Do the objectives of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 aspirations harmonize with a Pan-African and African Renaissance vision? – A critical review.

Abstract: Pan-Africanism is a diverse philosophy and political ideology that has conflicting views about how unity among Africans can be achieved economically and within a single political system. Some versions of Pan-Africanism support market capitalism and other theorists take the position that the collective ownership of capital and resources is essential for creating a national unity. The Agenda 2063 is both an economic model that supports market capitalism and one that incorporates Pan-Africanism as a guiding set of values, and therefore, how this ideology defines and reinforces the proposed system is dependent on which of these competing theories is adopted. Using critical theory and deconstruction, the aim will be to analyse how pan-Africanism & African Renaissance are defined and its use in the African Union Agenda 2063. The objectives of this paper are to examine the feasibility of the agenda, to explain critical issues underpinning its successful implementation, to analyze its strengths and weaknesses, and to suggest ways of dealing with persisting challenges. The focus of this analysis will be toward understanding how the hegemonic discourse of the Agenda 2063 can reasonably aligned with the original vision of the Pan-African and African Renaissance cultural transformations which are the essential motivations the agenda is rooted in as seen in aspiration 2 – An integrated continent, politically united and based on the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the vision of Africa’s Renaissance and aspiration 5 - An Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, shared values and ethics (Au.int, 2019).