South Africa and Libya in the formation of the African Union (AU): ideological versus material power

Abstract

ABSTRACT This thesis looks at the roles played by South Africa and Libya in the transformation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU). South Africa and Libya were selected because they are both highly influential in Africa and very different from each other in leadership, politics, history, economics, languages, location and regional memberships. For each of the two countries, this thesis tries to determine what the most powerful explanations were for their foreign policy actions. Was it to maximize material power as postulated by realism or was it idealism as constructivists claim? Given the different political and leadership styles of each country, the thesis also examines which of the two variables, realism or constructivism, stood out more. The thesis concedes that though material power is important, it was both material and ideological concerns that were factors in South Africa and Libya’s foreign policy decisions in the formation of the AU.