Recent debates in IR have drawn attention to hierarchy as integral to the liberal international order. In this perspective, the post-war world order is also a recognition order where states are differently recognised and receive differentiated benefits depending on their status. This chapter situates Pan-Africanism within these debates, arguing that Pan-African political thought is by its very nature international thought, preoccupied with Africa’s place and recognition in the world. It shows how Pan-Africanism influenced the struggle for self-determination and thus helped produce the post-war international order. This order has, however, failed to deliver on its promise of a more equal world, and Pan-Africanism continues to frame the liberal order as profoundly hierarchical. Focusing on the African Union, the chapter shows how the continent’s struggle for recognition remains guided by Pan-Africanism and how this influences its position vis-à-vis current challenges to the liberal international order.
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