ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a yawning gap in studies of the international system through analysis of pan-Africanism as a worldview that played a major role in shaping the direction of global politics since the end of the 19th century. It deals with its multifaceted meanings within global politics and its shifting character across time since 1900. The chapter also deals with three moments, beginning with the phase of convening of pan-African congresses; the era of the Organization of African Unity (OAU); and the current phase of the African Union (AU) and its drive for regional integration and ultimately continental unity. The dawn of the 21st century witnessed the rise of the millennial African renaissance as a revival of the Nkrumahist vision of a politically, ideologically and economically united African continent able to use its abundant economic wealth to benefit Africans.
