The founding of the African Union’s (AU) predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), over sixty years ago, was inspired by the desire to mobilise continental efforts (to drive the decolonial wave across the continent) and resources for collective self-reliance and sufficiency. At the centre of this continental organisation has always been the unification of Africa through Pan-Africanism. At its establishment in the early 1960s, the OAU pursued five main goals, namely, to: (a) Promote the unity and solidarity of African States; (b) Coordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa; (c) Defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity and independence; (d) Eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa; and (e) Promote international cooperation, having due regard to the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Adedeji, 1984; OAU, 1980). These issues remained critical, even as the organisation transformed in the early 2000s. For instance, the top priorities of the AU are to (a) Achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and the peoples of Africa; (b) Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States; (c) Accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent; (d) Encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (e) Promote peace, security and stability on the continent (AU, 2015). The papers in this issue look at these issues in a markedly changed global environment than it was then.