The Chair of the African Union: What prospect for institutionalisation?

After providing a historical overview, the author explains the modalities for the election of AU chairs and their functions.

This paper is an in-depth analysis on the chair of the African Union. After providing a historical overview, the author explains the modalities for the election of AU chairs and their functions. She then compares different styles of chairmanship in order to evaluate their influence on the evolution of the Pan-African organisation. She also analyses the institutional relations between the AU chairperson and the chairperson of the AU Commission. Finally, she provides an analysis of the prospects for its institutionalisation.

About the author

Delphine Lecoutre is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne (France). Her area of study is the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union. She is a researcher attached to the Institute for Ethiopian Studies (IES) at the Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia). She holds a Maîtrise in International and European Law as well as a Diplôme d’études approfondies (DEA) in International Relations from the University of Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne. She also holds a DEA in African Studies and diplomas in Amharic and Swahili languages from the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), based in Paris. She has published several articles on the peace and security architecture, the mediation processes and the institutional transformations of the African Union.