ABSTRACT It is suggested that the emergence of a more peaceful and prosperous Africa depends on the implementation of “African solutions for African problems” and that this be done through the creation of regional security communities. This may sound right, but because of internal and external factors, as a policy it is cynical, hypocritical, and misleading. There is a fundamental contradiction between the concept in theory and in practice. This paper shows that the complex problems in Africa are part of the global systemic interaction that often hinders the potential of the African Union and its regional economic communities' ability to become security communities. I argue that since Africa's problems are not only African but also global problems, solutions for Africa can only be global-systemic.