After Gaddafi and Mubarak: A New North African Role in the African Union

Abstract

The bifurcation of the African continent into North and sub-Saharan Africa has been under discussion for years, especially with regard to its impact on the interaction between the two regions. Recent political uprisings in northern Africa have revived this discussion. Libya and Egypt are two important countries that have engaged in continental processes in particularly remarkable ways. This article examines the implications of the political demise of presidents Mubarak and Gaddafi on the relationship between North Africa and the rest of Africa within the framework of the African Union (AU), and attempts to establish if their disappearance from the political landscape will spell a new era in the region’s relationship with the continent, and with the AU in particular.