Paper short abstract:

This paper investigates the problematic relationship between the AU policy on unconstitutional change of government and the strategy of mediation. It focuses on the external mediation undertaken in response to the 2009 coup in Madagascar.

Paper long abstract:

This paper investigates the problematic relationship between the AU policy on unconstitutional change of government and the strategy of mediation. It examines the complications that arise when the AU or an African sub-regional body responds to a coup by embarking on mediation while simultaneously demanding, in accordance with the policy, that the putschists must give up power. The paper discusses the complications in relation to the 2009 coup in Madagascar, which led to mediation by the UN, the AU and SADC. The demand that the coup-makers relinquish power caused them to resist mediation; it generated tension between the different mediating bodies; it was ignored at the outset or abandoned at a later stage by the mediators; and it posed a significant impediment to effective peacemaking. These complications arose not simply because of the particular dynamics of the case but also because, at a more general level, the goals and orientation of mediation and the AU policy are inherently antithetical. This contention is explained and motivated with reference to the UN Secretary-General's 2012 Guidance for Effective Mediation.