In his search for allies who would help him challenge Nasserism and other radical movements, the shah found a companion in the emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I. This chapter investigates the early years of this relationship and some of the issues that prompted the two sides to cooperate – including common security concerns in the Red Sea, threats to the global monarchical institution, and the challenges that decolonisation presented to conservative regimes in the Global South. Ethiopia provided Iran with its first ally in sub-Saharan Africa, but it was not until the Summit Conference of Independent African States in Addis Ababa in 1963 that Iran began seriously to consider its future role in Africa. Several emissaries from Africa had already visited Iran, for example from Nigeria and Cameroon, and in 1964, a report was published by the Imperial Court on the opportunities Africa could present to Iran. Subsequently, the decision was taken to deepen ties with the continent as a matter of urgency. Because Addis Ababa was the de facto diplomatic capital of Africa, it was perceived as a bridge to the rest of Africa.

The genesis of the AU derives from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s proposal to reform the OAU as the ‘United States of Africa’. While he was rhetorically credited with the creation of the AU, the new AU looked nothing like what he had proposed and he was continually frustrated in attempts to move it to the federal structure he desired. This chapter examines the critical period of debate during the formation of the AU and how the ‘US of Africa’ was sidelined or rebuffed as both norm circles wrested with each other for control of the initiative, appeals to shared norms, and other opportunities to influence each other.