STATE SOVEREIGNTY AND AFRICAN UNION’S INTERVENTION IN THE BURUNDI CRISIS

Abstract

The paper examined the conceptual issues surrounding state sovereignty and intervention in African states with particular emphasis on the crisis going on currently in Burundi. The African Union hesitation to wade in and resolve the Burundian crisis is anchored on the need to respect or uphold the principle of nonintervention in the internal affairs of member states. The paper adopted the explanatory research design, documentary source of data collection and qualitative method of analysis as the analytical base of the study and anchoring our analysis on the principle of responsibility to protect, findings amongst others revealed that AU’s hesitation to intervene in the Burundian crisis has more to do with the fact that most member states of the AU are governed by leaders who are desirous to stay in power beyond the constitutionally stated terms. Intervening in the Burundian transition crisis by the African leaders through the instrumentality of the AU, would ridicule their clinging to power in their various domains. Also democratic institutions like elected political offices and terms of offices which are constitutionally stated are not respected and the rules guiding them are not obeyed or observed, hence African states continuous experience of transition crisis as can be seen in the Burundian case. The paper recommends, among others measures that African leaders must accept the rules and regulations governing the democratization process in their respective countries.