Ibadan Journal of the Social Sciences
Volume 7, No. 2, 2009
Pages 126-136
DOI: 10.36108/ijss/9002.70.0240
The EU and the AU: The Print and the Copy?
Christian Opoukri and Jude Cocodia
Department of Political Science, Niger Delta University
Abstract
The African Union and the European Union have both come a long way in their aspirations of making the lives of their peoples better. While the AU began on quite certain grounds – to free the African continent from the shackles of colonialism and improve the lot of their citizens, the EU on the other hand started on quite uncertain terms, having as its initial aim, the growth of the economies of the six founding members. This has now been followed by the full scale integration of Europe that it has come to represent. In view of the beginnings of these continental organizations, the paths they have charted and the unique circumstances of their political and social environments, one wonders if there is any basis for one bloc to emulate the other as trends in their structures tend to suggest. It is against this backdrop that this paper, via the historical and. analytical approach, takes a look at the development of these continental bodies, and posits that while the EU is the success story of Europe’s integration, the AU can only achieve same if she takes her unique circumstances into perspective (just like the Europeans did) and develop accordingly. Emulating the EU in toto will definitely not produce the envisaged success story for the AU.
Keywords: top management changes, firm performance, announcement effects