Africa: African Union Peacekeeping Is Growing As UN Missions Decline - Research Finds a Mixed Record of Success

What the report says

Researchers writing for The Conversation Africa say the African Union has become a more prominent peace and security actor over the past two decades as United Nations missions have declined. Their analysis, published through AllAfrica on 14 September 2026, reviews AU and regional African interventions in places including Burundi, Sudan, Somalia, Mali and the Central African Republic, where they have carried out peace operations, mediation, election monitoring and support for political transitions.

The authors base their conclusions on a scoping review of 186 peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2026. They argue that the literature shows a mixed record: AU interventions are often viewed as legitimate because they are seen as African-led responses to African crises, and in some cases they have helped contain instability or support political settlements. At the same time, the review highlights recurring limits, including dependence on outside funding, uneven coordination with sub-regional bodies, inconsistent application of AU norms, and political disagreements over when and how to intervene.

The analysis also notes that AU missions often operate differently from UN peacekeeping, focusing more on creating conditions for peace than on traditional neutrality or consent-based monitoring. The report says this has been especially visible in Somalia, where the AU mission combined security operations with state-building support. More broadly, the authors suggest the AU will remain important if it can strengthen local ownership, improve coordination and reduce financial vulnerabilities as insecurity persists and UN deployments shrink.