As the continent increasingly looks to address the root causes of violence through peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction and development (PCRD) strategies, there is an opportunity for South Africa to engage with the African Union (AU) through its forthcoming aid agency – the South African Development Partnership Agency.

This paper argues that South Africa should do more to drive PCRD on the continent through the AU's PCRD framework, as well as the African Solidarity Initiative, which aims to promote 'in-kind technical assistance' on the continent. The paper draws on field research carried out by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Ethiopia in March 2014.

Written by: Amanda Lucey is a senior researcher in the Conflict Management and Peace Building Division of the ISS. She works on the 'enhancing South African Post-Conflict Development and Peacebuilding Capacity in Africa' project. Amanda spent time in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she worked with MONUSCO as a political affairs officer, and has previously worked with the UNDP in South Sudan as a rule of law officer. She holds an MPhil in Justice and Transformation (specialising in conflict resolution) from the University of Cape Town.

Sibongile Gida is a junior researcher in the Conflict Management and Peace Building Division of the ISS. Prior to working at the ISS she worked at the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) in the Knowledge Production Department. Sibongile holds a BPolSci in International Studies from the University of Pretoria and a B(hons) in International Politics from the University of South Africa.
This publication was made possible with support from the Department for International Development (DFID). The ISS is also grateful for support from the following members of the ISS Partnership Forum: Governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the USA.