The International Peace Institute published in February 2015 a study titled "Saving Strangers and Neighbors: Advancing UN-AU Cooperation on Peace Operations" by Paul D. Williams, professor in the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, and Solomon Ayele Dersso, head of the Peace and Security Council Report at the Institute for Security Studies and professor at Addis Ababa University.
The report examines how the relationship between the UN and the African Union can be improved to deliver more effective peace operations. It draws heavily on past experience with peace operations in Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan. It suggests that the partnership in general and both institutions in particular still face significant challenges and institutional differences that reduce their ability to deploy effective peace operations.