Briefing from ROAPE Volume 33 Number 108
African Union: Prospects for Regional Peacekeeping after Burundi and Sudan

Since taking over from its predecessor the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in July 2002, the African Union (AU) has taken significant steps to develop the structures and capabilities necessary to conduct its own armed peace operations. The two biggest practical tests of this burgeoning security architecture have come in Burundi and Darfur, Sudan. This short briefing reflects upon these developments and the emerging debates about how and when the AU should use military force to manage the continent's political crises.