Members of the African Union Executive Council pose for a group photo at the opening of their 48th Ordinary Session at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa. © African Union
By Jean-Paul Adam
As the African Union Summit begins in Addis Ababa, Africa confronts a defining question: how to assert its strategic place amid fragmented geopolitics and an increasingly hesitant multilateralism.
African leaders are nonetheless rallying around strengthening continental institutions and asserting ownership of the continent’s development pathway.
Two recent flagship reports from the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) offer a timely and compelling roadmap: the Report on the Causes of Conflict in Africa and the NEPAD 2025 Report on Financing for Development. Both reports underscore a central truth—durable peace in Africa is inseparable from strong, legitimate and well-resourced States.
The OSAA report on conflict drivers highlights a recurring and deeply structural challenge: the persistent absence or weakness of the State in many regions.
This absence is not merely geographic. It is functional—manifested in limited service delivery, weak institutions, uneven access to justice, and eroded public trust.
These gaps have created fertile ground for non-state armed groups, extremist organisations and unconstitutional changes of government.
In several countries, these actors have stepped into vacuums left by fragile institutions, offering rudimentary services or security and, in doing so, undermining State legitimacy.
This erosion of the social contract is neither sudden nor accidental. It is the cumulative result of historical legacies, governance deficits, inequitable development and a global financial architecture that constrains African fiscal space.
The NEPAD 2025 report makes this point with stark reality: Africa cannot achieve sustainable development without sustainable financing, and sustainable financing is impossible without stronger domestic resource mobilisation and greater control over economic and financial flows.
Yet the reports also illuminate a path forward—one rooted in African ownership, institutional strengthening and a renewed commitment to inclusive development.
First, rebuilding state capacity must be at the heart of Africa’s peace and development agenda. This means investing in public administrations that can deliver services equitably, uphold human rights and respond to citizens’ needs.
It also means expanding State presence in underserved regions, where governance vacuums have too often been filled by armed groups. Strengthening institutions goes beyond technocratic exercises; it is a question of the effective projection of the state as an agent to uphold peace.
Second, Africa must reclaim fiscal sovereignty. The NEPAD report underscores that the continent loses far more each year to illicit financial flows, trade mispricing and inefficiencies than it receives in official development assistance. Reversing this trend requires progressive tax systems, improved public expenditure management, and decisive action to curb leakages.
Domestic resource mobilisation is not simply about revenue—it is about restoring the foundations of the social contract by ensuring that public resources are raised and spent transparently, fairly and in ways that reflect national priorities.
The deployment of technology can also change the game in terms of reducing the cost of resource mobilisation and using data to ensure that Africa gets its fair share from the resources generated from its assets.
At continental level, the AU has taken significant steps in this direction in 2025 with the adoption of the Domestic Resource Mobilization Strategy (2025–2033), designed to address a financing gap exceeding $3.3 trillion under the Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan
Third, development cooperation must evolve. Too often, external support bypasses national systems, inadvertently weakening the very institutions it seeks to strengthen. The reports call for a shift toward long term, nationally led development strategies that reinforce State capacity rather than substitute for it.
Development partners must align with national priorities, support public sector reform and invest in digital governance tools that enhance transparency and accountability.
Finally, Africa’s governance landscape is plural. Traditional authorities, customary justice systems and community based social protection mechanisms remain central to daily life for millions.
Recognizing and integrating these systems—while ensuring alignment with human rights norms—can extend State legitimacy and strengthen social cohesion.
This AU Summit offers the opportunity to translate these insights into action. By placing State capacity, fiscal sovereignty and inclusive governance at the centre of its agenda, the AU can help chart a course toward a more peaceful, prosperous and resilient continent.
Africa’s future will be shaped not only by the challenges it confronts, but by the institutions it builds.