there is a need for both present and future focus to give due attention to the demographic question in policy and strategic planning.

This paper focuses on the reading of early Pan-Africanism, the idea of a nation, and the globalization movement in the 21st century, in relation to the intellectual work of the Africanist communitarian, Dr. Silas Modiri Molema. The main argument I shall be making in this article is that the early thinking of South African intellectuals like Molema was part of the global effort to seek for a modern political subjectivity, in a way that refuses to be mimetic of the West. I shall show that the political questions for the generation of Molema’s time were: What does it mean to be modern in a distinctively African way? Can Africans become modern without being westernized? The paper also attempts to show the need to understand ideas produced within concrete political situations. The need to question the historical, contextual, cultural, and economic milieus within which the ideas about pan-Africanism, nation and globalization are produced. I will show that the works of early intellectuals were embedded in concrete political situations and that the early instantiations on pan-Africanism and globalization were based on the critique of westernization, liberalism and empire, and capitalist political economy.