Abstract

This chapter examines the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional leadership in conflict response in Southern Africa. The chapter specifically explores the SADC leadership in joint mediation with the African Union (AU) in the Madagascar conflict from 2008 to 2013. Leadership in this chapter is explored using both realist and constructive perspectives. The leadership definition adopted in this chapter, however, takes a constructive approach due to the SADC’s institutional nature. The SADC decisions emanate from member states’ interaction and collective influence, thereby making a constructive approach more suitable for this discussion. In this light, leadership is a collective process aimed at achieving actors’ shared goals (Pearce and Conger, 2003; Raelin, 2005; Drath et al., 2008; Crevani et al., 2010; Uhl-Bien, 2011; Hoch, 2013).