III. AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT: The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)—Old Wine in New Bottles?

Abstract

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) suggests a new trend in the strategies of relevant African political leaders compared with previous, exclusively socio-economically focused initiatives. The article summarises the origin of NEPAD vis-à-vis the African Union, offers a short overview on its substantive aspects and raises the issue of acceptance within the continent and the critical responses to the initiative. It deals in more detail with the notions of democracy, good governance and human rights as new elements of NEPAD in contrast to earlier strategy papers and blueprints for Africa's development. Emphasis is put on the contrasting paradigms of collective responsibility and peer review as possible means of intervention defined in NEPAD versus the postulate of national sovereignty so far maintained by the African governments as an ultimate guiding principle. The recent controversies around the presidential elections in Zimbabwe are used as a reference point and case study, displaying the underlying conflicting approaches. It is argued that the current efforts to gain credibility and achieve external material support for NEPAD have not yet passed the test phase.