by Jehron Muhammad
This year, during the African Union’s annual summit, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, African leaders elected the long-serving foreign minister of Djibouti, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, as the new chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC). The position oversees the executive branch of the continental organization.
He was elected over Raila Odinga, the former prime minister of Kenya, and Richard Randriamandrato, Madagascar’s former minister of foreign affairs. The summit was held in February.
“The recent AU elections in Addis Ababa highlighted the political maneuvering characteristic of African multilateral diplomacy. The AU Commission Chairperson is elected through a competitive process involving negotiations among regional blocs, reflecting the AU’s commitment to regional balance. This election was particularly contested within the East African bloc, where Djibouti’s Youssouf faced Kenya’s Raila Odinga and Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato. Youssouf’s victory after multiple rounds underscores Djibouti’s growing influence and strategic alliances within the AU, noted the Centre for Democracy and Development on cddwestafrica.org.
Dr. Horace Campbell is a professor of African American Studies and Political Science at Syracuse University and Chairperson of the Global Pan African Movement, North American Chapter. He noted the significance of Youssouf’s election to the chairmanship of the executive branch of the AU.
Dr. Campbell wrote the following in an article in the June Pambazuka News, on its website pambazuka.org: “… the African leaders selected a minister from a country that hosts at least 8 foreign military bases in the Horn of Africa. Youssouf secured 33 votes in the final round, marking the consolidation of the military and diplomatic place of Djibouti as a launch pad for imperial mischief in Africa.”
The Horn of Africa, which includes Djibouti, also consists of Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia. Djibouti is a relatively small country with a population of only one million. According to Dr. Campbell, Djibouti was occupied by France because of the 1884 Berlin Conference, where “the imperial partitioning of Africa” was sanctioned. He wrote, “… this part of Africa had been … cooperating with Britain in the construction and maintenance of the Suez Canal to have access to the Red Sea and the routes to India. Since that time, Djibouti has been acting as a military base for imperial forces.”
Djibouti hosts at least 8 foreign military bases and is strategically important. Dr. Campbell noted that those bases include: the naval base of Heron, established as one of France’s largest military bases abroad; Japan’s first full-scale, long-term overseas base since World War II; Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia’s base to fight the Houthi and in 2002 United States established its only permanent military base in Africa. China and France also have bases there.
In 2013, Italy established the National Support Military Base, which hosts 300 active personnel and reportedly serves anti-piracy purposes. South Korea uses Djibouti’s commercial port to launch naval operations in the region. India’s agreement allows it to utilize American, French, and Japanese bases in Djibouti.
Youssouf had served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Djibouti since 2005. According to Dr. Campbell, “He has been an influential figure in negotiating the emplacement of external military bases in Africa so that Djibouti has become known as the ‘tiny valuable nation hosting the world’s military giants.’”
Now he heads the 54-member states, overseen by the African Union.
Dr. Campbell also explained that Youssouf’s assistance in winning the election came from “those governments in Africa who were still aligned with France (so-called Francophone countries) to oppose Kenya’s Raila Odinga.
“In this quest, those states allied with Israel and the United States such as Egypt, Qatar, Morocco, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia led in the mobilization of resources to ensure that Mahmoud Ali Youssouf became the AU Chairperson,” Dr. Campbell wrote.
The new AU Commission chair has his work cut out. His challenges, in today’s geopolitics are many. “Unlike the European Union, whose member states have handed certain powers to a supranational EU Commission, the AU is an intergovernmental organization whose member states have accorded it no measure of sovereignty. Real power lies with member states and, while enjoying prestige, the chairperson has little if any capacity to direct their actions,” noted the International Crisis Group on its website crisisgroup.org.
To appreciate the challenges of Commission Chair Youssouf its necessary to reflect the track record of previous chairs, beginning with the first chair of the executive body, Alpha Oumar Konare.
Though playing a crucial role in shaping “the AU’s Institutional framework, when time came to intervene in Sudan’s Darfur conflict, AU-led force struggled due to underfunding before it was absorbed by the UN,” explained the Centre for Democracy and Development on its website: cddwestafrica.org
Probably AU’s most challenging moment happened under Jean Ping (2008–2012). According to the Centre for Democracy and Development, his “tenure was marked by the AU’s failure to prevent NATO’s 2011 intervention in Libya, a (major) turning point that weakened the AU’s financial autonomy due to Gaddafi’s removal. Libya, under Gaddafi with its unlimited oil wealth, was a major financial contributor of the AU.
AU’s first female to lead its Commission, South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (2012-2017). During her tenure as Commission Chair, the “AU struggled to address several crises including “Boko Haram’s rise and escalating violence in the Sahel. Her tenure also saw continued instability in South Sudan, where AU-led peace efforts failed to produce a lasting ceasefire.”
Moussa Faki Mahamat (2017–2024) though he may have “prioritized conflict mediation”, he faced a continent increasingly beset by instability.” His tenure, noted the Centre for Democracy and Development, “witnessed a surge in military coups, in Mali, Guinea,, Burkina Faso and Niger.”
Perspectives in Anthropology 