Abstract / Summary
This paper revisits and validates the Imperial Selection Model (ISM) and Puppet Syndrome framework first formulated in Kusimbiko’s 2018 article Economies of Obedience [1] and Nsiangani’s earlier psychopolitical work on neo-colonial leadership [2][3]. It uses the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between 2018 and 2025 as a real-time test of a prior prediction: that perceived high-convergence Dark Tetrad leadership patterns, favoured by imperial powers, would produce a specific sequence of outcomes, including currency (as a proxy for purchasing power) collapse, renewed Bretton Woods dependency, excess mortality from neglect, and the signing of extreme sovereignty-eroding resource agreements. Like many readers at the time, this seemed excessive and overreaching. However, seven years later, those predictions all fall into place. We then examine the African Union (AU) as an institutional actor within this sequence. The central hypothesis is simple and falsifiable: on the axis that matters most for long-term freedom, the AU does not function as a shield for African sovereignty. It functions as a continental alibi for neo-colonial rule, stabilising externally selected leaders and giving them Pan-African legitimacy while they implement imperial priorities.
Bibliographic metadata
Title: Toothless Lions of Agenda 2063? How the African Union & Derivatives Stabilises Neo-Colonial Rule
Authors: Malcolm Diarra
Date: 2025
Public identifier: PSSN-PASO-PUB-2025-14E7F3F3
Keywords: African Union, Agenda 2063, Imperial Selection Model, puppet governance, neo-colonial rule, DRC, sovereignty
SHA-256: 14e7f3f3f28b09f60e58a678c9f2511c214b0a8164ec65ad0c8056048a4e758e
Suggested citation
Malcolm Diarra. (2025). Toothless Lions of Agenda 2063? How the African Union & Derivatives Stabilises Neo-Colonial Rule. PASO / CSSP Mfuma. PSSN-PASO-PUB-2025-14E7F3F3.