Towards a people friendly Pan-African Parliament: lessons from the European parliament
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Date
2016
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Journal of African Union Studies
Abstract
The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) is an institution of the African Union (AU)
modeled after the European Union’s (EU’s) European Parliament (EP). Both
were established to promote principles of democracy and to ensure the active
involvement of Union citizens in the integration process. However, the
approach and commitment of the AU and the EU to the full operationalization
and functioning of the two differ. Using the constructivist theory, a content
analysis of relevant constitutive documents of the two parliaments is done. The
paper delves into the identities and interests informing the PAP’s establishment
and how far it has traveled to achieve its goals. A major finding of the paper is
that although on the surface, the PAP appears to take after the EP, a number of
challenges hinder it from functioning optimally. The result is a lack of
commitment to a redefinition and enhancement of the functions and powers of
the PAP.
Description
Keywords
Pan-African, Parliament, African Union, European Parliament, Africa
Citation
Appiah, Juliana & Ansaaku, Gertrude. (2016). Towards a People Friendly Pan-African Parliament: Lessons from the European Parliament. Journal of African Union Studies. Volume 5. 5-22.