In an age of unprecedented world-wide prosperity, forty per cent of Africa's 600 million people exist on less than US $1 per day, and a third of its 53 states are affected by conflict. The African Union (AU) is intended, in part, to mark a new beginning where Africans are more focused on the current issues they confront. In particular, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) has been hailed by African leaders as an important new initiative in development that asks the Africans themselves to assume responsibility for fostering democracy, good governance, and conflict resolution. Now is therefore an appropriate time to examine the prospects for African development and conflict resolution. Does NEPAD represent an approach that could at least provide some hope to ending Africa's poor economic performance and does it and the AU represent a new approach towards conflict resolution? Will NEPAD have a marked impact on the quality of political, economic and corporate governance in Africa? Or are NEPAD and the AU just two more grand proposals destined to die rather quickly? This book provides a brief review of African development and security over the past three decades. It assesses the progress made by South Africa since 1994 and describes current Western approaches to Africa with a focus on how much opportunity these stances provide for countries south of the Sahara to develop comprehensive new ideas to address their problems. The book reviews NEPAD and the AU to gauge the potential of these initiatives to take advantage of Western policies and to address Africa's structural problems. It suggests what must be done for African countries to reverse their growth and security trajectories by asking if any African country will establish the prerequisites for sustained high-level growth.