Visions of African Unity (1930s – 2018)

Frank Gerits Announcement
Subject Fields
African American History / Studies, African History / Studies, Colonial and Post-Colonial History / Studies, Contemporary History, Diplomacy and International Relations

55 years ago, on 25 May 1963, the leaders of 32 African countries signed the charter of the Organisation of African Unity at Addis Ababa. This institution enshrined a revolutionary vision of continental unity which in many ways challenged previous ideas on African post-colonial political and economic order. The OAU also brought about the establishment of bodies which allowed its members to create connections and synergies aimed at the further liberation and unification of the continent (e.g. the Assembly of Heads of State and Government and specialized committees such as the Liberation Committee).

The model of continental unification embodied by the 1963 OAU charter was not, however, shared by all 32 founding members. Different ideas on institutions, economic cooperation, pan-Africanism and the positioning of the continent in the Cold War clashed before, during and after the talks at Addis Ababa. The members of the OAU also had to cope with the challenges of the Cold War intervention into African affairs during the next decades, major economic crises which effected the whole continent and the problem of political refugees. All these crucial questions urged the members to discuss common solutions, measures and rules.  Still, the creation of the OAU did not preclude the development of parallel projects of federalism at a regional level and overall the imagining of alternatives to a straight path to continental political unity. Regional groupings such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the East African Community have emerged as effective regional integration projects, simultaneously challenging and confirming the potential for continental unification. Non-state actors also came together to create alternative pan-African groupings and tackle continental challenges. Immigrants, refugees and freedom fighters all developed competing ideas about the rationale behind unification.

This edited collection seeks to bring together scholars from within Africa and outside of the continent to shed light on the long history of African unification. Surprising as it may be, despite the importance of the subject matters, the literature on continental unity is limited, and many aspects of this fundamental element of post-colonial African and International history still require analysis. 

In 1975 and in 1994 Yassin El-Ayouty edited volumes on the history and politics of the Organization of African Unity, discussing the developments of the body after ten years and thirty years respectively from its founding. This collection seeks to build on that work, but also aspires to go beyond the narrow bounds of the OAU in an attempt to understand how the organisation fits within the wider history of African integration.

Possible topics for contributions are:

  • What was the relationship between the Liberation Committee of the OAU and the Frontline states? What role did it play in the African solidarity movement?

 

  • To what extend where the dreams of African intellectuals put into practice?

 

  • What role did the political imaginings and debates expressed by the early pan-African congresses (1900-1945) play in the debates on African unity in the 1960s?

 

  • Did the OAU succeed in influencing the policies of nationalist leaders?

 

  • What goal did regional integration initiatives have?

 

  • How did Pan-African schemes relate to Pan-Arabism?

 

  • How does Afro-Asianism relate to Pan-Africanism and African nationalism?

 

  • Did the OAU play a decisive role in the positioning of Africa in the Cold War?

This project is supported by the AU archives in Addis Ababa which will provide a contribution on the history of their institution and a synopsis of their holdings. After peer-review, the edited collection will be published in collaboration with Palgrave Macmillan.

Depending on the number of contributions and the opportunities available, a workshop will be organised in Bloemfontein or/and Utrecht. The Deadline for abstracts is 15 May 2018. Authors will be notified on 30 May. The deadline for the first drafts is 30 December 2018. We plan to publish the volume by January 2020.

Please send an abstract of 300 to 500 words to Visionsofafricanunity@gmail.com

For additional information or question please e-mail: Frank.Gerits@EUI.eu and GrilliM@ufs.ac.za, matteo.grilli@hotmail.it

 

Deadline: 15 May 2018

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Information

 

Please send an abstract of 300 to 500 words to Visionsofafricanunity@gmail.com

For additional information or question please e-mail: Frank.Gerits@EUI.eu and GrilliM@ufs.ac.zamatteo.grilli@hotmail.it

Contact Email
Visionsofafricanunity@gmail.com