The Changing Nature of the Terrorist Threat in Africa and the AU’s Response

Abstract

A decade in existence, the African Union (AU) has had to rapidly deal with the existence of a post 9/11 world where terrorism has grown ubiquitous. Both foreign and local terror groups proliferate on the African continent from Boko Haram and to Hezbollah. What this paper seeks to do is to assess the African Union's responses to the scourge of terrorism. Moreover the AU has had to respond to a threat which morphed in response to counter-terrorism initiatives posing new challenges to the strategic environment. When considering responses of the African Union, we should also be aware that the AU has built on the counter-terrorism platforms already created by its predecessor - the Organization of African Unity or OAU. These included the legislative milestones of the Organization of African Unity from July 1992 when OAU Heads of State in Dakar adopted Resolution 213 which aimed to curb extremism to the June 1994 Summit when the Assembly of Heads of State rejected fanaticism and extremism...