African Union Member States Interventions and Promotion of Pan-Africanism: A Study of Uganda
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Date
2024
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Abstract
The purpose of the study was to establish the relationship between African Union member states interventions and promotion of Pan-Africanism in Uganda. The study was guided by three specific objectives that included; (i) To assess the effect of Diplomatic Engagement on promotion of Pan-Africanism in Uganda, (ii) To establish the effect of Economic cooperation on promotion of Pan-Africanism in Uganda, and (iii) To assess the effect of Peacekeeping and Conflict Resolution on promotion of Pan-Africanism in Uganda. This study was guided by Dependency Theory, which was formulated by Raúl Prebisch, an Argentine economist, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Prebisch, serving as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA), developed this theory in response to the economic challenges faced by developing countries, particularly in Latin America. Dependency Theory is pertinent when examining the interventions of African Union member states and their efforts to promote Pan-Africanism. The theory posits that developing nations, including those in Africa, are influenced by external forces and dominant powers (Durand & Milberg, 2019). This study utilizes Dependency Theory to analyze the extent to which interventions are driven by the economic or political interests of external actors and to assess their impact on Pan-African goals. The study was based on correlational research design. The study targeted respondents with varying knowledge on Pan Africanism which included; members of parliament of Uganda, Diplomatic officials in Uganda, political parties’ representatives, Civil Society Representatives, Delegates from African Union Commission (AUC) Liaison Office in Uganda and Delegates from African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) National Secretariat. These were chosen using both simple random and purposing techniques and Slovene’s formula (1932) to determine a sample of 251. The study findings indicated that, the diplomatic engagement is meant to spur States to focus on capacity building and encourage each other to invest in an effort to build strong foundations. The study findings further show that economic cooperation between countries enhances trade and boosts economic growth. In conclusion though, the study concluded that there was a positively significant effect of diplomatic engagement on Promotion of Pan-Africanism in Uganda (r= .461, Pvalue < 0.01) which implied that diplomatic engagement will result into a corresponding good and improved Promotion of Pan-Africanism in Uganda. The study also concluded that there was a positive and moderately significant effect of Economic cooperation on promotion of Pan-Africanism in Uganda (r =.597, P-value < 0.01) which implied that economic cooperation has promoted Pan-Africanism in Uganda which enhances trade and boosts economic growth; and hence bilateral economic agreements promote investment and create job opportunities. And lastly, the study concluded that there was a positive and significant effect of Peacekeeping on Conflict Resolution in Uganda, and this was indicated by the F-value=25.992 and Sig-value=.000, since the sig. value (0.000) was less than 0.05 and which is the maximum level of significance required to declare a significant effect. The study however recommended that a collective need to work to sustain the positive synergies and mutual reinforcement between security, democratic political reforms, and economic growth.