The African Peer Review Mechanism: A Political Retort on the AU’s most Innovative Governance Instrument

Abstract

The decade 1998–2008 was a crucial one for the African continent when a crop of states banded together to construct a new African society of states. To help lay the foundation, many who showed individual leadership on several levels set out to play the lead role in engaging in a new African diplomacy. The key states were joined by the heads of the Organisation of African Unity to  become the African Union, the main motivation being to disrupt the hegemony and dominance by external powers, notably Western powers and donor agencies. To promote stability, the ARPM was established in 2003 – a bold step by African governments to subject themselves to the rigours of governance promotion. But it is one thing to adopt instruments like the APRM in theory and on paper; quite another to ensure that these provisions are effectively operationalised and adhered to in practice.