Beyond History

"Moving beyond a self-indulgent attitude about Africa's historical victimhood, beyond history : African Agency in Development, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution seeks to capture how individual states and Africa's collective institutions (the AU) are providing agency in Africa's international relations. While African states have been trailblazers in such ideas as "The responsability to protect", as conceived in the African Union Constitutive Act (2001) that preceded the United Nations adoption of the concept in the secretary general's report "in larger freedom" (2005), African agency in international relations has not always been captured proactively. This volume seeks to document Africa (and African states) in a state of proactivity as opposed to a reactionary mode of international relations that has long been the case due to the discipline's heavy concentration on the West. The main themes explored are African agency in international relations and commerce, agency in Africa's balancing of big and regional powers, reshaping Africa-EU relations beyond the cotonous Agreements, Africa and international human rights institutions, African efforts in elections, conflicts in Africa and relationship building among African leaders."--Page 4 de la couverture