January 19, 2026 11:00

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

African Union Faces Defining Test of Its Peace and Security Architecture

The African Union’s peace and security agenda has entered a decisive phase. With active conflicts in Sudan, the Sahel, eastern DRC, and Somalia, alongside political instability in parts of West Africa, the AU is operating in an era of permanent crisis management.

“The African Union is no longer managing isolated crises — it is managing an entire continental risk landscape.”

Recent decisions of the Peace and Security Council signal three clear priorities:

No military solutions to political crises — only inclusive political processes.
Zero tolerance for unconstitutional changes of government.
African ownership of peace operations, backed by sustainable financing.

Sudan has become the symbol of this strategic test. The AU is simultaneously pushing for civilian political dialogue, rejecting fragmentation of the state, and coordinating with regional and international actors to stop what it describes as a catastrophic humanitarian and political collapse.

“Sudan is not just a conflict; it is a test case for whether Africa can defend the principle of the state itself.”

In Somalia and the Lake Chad Basin, AU-mandated missions remain critical to regional stability, but face serious funding and capacity constraints. Meanwhile, the Union is modernizing its security thinking, incorporating early warning, digital risks, and governance fragility into its conflict prevention toolbox.

“The future of African peace operations will be decided as much in finance ministries as on the battlefield.”

Politically, the AU is also tightening coordination among its own institutions — notably the PSC, the AU Commission, and the Pan-African Parliament — to link peace, governance, and democratic legitimacy more coherently.

The emerging picture is of an AU that is more strategically ambitious, more politically assertive, but also under growing operational and financial pressure. Whether this moment becomes a breakthrough for African-led security or a stress test of institutional limits will define the continent’s security trajectory for years to come.