About this episode
African Heads of State convened for the 2026 African Union Summit last month at a critical time for the continent, amid escalating conflicts and democratic backsliding. This episode examines the AU's relationship with the United Nations, the European Union and the United States, and its place within a fractured global order. At the 39th African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital and home to the headquarters of the organisation, leaders held debates on conflicts, institutional reform, financial sovereignty, critical minerals, artificial intelligence and Africa’s place in the emerging new geopolitical order. Giorgia Meloni was a guest of honour, invited to co-host the second Italy-Africa Summit and to consider a strategy to tackle the root causes of migration. United Nations secretary-general António Guterres was also in attendance, and called again for two permanent seats for Africa on the UN Security Council. The rotational chair passed from Angola to Burundi, putting leadership of the AU for 2026 with the latter's President Évariste Ndayishimiye. Outgoing chair João Lourenço, president of Angola, parted with the warning that: "Normalising coup-makers who retake power through elections cannot become standard practice." With 10 military coups having taken place on the continent since 2020 and elections held in a climate of repression, plus wars in Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and insurgency in the Sahel region, observers agree that Africa needs stronger institutions and leadership. We spoke with Liesl Louw-Vaudran, senior advisor for the AU at the International Crisis Group (ICG), and Désiré Assogbavi, an international development strategist with more than two decades of experience in policy analysis. African Union summit opens, as continent faces conflict and climate extremes Imprints of violence Also in this episode, we meet South African photographe
