The African Union and the Challenges of Governance in a Fast-Changing World : Editorial Commentary

The African Union, which succeeded the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in May 2001 after its Constitutive Act came into force and was launched in Durban, South Africa, in July 2002, has been in the forefront of trying to solve many of the continent's apparently intractable problems ranging from managing intra and inter-state conflicts to questions of poverty, climate change, protecting the territorial integrity of its 55 members and generally improving the quality of governance in the continent (Makinda, Okumu, & Mickler, 2015; Murithi, 2008; Ewi & Aning, 2006; Carayannis & Fowlis, 2017 ).