UN, AU and SADC approaches to unconstitutional changes of government : the case of Madagascar

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The resurgence of unconstitutional changes of government in Africa is regarded not only as a threat to democratisation processes but also to peace, security and stability on the continent. The United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU) and various regional economic communities (RECs) have all sought to address this challenge, in what may be described as a trilateral linkage between the international, regional and sub-regional organisations.The unconstitutional change of government in Madagascar in 2009 led to the involvement of the UN, AU and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Although these organisations all responded to the case of Madagascar, it cannot be assumed that they all share a common understanding of and approach to unconstitutional changes of government. This study builds upon a constructivist approach to norm development, with a particular focus upon the norm life cycle. The thesis seeks to assess if a normative approach to dealing with unconstitutional changes of government has developed within the UN, AU and SADC respectively, and if so, how? Furthermore, how have these organisations responded to such a case, with a specific focus on Madagascar? Building upon these findings, the thesis aims to assess if and how a norm condemning unconstitutional changes of government has emerged, spread and become internalised within the UN, AU and SADC.The study illustrates that the norm condemning unconstitutional changes of government is particularly salient within the AU. Furthermore, and unlike many other peace and security norms, the norm condemning unconstitutional changes of government seems to have emerged from the level of the AU and impacts upwards on the UN as well as downwards on SADC. These findings imply that the AU will have a prominent role in informing the approach and response to such cases on the African continent in the future. Furthermore, the normative frameworks of the UN and SADC may be developed largely as a result of and on the basis of the principles and policies of the AU.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University