Bystander in My Own House : A Critique of the Africa Union's Method and Role in Ending Conflict and Establishing Peace in Africa

The article critiques Africa's agency and potential in solving the continent's peace and conflict challenges through the African Union (AU). Presently, Africa remains a marginal player because of insufficient economic ownership of conflict resolution and peace building and the constant intervention and interference of well-resourced non-African players. This article also appraises the AU's elite-centric, or top-down method of ending conflict and establishing peace, intended to fulfil the ideals of Agenda 2063. While welcoming the AU principle of non- indifference in obeisance to Responsibility to Protect (R2P), the paper argues that the impulse not to chastise errant African leaderships vitiates any hope of improving the welfare of ordinary Africans. If peace initiatives are done at the level of the elite without the consent of the non-elite, the conflict will endure despite the façade at the elite level suggesting otherwise. With South Sudan as an example, the paper argues that conflict in Africa often takes undertones of identity politics and hence conflict resolution methods should take this into cognizance by forging a formula that enables amicable coexistence in countries that have diverse ethnic and racial identities.