The relationship between the ICC and African states has evolved considerably since the Court was established in July 1998. In recent years, African political elites have denounced the Court as “racist” and guilty of “double standards” for only indicting African individuals. These vitriolic attacks on the Court’s integrity are a far cry from the support expressed by African states for its creation fifteen years earlier. For instance, African states were in the vanguard of pushing for an independent Court with substantial powers, and over two-thirds of states have ratified the Rome Statute. The paper argues that African preferences for the Court originated from a perception of its independence from the UN Security Council; and the perception that the ICC would complement peace, justice and security initiatives developing on the continent. The paper employs a mixed method approach using survival analysis, interviews and process tracing.
