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African Union as a Peacekeeper: Is the Mission Possible?
 
PIIS086919080014989-4-1
DOI10.31857/S086919080014989-4
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Irina R. Iutiaeva 
Occupation: PhD student
Affiliation: MGIMO
Address: Moscow, Prospect Vernadskogo, 76
Journal nameVostok. Afro-Aziatskie obshchestva: istoriia i sovremennost
EditionIssue 3
Pages193-203
Abstract

As conflicts in Africa become more complex and more often tend to extend beyond national bor-ders, the growing participation of regional organ-izations in conflict management seems to be in-creasingly in demand. The African Union (AU) has recently been the most visible actor in this sphere.

The incompleteness of the AU peace and se-curity architecture provokes disputes on whether the organization is indeed ready to take on more responsibility for resolving conflicts on the conti-nent. The present article is an attempt to join this discussion. The research purpose is to assess the AU’s peacekeeping potential as well as the ability of its leadership to realistically formulate and suc-cessfully implement the mandate.

The first part of the study examines the cur-rent state of the AU peace and security architecture and its peacekeeping doctrine. The second part is a case study analysis of the three AU missions that seem to be the most exemplary in terms of the ob-jectives of this study.

The analysis reveals that the AU peacekeep-ing is driven not only by the desire of neighboring countries to ensure the security of their regimes, but also by the sense of pan-African solidarity and the leadership ambitions of Nigeria and South Af-rica. The results of the case-study show that the AU possesses enough political will but insufficient human capital, logistics and financial resources to manage African conflicts. The discrepancy be-tween ambitions and real capabilities contribute to an unclear mandate, which, in turn, impairs the effectiveness of peacekeeping missions.

KeywordsAfrican Union, peacekeeping, regional organizations, African Peace and Security Architecture
Received15.06.2021
Publication date22.06.2021
Number of characters25263
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1 ВВЕДЕНИЕ
2 На сегодняшний день Африка находится в фокусе миротворческих усилий ООН: на континент приходится 7 из 14-ти проводимых ныне миротворческих операций ООН и порядка 80% общего численного состава «голубых касок» [United Nations Peacekeeping, 2018]. При этом задачи миротворцев с каждым годом усложняются: «голубым каскам» всё чаще приходится осуществлять свою деятельность в условиях отсутствия мирных соглашений [United Nations, 2019]. В этой связи в экспертной литературе набирает популярность мнение, что ООН «слишком много на себя берёт» [The Economist, 2020], и всё чаще ставится вопрос о поиске альтернативных провайдеров миротворческой помощи Африке.
3 Перспективной кандидатурой представляется Африканский Союз (АС) – наиболее активная на этом направлении региональная организация. Вместе с тем, ответственные за миротворчество элементы её оргструктуры всё ещё находятся в процессе формирования, проблема финансирования миссий сохраняет свою остроту, а выбор идеальной модели сотрудничества с ООН по-прежнему остаётся предметом экспертных споров [Spandler, 2020]. Такое положение дел определяет запрос на всесторонний анализ существующего миротворческого потенциала АС и реального вклада этой организации в поддержание мира в Африке.
4 В последнее время вопрос о роли АС в урегулировании региональных конфликтов всё больше волнует не только африканских учёных [Neethling, 2004; Badmus, 2015; Kuwali, 2011; Kuwali, 2018], но и западных специалистов [Williams, 2006; Williams, 2009; Williams, 2018; Coleman, 2011; Whitaker and Clark, 2018]. При подготовке статьи автор опирался в основном на работы зарубежных авторов, анализирующих эффективность ОПМ АС в конкретных странах (Ф. Абоажи [Aboagye, 2004], И. Свенсонна [Svensson, 2008], Дж. ван дер Лейна [Van der Lijn, 2008], Т. Мурити [Murithi, 2008] и др.). Отечественных авторов, затрагивавших миротворческое измерение АС в своих работах, к сожалению, не так много (В.М. Татаринцев [Татаринцев, 2003], А.Ю. Урнов [Урнов, 2011], Х.Э. Ломбех [Ломбех, 2009], Л.И. Ромадан [Ромадан, 2019]).
5 Цель настоящей статьи – дать взвешенную характеристику АС как провайдера миротворческой помощи, оценив его организационно-финансовую самостоятельность, а также способность его руководства реалистично формулировать и успешно реализовывать мандат. В ходе анализа планируется рассмотреть успешную, во многом «образцовую» миссию в Бурунди, широко критикуемую миссию в Сомали и миссию в Судане, за которой последовала совместная операция с ООН.
6 Методологическую основу настоящего исследования составляет междисциплинарный подход, позволяющий рассмотреть опыт миротворческой деятельности АС с политологической, конфликтологической и международно-правовой точек зрения. Общий миротворческий потенциал организации будет проанализирован с позиций системного и структурно-функционального подходов, а конкретные миротворческие миссии – с применением метода кейс-стади.

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