The African Union Beyond Africa: Explaining the Limited Impact of Africa’s Continental Organization on Global Governance

Abstract

This article explores the motives and means of the African Union and its member states for engaging in governance beyond Africa, and shows the leeway and limits the African organization faces in this regard. Two questions are at the center of the article. Is the AU successful in influencing governance beyond Africa? And what explains its success or failure? Three case studies form the article's empirical background: a study of the 2005 discussion about a reform of the UN Security Council; a study of the negotiations during the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009; and, finally, a study of the attempt to defer the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir in 2009. The article argues that the AU can influence governance beyond Africa only if it is united, adopts realistic positions, and gains the support of more influential global players.