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Kujenga Amani (Swahili for “building peace”) is produced by the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) to provide listeners with informative commentary by scholars, practitioners, and policymakers working in the field of African peacebuilding.

Recorded at various workshops, conferences, and meetings organized by the APN, these podcasts are disseminated with the intention of mapping emerging challenges and responding to knowledge and policy gaps, while simultaneously connecting peacebuilding conversations within Africa to those in other parts of the world in an open and constructive manner.

The APN is supported by Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Sep 20, 2018

Since the founding of the African Union (AU) in 2002, its role in promoting peace and security on the continent has evolved considerably. Compared with its predecessor, the Organization of African Unity, the AU has played a more active role in peacekeeping and peace support operations.

For the third episode of the APN’s Kujenga Amani podcast, we sat down with Paul D. Williams, a professor of Security Policy Studies at George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs. He is an expert in the politics and effectiveness of peace operations, the dynamics of war and peace in Africa, emerging threats in international security, and has published extensively on the peace and security architecture of the African Union.

Professor Williams spoke with us about the history of the African Union’s peace and security institutions, the factors shaping the future of African peace operations, and his personal experiences researching and writing about the African Union.