The African Union (AU) organs and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM): implications for regional integration in the context
Author: South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA)
This paper briefly explores the relationship between regional structures such as SADC and the continental union, looking at how established regional organs and substructures can dovetail (or not), with the corresponding continental ones, many of which are newly formed. It seeks to determine the potential for synergy and complementarity between these organs and to examine whether structures are being duplicated. Since the APRM is perhaps the single most innovative initiative of the AU, the paper attempts an analysis of the APRM as a tool that could have significant impacts on regional integration and regional development and explores the potential for regional structures such as SADC to become actively involved in the peer review process.
Ultimately, the paper attempts to answer the question of whether the AU’s (and especially NEPAD’s) laudable but lofty aims can, in part, be operationalised via regional bodies.
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