The organisational dimension of executive authority in the Global South: Insights from the AU and ECOWAS commissions

The growing importance of executive authority at the international level has fuelled scholarly debate about the level of autonomy enjoyed by international public administration (IPA), that is, the executive arms of international organisations. Insights from IPAs in the West or Global North, such as the European Union, have largely shaped these debates, whereas data from IPAs in the Global South are largely missing in the discussion. This article seeks to remedy this imbalance and contribute to an organisational-theory-inspired conceptualisation of IPA autonomy: We draw insights from survey data from the commissions of the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). We demonstrate that, although both commissions are embedded in inter-governmental organisations, they demonstrate remarkably strong features of actor-level autonomy. Thus, this study suggests that even IPAs constrained by an inter-governmental environment may still wield some degree of autonomy. Finally, the article draws practical implications for reforming IPAs.publishedVersionPaid Open Acces

What does the African Union’s recruitment and staffing mean for good international governance?

Efficient and effective international governance is to a large extent dependent on the quality of recruitment of human resources into international organisations. A recent study of recruitment and staffing at the African Union Commission mapped staff composition, showing that the organisation is heavily dependent on short-term contracted and lower-ranked personnel. The study demonstrates that informal international practices are deeply embedded in the Commission’s recruitment processes, which has huge implications for staffing, recruitment and performance in international organisations more broadly

The behavioural logics of international public servants: the case of African Union Commission staff

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The behavioural logics of international public servants: the case of African Union Commission staff

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