| Chapter 1: | Introduction: Transition, Continuity, and Change |
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FIgure 1.1. From OAU (intergovernmental cooperation) to AU (integration organization).
| From Unity… | …To Union |
| Single source of authority: Assembly of heads of state andgovernment | Multiple sources of authority: Assembly of heads of state and government plus judicial (court) and democratic institutions (parliament). |
| Therefore: Purely a collaboration of governments of sovereign states | Respect for national authority plus right to intervene in grave circumstances |
| Respect for national sovereignty paramount | Provision to suspend governments coming into power unconstitutionally |
| No interference in internal affairs | Provision for the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in NEPAD |
| No pooling of sovereignty envisaged | Provision of public monitoring of delivery in the Conference on Security, Stability Development and Co-operation(CSSDCA) |
| Prime objective: Collective struggle for national liberation from colonialism and defence of national sovereignty. | Prime objective: Enable Africa to meet challenges of the 21st century and strengthening position of Africa vis-à-vis global economy and international community |
| OAU separate from the African Economic Community (AEC); established the Abuja treaty— merged in 1994 as “OAU/AEC” | AEC and its regional integration program incorporated in the AU |
| From Secretariat… | …To Commission |
| Authority: Executive (secretary general [SG] gradually acquired power of initiative in later years) | Authority: Executive plus own power of initiative |
| Elected SG and assistant SGs | Elected commissioners with fully recognized political mandate |
| Carry out decisions of heads ofstate | Collegial decision making |
| Purely intergovernmental approach | Specific political task of its own Community approach and intergovernmental possible custodian of treaties |
Source. African Union (2004, p. 21).