The UN and the AU: a co-dependent relationship on matters of peace and security

This article looks at the advantages and limitations of a regional organisation, the African Union (AU), in its response to the large-scale civil war challenge of Darfur. I show how the quality of the evolving relationship between the UN and the AU had political implications for the type of response to Darfur that was chosen. One thorny question that may well continue to hamper the UN-AU relationship revolves around what it is that makes a conflict international and/or local.