Rejecting African Solutions to African Problems: The African Union and the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia

Abstract

ABSTRACT The subservience of the AU to its influential partners compels it to protect their interests, even when these interests are detrimental to AU (peace) objectives. This is the case in Somalia where Ethiopia and the United States have waged a proxy war through the AU. Considering the current conflict stalemate, this paper questions if the AU ignored viable indigenous options for peace in Somalia. Using process tracing as the method of analysis, this paper argues that ignored local administrative processes that have stabilized the north, and once used by the ICU in south-central Somalia, are the best options for stability.