ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to introduce a framework to categorize inter-organizational relations along three "Cs": coexistence, cooperation, and competition. Using this framework, it argues that the relations between the UN and African Union (AU) in peace and security questions fall under the rubric "competition" as opposed to the more euphemistic terms "subsidiarity" and "complementarity." This empirical argument draws on an overview of UN-regional relations after 1945, an analysis of interactions after the end of the Cold War and an analysis of the three recent military operations in Africa, those in Libya, Mali, and the Central African Republic. The chapter shows whether or not organization, commitment, and consensus are given by the UN and regional organizations in phases of coexistence, cooperation, and competition. Coexistence, as the side-by-side existence without major coordination and overlap of mandates thus describes the UN-regional relations during the Cold War period when regional organizations "were frequently little more than bystanders to unfolding international events".
