The Current Political Crisis in Burundi

A Paradigmatic Case of Africa-Europe Relationships for Political Stability

Abstract

Burundi is in yet another socio-political crisis caused by the decision of the incumbent president to run for a ‘third’ term. The crisis has caused political instability and massive violation of human rights. To face the situation, the international com-munity, especially European Union (EU) through African Union (AU) and East African Community (EAC), has tried to help mitigate it with no tangible results. This article, there-fore, takes this example as an eye opener of today’s relationship between Africa and EU in solving political conflicts. The article further tries to lay down some suggestions for effective cooperation between EU and African countries for political stability. Thus, the first point sketches the background to the crisis, while the second point focuses on the different initia-tives undertaken by the AU and EU. In the third place, the article analyses the causes of the failure, while the last point gives some suggestions for an effective EU-AU cooperation for political stability in Africa and in Burundi.