The annual African Union (AU) summit will be held this week for the first time since 2020 without COVID-19 restrictions. It coincides with the fragile return to peace in northern Ethiopia, the resurgence of widespread instability in the Great Lakes and the ongoing war in Ukraine, which continues to raise questions about African positions.
The United Nations (UN) Security Council’s paralysis over Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine illustrates a crisis of global multilateralism. While this observation is rarely extended to Africa, several developments suggest a similar crisis of African multilateralism.
These include the failure to manage post-coup transitions and the impasse surrounding regional sanctions and suspension regimes, confusion about AU vs regional bloc responsibilities and the practical implications of subsidiarity, and the difficulties regional security systems face in tackling violent extremism.
